Prepositional Phrases

The noun or pronoun at the end of the phrase is called the object of the preposition. The object of the preposition answers the question what? or whom? in relation to the preposition. To locate the object of the preposition, read the preposition and then ask "what?" or "whom?"

Note that many prepositions show time or place or direction. Some word groups are considered a single preposition. Note also that to plus the simple present (base) form of a verb is an infinitive rather than a prepositional phrase (for example, to walk and to run are infinitives).

Some Commonly Used Prepositions
 

about	above	accompanied by	according to	across
after	against	along	along with	among
around	as	as long as	as much as	as well as
at	away from	because of	before	behind
below	beneath	beside	between	beyond
by	down	during	except	for
from	in	in addition to	in spite of	including
inside	instead of	into	like	near
of	off	on	onto	out
out of	outside	over	past	since
through	throughout	to	together with	toward
under	underneath	until	up	up to
upon	with	within	without

To Find Prepositional Phrases

1. Ask "what?" or "whom?"
2. Restate the preposition with the answer to the question

Preposition Question Answer:

1. Prepositional Phrase for "or what?" for dinner
2. in "In what?" in the afternoon
3. by "By what?" by building a house
4. with "With whom?" with Harold and his brother

Purposes of Prepositional Phrases
 

1. To tell when: before dawn, during the day, in the Medieval period
2. To tell where: beneath the table, under the rug
3. To tell why: for joy, because of his allergy, in order to discover the truth
4. To tell how or in what way: by bending the edges, by machine, in attitude, with strength and endurance

In the sentences below, the prepositional phrases are enclosed in brackets.
 

1.  Harold McGruber lived [in Mrs. Smith's house.]
2. [After dark], the cat [in the alley] prowls [throughout the neighborhood].
3. [For many years] we lived [in a small but cozy apartment] [near the river].
4. [During lunch], Mr. Smith quit his job [because of an argument] that he had [with his boss].
5. [Until morning] the vampires who reside [in my garden] remain silent; however [at dawn] they moan and beg [for me] to remove the garlic [from the row].