Prepositional Phrases for intermediate learners

phrases prepositional phrases

What are prepositional phrases? Generally, as its name requires, prepositional phrases are phrases made of prepositions. To get to know them, read the article.

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"Prepositional Phrases" in the English Grammar

What Are Prepositional Phrases?

A prepositional phrase is a group of words that begins with a preposition, and ends with a noun, pronoun, or noun phrase (called the 'object of the preposition'). The preposition shows the relationship between the object and another word in the sentence.

Prepositional Phrase: Structure

A prepositional phrase consists of a preposition and its object. The object of a preposition can be a noun, a pronoun, a noun phrase, or even a clause. Pay attention to the examples:

I found these papers under the table.

I want Anna to put these books next to the computer.

Common Prepositions

The following list presents some of the most common prepositions in English.

Prepositional Phrases: Types

Prepositional phrases are mostly used to modify verbs or nouns. However, there are different kinds of prepositional phrases. Look at the list below:

Now, let us explore each one:

Objects of Prepositions

As mentioned earlier, a preposition is always accompanied by an object. In some cases, the object of a preposition can be a prepositional phrase, which means that it contains another preposition. Look at the examples below:

I finally pulled it out from under her bed.

As you can see, 'under her bed' is the prepositional phrase that acts as the object of 'from'.

They could see her from up in the tree.

Noun Phrases

It is rare to use a prepositional phrase as a noun in a sentence. When it does occur, it usually appears as the subject of the sentence.

On top of that cliff is where I wanna be right now.

Next to the theatre is a cheap hotel.

Adjectival Phrases

A prepositional phrase that modifies and describes a noun is called an adjectival phrase because it functions in the same way as an adjective, providing additional information about the noun. Look at the examples below:

The magical book under the chair took me to another world.

Here, 'under the chair' is an adjective modifying the noun (book).

The pink shoes on top of the brown ones are something.

Adverbial Phrases

When a prepositional phrase modifies a verb or an adverb, it is called an adverbial phrase, as it functions similarly to an adverb.
Look at the following examples for more clarification:

Joanna put her head on the pillow and cried.

He decided to run up the hill.