Prepositions

Prepositions

Definition

A preposition shows how a noun or pronoun relates to another word in a sentence.

Example: He is sitting beside the girl.

A Preposition Shows Location

Example: The girl went into the house.

A Preposition Shows Timing

Example: He laughed during the show.

Most Commonly Used Prepositions

at / with / in / by / to / for / from / of / on

Examples of Sentences with Prepositions

• The store closes at midnight.

• We just got home from the mall.

• Sheila is going to Wal-Mart.

Commonly Used Prepositions

about / above / across / after / against / along / among / around / at / before / behind / below / beneath / beside / between / beyond / but(except) / by / down / during / for / from / in / inside / into / like / near / of / off / on / onto / out / outside / over / past / through / to / toward / under / underneath / until / up / upon / with / without

What is the Object of the Preposition?

*Noun/Pronoun that follows the preposition

Examples:

He drove to the store.

The dancers arrived before lunch.

Walk across the street and into the store.

He looked under the table and near the porch.

Multiple Select

Identify the preposition in the following sentence.

She walked to the window.

• She

• walked

• to

• the

• window

Multiple Select

Identify the preposition in the following sentence.

The books are on the table.

• The

• are

• on

• table

Multiple Select

Identify the preposition in the following sentence.

The juice is on the table near the canned fruit.

Check all that apply.

• is

• on

• table

• near

• fruit

Multiple Select

Identify the preposition in the following sentence.

What would you like with your cereal?

Check all that apply.

• What

• would

• like

• with

Multiple Select

Identify the preposition in the following sentence.

We live around the corner behind a grove of trees.

Check all that apply.

• We

• around

• corner

• behind

• of

Open Ended

Write three prepositions that could complete the sentence.

They waited _______ the phone.

Open Ended

Write three prepositions for the following sentence.

She threw a rock _________ the creek.

Open Ended

Write three prepositions for the following sentence.

The address was __________ the door.

Open Ended

Identify the preposition and its object.

The children are under the porch.

Open Ended

Identify the preposition and its object.

We rented a cabin at Lost Lake, near the Peaks of Otter.

Open Ended

Identify the preposition and its object.

We traveled through a long tunnel.

What is a Prepositional Phrase?

*A group of words that begin with a preposition and end with a noun(s) or pronoun(s) / object.

Example: The Pueblo people live in the Southwest.

*Prepositional Phrase - in the Southwest

*Preposition - in

*Object - Southwest

Sometimes, sentences will contain more than one prepositional phrase.

Example: The ancestors of the Pueblos, the Anasazi, made their home in high cliffs.

Compound Objects

*More than one object (noun/pronoun) following the preposition.

Example: The settled in New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, and Colorado.

How Can You Make Your Writing Smoother?

*By reducing a sentence to a prepositional phrase and combining it with another sentence.

Example: The Pueblos later built more elaborate homes. They built them of stone and adobe.

New Sentence: The Pueblos later built more elaborate homes of stone and adobe.

Open Ended

Identify the prepositional phrase and the object.

Imagine a huge forest growing in a hot, steamy environment.

Open Ended

Identify the prepositional phrase and the object.

In a tropical rainforest the tallest trees rise nearly two hundred feet above the ground.

Open Ended

Identify the prepositional phrase and the object.

Direct sunlight reaches only the highest of their branches.

Open Ended

Identify the prepositional phrase and the object.

Only dim light filters through the leaves to the ground.

Open Ended

Identify the prepositional phrase and the object.

Thunderstorms occur often throughout the year.

Open Ended

Identify the prepositional phrase and the object.

However, few raindrops fall directly to the ground.

Open Ended

Identify the prepositional phrase and the object.

Water drips down the tree trunks or falls from leaves.

Open Ended

Identify the prepositional phrase and the object.

The place teems with wildlife.

Open Ended

Identify the prepositional phrase and the object.

Many animals spend their entire lives in the trees.

Open Ended

Identify the prepositional phrase and the object.

Frogs, toads, lizards, and snakes dwell among the branches.