Table of Contents
Prepositions and prepositional phrases
Prepositions are those little words that help us describe time and place. They are also used in combinations with verbs and adjectives.
Prepositional phrases consist of a preposition + noun / noun phrase.
Let’s explore these interesting words and how they are used.
List of prepositions
This is a list of common prepositions:
about between out
above beyond over
across by since
after despite through
against down throughout
along during till
among for to
around from toward(s)
at in under
before into until
behind like up
below near upon
beneath of with
beside off while
besides on without
Prepositional phrases
Prepositional phrases make an important element of an English sentence. The structure is:
prepositional phrase = preposition + noun, pronoun, or noun phrase
The noun that comes after the preposition is its object.
- The book is on the desk. (on the desk is a prepositional phrase. The desk is the object of the preposition on.)
If a sentence has both place and time, we put the prepositional phrase of place before that of time.
- They walked in the park in the morning. (in the park shows place, and in the morning describes time.)
To give a prepositional phrase more focus, we may put it at the beginning of the sentence.
- In the morning, they walked in the park.
Following are illustrations of common uses of prepositions.
Prepositions of Time
Prepositions of position
Prepositions of movement
Preposition combinations with verbs
⇔ Take a quiz on prepositions with verbs.