Prepositional Phrases
Grammar Rules Guide - Chapter 25
A prepositional phrase is a group of words including a preposition and a noun, pronoun, or group of words used as a noun. They are fragments that usually do not stand alone, except in commands like At once! or On your feet!
Kinds of Phrases
There are two kinds of prepositional phrases: adjective phrases and adverb phrases.
An adjective phrase modifies a noun or pronoun. It always comes immediately after the noun or pronoun it modifies:
Joe is the student with the highest grade. (with the highest grade modifies student.)
An adverb phrase modifies a verb, adjective, or adverb. It is used to tell when, where, how, or to what extent about the word it modifies:
Megan put her bird in its cage. (in its cage tells where about the verb put.)
Two or More Phrases
When two or more prepositional phrases follow each other, they may modify the same word, or one phrase may modify the object in the preceding phrase:
They arrived at the airport on time. (Both phrases modify arrived; at the airport tells where and on time tells when.)
Chicago is on the northeast tip of Illinois. (on the northeast tip modifies is; of Illinois modifies tip.)
Preposition or Adverb?
Many words can be either prepositions or adverbs; you can distinguish prepositions by their objects.
Preposition: The bird flew out the window. (window is the object of out.)
Adverb: We went out last night. (out has no object.)
Prepositional Phrase or Infinitive Phrase?
Prepositional phrases can be confused with infinitive phrases. To followed by a verb is an infinitive, but to followed by a noun or pronoun is a prepositional phrase.
Grammar Rules Guide Index
Active and Passive Voice - Chapter 1
Adjective, Adverb, and Noun Clauses - Chapter 2
Adjectives - Chapter 3
Adverbs - Chapter 4
Appositives - Chapter 5
Auxiliary Verbs - Chapter 6
Common and Proper Nouns - Chapter 7
Comparatives and Superlatives - Chapter 8
Complements - Chapter 9
Conjunctions - Chapter 10
Conjunctive Adverbs - Chapter 11
Dangling Modifiers - Chapter 12
Direct and Indirect Objects - Chapter 13
Fused Sentences, Run-Ons, and Comma Splices - Chapter 14
Homophones - Chapter 15
Independent and Dependent Clauses - Chapter 16
Interjections - Chapter 17
Mass and Count Nouns - Chapter 18
Misplaced Modifiers - Chapter 19
Noun and Pronoun Case - Chapter 20
Noun and Verb Phrases - Chapter 21
Nouns - Chapter 22
Parallelism - Chapter 23
Perfect and Progressive Verb Forms - Chapter 24
Prepositional Phrases - Chapter 25
Prepositions - Chapter 26
Principal Parts of Verbs - Chapter 27
Pronoun and Antecedent Agreement - Chapter 28
Pronouns - Chapter 29
Regular and Irregular Verbs - Chapter 30
Relative Clauses - Chapter 31
Restrictive and Non-Restrictive Clauses - Chapter 32
Sentence Fragments - Chapter 33
Sentence Types - Chapter 34
Subjects and Predicates - Chapter 35
Verb Mood - Chapter 36
Verbals and Verbal Phrases - Chapter 37
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