A preposition connects a noun, pronoun or phrase to the other words in a sentence. The word or phrase that the preposition introduces is called the object of the preposition.
A preposition usually indicates the temporal, spatial or logical relationship its object has to the rest of the sentence. Here are some examples:
The pencil is on the table.
The pencil is beneath the table.
The pencil is beside the table.
She held the pencil over the table.
He used the pencil during the class.
In each of the sentences given above, the preposition gives the location of the noun, “pencil”, in space or in time.
A prepositional phrase is made up of the preposition, its object and any associated adjectives or adverbs. A prepositional phrase can function as a noun, an adjective or an adverb.
The most common prepositions are “about”, “above”, “after”, “against”, “along”, “among”, “at”, “before”, “behind”, “below”, “beneath”, “beside”, “between”, “beyond”, “but”, “by”, “despite”, “down”, “during”, “except”, “for”, “from”, “in”, “inside”, “into”, “like”, “near”, “of”, “off”, “on”, “onto”, “out”, “outside”, “over”, “past”, “since”, “through”, “throughout”, “till”, “to”, “toward”, “under”, “underneath”, “until”, “up”, “upon”, “with”, “up”, “upon”, “with”, “within” and “without”.
Here are some examples of how prepositions are used in a sentence.
Example One:
The children climbed the hill without fear.
In this sentence, the preposition, “without”, is referring to the noun, “fear”. The prepositional phrase “without fear” functions as an adverb describing how the children climbed.
Example Two:
The mouse slowly crept across the basement floor.
In this sentence, the preposition “across” refers to the noun phrase “the basement floor” and the prepositional phrase, “across the basement floor”, acts as an adverb, describing where the spider was moving.
Example Three:
There was rejoicing throughout the classroom when the test was cancelled.
Here, the preposition “throughout” refers to the noun phrase “the classroom”. The prepositional phrase, “throughout the classroom”, acts as an adverb describing the location of the rejoicing.
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This was written for you by Mia, one of the tutors with Test Prep Academy.
