Wild Rose Learning

A quick lesson on prepositions and prepositional phrases.

Prepositions are words that link nouns, pronouns and phrases to other words in a sentence.

I was teaching a student about prepositions and he was confused by that definition.

And maybe you are too, which is okay. The definition is vague.

So let me give you some examples of prepositional words and maybe you’ll recognize them.

On, in, and at are all prepositions.

“So, prepositions are directional words?” you may be thinking.

Yes and no. There are other types of prepositions as well. They can also indicate time and place.

• Place and Position Prepositions: Tell where something is located
• Time Prepositions: Tell when something is or is happening
• Direction and Movement Prepositions: Shows or tells where something is going.

Additionally, some prepositions can be used for more than one type.

As an example, I’ll use on:

• On Tuesday, we will go to the airport. (Time)
• I left the box on the shelf. (Place/Position)

There are many prepositions in the English language, so it’ll be easier for you if you Googled them. But here are 10 of the most common ones:

• To, Of, In, For, On, At, With, By, From, About

Prepositional Phrases

Additionally, prepositional phrases are also commonly used, but they can be confusing.

But first, let me explain what phrases are.

Phrases are expressions, such as common sayings, idioms, and figures of speech.

There are two types of prepositional phrases. 

The first is a group of words that begins with a preposition and ends with an object (a noun or pronoun that follows a preposition or verb).

For example:  “On the shelf”

The second is a group of words that start with a verb and end with a preposition.

For example: “belongs to”

English has a lot of these phrases and the trouble many people have is with using the grammatically correct preposition to accurately describe what they want to say.

For instance, some people might say, “Stare in the moon,” when what they’re trying to say is, “Stare at the moon.”

These are common mistakes, but they muddy what you’re trying to say and confuse the listener or reader.

So, it’s important to use the right preposition.

Try These

One way to learn how to use prepositions properly is by doing practice questions.

So, here are 5 fill-in-the-blank questions. All you have to do is write the preposition that goes with each word.

1. They put the groceries ___ the refrigerator when they got home.
2. That book belongs ___ the library.
3. Christina walked ___ the river.
4. ___ one hour, I will be home.
5. I put the book ___ the shelf.

Conclusion

If you would like more practice questions, check out my grammar workbooks.

They’re a great way to learn grammar and writing because after each lesson, you’ll have to practice what you just learned with the exercises.

Learn more about them here.

Answers:

1. in
2. to
3. along/by
4. In
5. on