What Is a Prepositional Phrase? Prepositional Phrase Examples

A prepositional phrase combines a preposition with an object of the preposition. The phrase might or might not also include a modifier, such as an adjective or an adverb, to provide more information in the form of a description. There are three types of prepositional phrases: prepositional noun phrases (serve as nouns), adjectival prepositional phrases (modify nouns), and prepositional adverbial phrases (modify verbs). The components of prepositional phrases break down as follows:

• Preposition: A preposition is a word or group of words that link other parts of speech together. For example, in the prepositional phrase "on my desk," the word "on" is the preposition. In English grammar rules, prepositions explain the relationship between various nouns and verbs, as well as some adjectives and adverbs. There are more than a hundred prepositions in the English language, with some of the most common prepositions being “at,” “from,” “in,” “into,” “on,” “over,” “to,” “under,” and “with.”
• Object of a preposition: An object of a preposition is a noun or noun phrase that follows a preposition. It serves as the recipient of the preposition's meaning. In the prepositional phrase "on my desk," the noun "desk" is the object of the preposition.
• Modifier: In prepositional phrases, modifiers can be words, phrases, or clauses that add description or specificity to different types of prepositions. A modifier might be an adjective, an article, a possessive noun, a possessive pronoun, a quantifier, or another part of speech. In the prepositional phrase “on my desk,” the possessive pronoun “my” is a modifier because it communicates which exact desk the speaker or writer is referencing.

Prepositions can communicate information about direction, location, spatial relationships, and time. Note there are some that can be a preposition of direction or a preposition of place depending on how it functions within a sentence. If the sentence involves movement, it’s a preposition of direction. If the sentence involves a static position, it’s a preposition of place. Review this chart for examples of different preposition types:

Prepositional noun phrases are prepositional phrases acting as nouns within clauses or sentences. A few examples of preposition phrases are:

• “During intermission is the best time to get a drink.” In this sentence, “during intermission” is a prepositional phrase. “During” is a preposition and “intermission” is the object of that preposition. The entire phrase serves as the subject and central noun of the sentence since it communicates the best time to get a drink.
• “Around the fence is where she will plant the flowers.” In this sentence, “around the fence” is a prepositional phrase. “Around” is a preposition and “fence” is the object of that preposition.” The entire phrase serves as the subject and central noun of the sentence since it communicates where she will plant the flowers.
• “Stratford-upon-Avon is the birthplace of William Shakespeare.” Prepositional noun phrases are sometimes proper nouns in which a preposition is integral to the complete name. In this sentence, “Stratford-upon-Avon” is a proper noun (being the name of a town in England) that includes the prepositional phrase “upon Avon.” “Upon” is the preposition and “Avon” is the object of the preposition. Other proper nouns that include prepositional phrases include “Newcastle-upon-Tyne” and “Shroud of Turin.”

Many prepositions serve as adjective phrases that modify nouns in a sentence. Consider the prepositional adjectival phrases in the following sentences:

• “The house on the left belongs to Valika.” In this sentence, “on the left” is a prepositional phrase that describes “house,” which is the subject and central noun. Without the phrase “on the left,” it would be unclear which house belongs to Valika.
• “The cat scratched the carpet on the bathroom floor.” Here, “on the bathroom floor” is a prepositional phrase that describes the carpet by communicating the carpet’s location. If there are multiple carpets, this prepositional phrase could be important for clarification since it could otherwise be ambiguous to the reader or listener which carpet the cat scratched. The subject of the sentence is “cat” since it is performing the main action (“scratched”).
• “Workers are building a path around the park.” In this sentence, “around the park” is a prepositional phrase that describes “path” in more detail. “Around” is the preposition and “park” is the object of the preposition. “Workers” is the subject of the sentence since they are performing the central action (“are building”).

Prepositions also appear in adverbial modifying phrases. Such adverb prepositional phrases modify—or lend more description to—verbs. Consider the following examples of adverbial prepositional phrases:

• “He raced through the city.” Here, the prepositional phrase "through the city" functions as an adverb by modifying (describing) the verb "raced." This phrase tells us where he raced, with “through” as the preposition and “city” as the object of the preposition.
• “Reilly looks around the room.” In this sentence, “around the room” is a prepositional phrase that describes the verb “looks.” With the inclusion of the preposition “around,” the article “the,” and the object of the preposition “room,” you can discern where exactly Reilly is looking.
• “The schoolchildren boarded the bus with excitement.” Here, “with excitement” is a prepositional phrase that modifies the verb “boarded.” It communicates more detail about how the schoolchildren boarded the bus. “With” is the preposition and “excitement” is the object of the preposition.

To successfully use prepositional phrases in sentences, consider these three key tips.

1. 1. Favor the active voice over the passive voice. Passive voice sentences contain subjects that are the object of the verb. They are not the “doer” in the sentence; they are the recipient of an action. In active voice writing, the subject of a sentence is performing an action. Prepositional phrases are stronger when they modify active verbs rather than passive verbs.
2. 2. Make sure your preposition clearly modifies the right word. Consider the lack of clarity in this sentence: "Jane ate the ice cream in her pajamas." The current placement of the prepositional phrase “in her pajamas” and the choice of the preposition “in” creates ambiguity. It’s unclear whether Jane was wearing pajamas as she ate ice cream or discovered ice cream in her pajamas and ate it. This sentence is clearer if you move the prepositional phrase (“In her pajamas, Jane at the ice cream.”) or rewrite the sentence to be more precise ("Jane at the ice cream while wearing her pajamas.”).
3. 3. Watch out for subject-verb agreement. Prepositional phrases can make writers forget the true subject of their sentences, which leads to improper verb conjugations. For instance, the statement "A flock of seagulls are landing on the beach" is grammatically incorrect. The subject of that clause is "flock" and not "seagulls." Therefore, the clause should read: "A flock of seagulls is landing on the beach." To use prepositions correctly, review the subject-verb agreement in your sentences.

While prepositions add useful information, too many can make a sentence long and awkward. Here are tips for eliminating unnecessary prepositions in your writing:

• Convert passive voice to active voice. You can often eliminate wordiness by moving the central noun to the start of the sentence and following it with a strong action verb. Consolidate elsewhere, too, if possible. Consider this passive sentence: “The signposts across the street were painted by one of the construction company employees.” Now consider the same information in active voice: “A construction company employee painted the signposts across the street.” Rephrasing eliminated four words and made the sentence more efficient.
• Consolidate information. Look for an excessive number of prepositions in your sentence, then determine whether you need all of them to communicate your message. Consider this sentence: “Remember to speak with enthusiasm when calling on potential customers with a sales pitch about a new product.” A more streamlined version might be: “Speak enthusiastically when pitching a new product to potential customers.” Consolidating the information eliminated eight words.
• Replace prepositional phrases with adverbs or possessives. You can often substitute a single word for an entire prepositional phrase without changing the meaning of a sentence. For example, the phrase “remember to speak with enthusiasm” becomes “speak enthusiastically” when you rephrase using the adverb “enthusiastically.” Consider another sentence: “The ice skates that belong to Edwin are missing.” You can eliminate the prepositional phrase “that belong to Edwin” by making the name possessive: “Edwin’s ice skates are missing.”

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