What Are Prepositions and What Good Are They? That is probably what you have been thinking while you have been practicing the preposition list from “0004 Preposition Practice Prior to the Presentation.” If you have already viewed or downloaded the document Prepositions Perk up Presentations: the Word List and the What, then much of the following will sound familiar to you—but not all of it.
A preposition is a word that begins a prepositional phrase, which then ends with a noun or pronoun, also called the object of the preposition. The whole prepositional phrase functions as an adjective or adverb in a sentence.
That’s a mouthful, and this definition contains terms with which you might be unfamiliar. Do not worry about that. If you subscribe to and watch the English with Mrs. English YouTube channel and sign up for my email newsletters to get notified as new blogs are posted, then you will get the information you need for it all to make sense.
What? I hear some of you saying, “Wait! Go back to the definition. It says a WORD that begins a prepositional phrase. On the list in “Preposition Practice…,” you gave us some groups of words.
Good observation. I did. However, each group of words functions as one word—one preposition. Think about the word hot dog. Technically, there is a space between hot and dog, but together they function as one word to refer to the meat served on a bun at ball parks.
Just “think” that a preposition is one word, even though it sometimes looks like it is more than one word. Otherwise, the definition would have to be longer and more complicated. None of us wants that, do we?
Now, you need to make sure you understand something very important. A preposition always has a noun or pronoun that is the object of the preposition. Here are some examples with nouns:
- above the chair
- behind the tree
- during the performance
- on the floor
- outside the house
- through the woods
- under the table
- with ice cream
- within the walls
Understanding this is important for two reasons.
First, in a sentence, the whole prepositional phrase—as a group—is performing one job or function in the sentence. All of the pieces of the phrase—the preposition, its object, and all of the words in between—need to be gathered together. Then you will be able to determine what job the prepositional phrase is doing in the sentence.
The second reason is one that newbies to English grammar do not like. Some of the words on the preposition list can function as other parts of speech in a sentence. Accordingly, the word you think is a preposition in a sentence may actually be performing a different function in the sentence. Therefore, look to see if it has an object. If it has an object, like the examples above, then it is being a preposition in the sentence.
What other jobs can these words perform? Right now, it does not matter. This bite is about prepositions. Concentrate on recognizing which words are prepositions and finding the noun or pronoun that is the object of the preposition.
Review 0004 Preposition Practice Prior to the Presentation and the document” Prepositions Perk up Presentations: the Word List and the What.“
We will get to the other stuff later. There are a lot more questions that you will eventually want answered. In fact, if you have a history of studying English, you may be wondering why this grammar series is starting with prepositions. That question will be answered in the next blog and video!
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Be sure to sign up for my email newsletter, so you can remain up-to-date with the latest blog entries and worksheets. I suggest you watch the related video below and subscribe to my YouTube channel. I will see you soon in “0006 Why Start with Prepositions?“
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