Prepositional Phrase

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What Is a Prepositional Phrase?

A prepositional phrase is a phrase that includes:

• a preposition
• the object of the preposition
• any modifiers

Here is an example of a prepositional phrase (shaded):

• The witch sat on her broom.
("On her broom" is a prepositional phrase. "On" is the preposition, "broom" is the object of the preposition, and "her" is a modifier.)

More Examples of Prepositional Phrases

In each example, the prepositional phrase is shaded and the preposition is bold.

• A singer with passion
• A town near London
• Keep in time.
• He acts without thinking.

Video Lesson

Here is a 9-minute video summarizing this lesson on prepositional phrases.

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Harder Examples of Prepositional Phrases

It is a little bit more complicated than shown above because the noun can be anything that plays the role of a noun. For example:

• It's a present from her.
(Remember that the "noun" can be a pronoun.)
• She stole it from the man across the street.
(Here, the noun is a noun phrase.)
• It's obvious from what he said.
(Here, the noun is a noun clause.)

The noun that follows the preposition (i.e., everything that's shaded but not bolded in the examples) is called the object of a preposition. There will often be modifiers in the object of the preposition making it a noun phrase. For example:

• I sat with Simba.
(There are no modifiers in this example.)
• I sat with the wonderful Simba.
(With the modifiers "the" and "wonderful," the object of the preposition is now a noun phrase.)

Here is another example:

• He beat Lee without trying.
(There are no modifiers in this example. The object of the preposition is a noun. In this case, it's a gerund.)
• He beat Lee without overly trying.
(With the modifier "overly," the object of the preposition is a noun phrase.)

The Function of Prepositional Phrases

Prepositional phrases function as either adjectives modifying nouns or adverbs modifying verbs. For example:

Prepositional phrases functioning as adjectives that modify nouns:

• Do you mean that boy in the corner?
• I know the policeman with the radio.
(In these two examples, the prepositional phrases are functioning as adjectives. They are modifying nouns ("that boy" and "the policeman"). As they are multi-word adjectives, these prepositional phrases are a type of adjectival phrase.)

Prepositional phrases functioning as adverbs that modify verbs:

• I live near the stadium.
• She speaks with notable enthusiasm.
(In these two examples, the prepositional phrases are functioning as adverbs. They are modifying verbs ("live" and "speaks"). As they are multi-word adverbs, these prepositional phrases are a type of adverbial phrase).

Prepositional Phrases As Adjectives

Here are some more prepositional phrases functioning as adjectives:

• Please buy the scarf with dots.
(The prepositional phrase describes the noun "scarf." We could have written "dotted scarf," which proves that "with dots" is functioning as an adjective.)
• The man on the radio has a boring voice.
(The prepositional phrase describes the noun "man.")
• Give me one of the brown ones.
(The prepositional phrase describes the pronoun "one.")

Prepositional Phrases As Adverbs

Here are some more prepositional phrases functioning as adverbs:

• Lee raised his small mackerel with utmost pride.
(The prepositional phrase modifies the verb "raised." It is an adverb of manner; i.e., it tells us how he raised it. We could have written "proudly raised," which proves that "with utmost pride" is functioning as an adverb.)
• Before the war, Chris played football for Barnstoneworth United.
(The prepositional phrase modifies the verb "played." It is an adverb of time; i.e., it tells us when he played.)
• Dawn is tired from the hike.
(The prepositional phrase modifies the verb "is." It is an adverb of reason; i.e., it tells us why she is tired.)
• Lee lives in that fridge.
(The prepositional phrase modifies the verb "lives." It is an adverb of place; i.e., it tells us where he lives.)

Real-Life Examples of Prepositional Phrases

In these real-life examples, the prepositional phrases are functioning as adjectives:

• The best defence against the atom bomb is not to be there when it goes off. (The 1949 British Army Journal)
• In 1938, Time Magazine chose Adolf Hitler for man of the year.
• Red sky at night, shepherds' delight. Blue sky at night, day.

These prepositional phrases are functioning as adverbs:

• I used to work in a fire-hydrant factory. You couldn't park near the place. (Comedian Steven Wright)
• Never ruin an apology with an excuse. (American Founding Father Benjamin Franklin)
• This is not a novel to be tossed aside lightly. It should be thrown with great force. (Satirist Dorothy Parker)

In the example below, the first prepositional phrase functions as an adjective while the second functions as an adverb:

• A mathematical formula for happiness: reality divided by expectations. There were two ways to be happy: improve your reality or lower your expectations. (Author Jodi Picoult)

It can get quite complicated. For example:

• A raisin dropped in a glass of fresh champagne will bounce up and down continuously from the bottom of the glass to the top.
(Here, "in a glass of fresh champagne" is a prepositional phrase functioning as an adverb that includes a prepositional phrase ("of fresh champagne") functioning as an adjective. Similarly, "from the bottom of the glass to the top" is functioning as an adverb and also includes a prepositional phrase ("of the glass") functioning as an adjective.)

Why Prepositional Phrases Are Important

There are three good reasons to care about prepositional phrases.

(Reason 1) Don't treat a prepositional phrase as the subject of your verb.

Be careful when a prepositional phrase precedes a verb.

• A box of knives were found at the scene.
(Here, the subject is not "knives." It is "box." Therefore, the verb should be singular and not plural. This should read "A box of knives was found at the scene.")
• A combination of factors were the cause of the crash.
("Combination" is singular. The subject is not "factors.")
• Bernard Shaw hasn't an enemy in the world, and none of his friends like him. (Playwright Oscar Wilde)
(Marking this wrong is a little harsh, but try to treat "none" as singular (if for no other reason than many of your grammar-savvy readers will want it to be singular). Therefore, "none of his friends likes him" is a bit sharper.)

Remember. Don't treat the noun in your prepositional phrase (here, "knives," "factors," and "friends") as the subject of your verb.

(Reason 2) The noun in a prepositional phrase influences the verb with an expression like "most of," "some of," "half of," "majority of" and "99 percent of."

Be aware that the noun in your prepositional phrase can influence the verb when the subject is an indefinite pronoun (i.e., a word like "all," "any," "more," "most," and "some"), which can be singular or plural depending on context.

• Most of the cake has been eaten.
(The noun in the prepositional phrase ("cake") is singular. Therefore, "most" is treated as singular.)
• Most of the cakes have been eaten.
(The noun in the prepositional phrase ("cakes") is plural. Therefore, "most" is treated as plural.)
• Some of the worst mistakes of my life have been haircuts. (Singer Jim Morrison)
(The main noun in the prepositional phrase ("mistakes") is plural. Therefore, "some" is treated as plural. Note that "of my life" is just a prepositional phrase functioning as an adjective modifying "mistakes." The prepositional phrase "of the worst mistakes" is the one modifying "some," which is the subject of our verb ("have"). Yeah, it can get complicated.)

When modified by a prepositional phrase, an indefinite pronoun (e.g., "most," "some," "all") copies the number of the noun in the prepositional phrase.

Got that? Now, here's your two-for-one bonus. This ruling also applies to common terms like "half of," "the majority of" and "a percentage of," which can also be singular or plural. Such expressions are singular when they refer to something singular but plural when they refer to something plural. For example:

• Democracy is the recurrent suspicion that more than half of the people are right more than half the time. (Writer Elwyn Brooks White)
("Half" is plural because "people" is plural.)
• Half of the world knows not how the other half lives. (Poet George Herbert)
("Half" is singular because "world" is singular.)
• Ninety percent of the politicians give the other ten percent a bad reputation. (US politician Henry Kissinger)
("Ninety percent" is plural because "politicians" is plural.)
• My guess is that well over eighty percent of the human race goes without having a single original thought. (Satirist HL Mencken)
("Eighty percent" is singular because "human race" is singular.)

(Reason 3) Avoid ambiguity when placing your prepositional phrase.

• One morning, I shot an elephant in my pyjamas. How he got into my pyjamas I'll never know. (Comedian Groucho Marx)

This well-cited joke by Groucho Marx plays on the fact that prepositional phrases can be ambiguous. Groucho knew we'd assume "in my pyjamas" was an adverb modifying "shot." His punchline, however, tells us that it was actually an adjective modifying "elephant."

Ambiguity with prepositional phrases can be a real issue. Look at this example:

• Joe fed the shark in the cage.
(Does the prepositional phrase tell us where Joe was when he fed the shark, or does it tell us which shark Joe fed? In other words, is "in the cage" functioning as an adverb modifying "fed" or an adjective modifying "shark? If you read it as an adverb (i.e., telling us where Joe was), you might assume there was just one shark. If you read it as an adjective (i.e., "the shark that was in the cage"), you would assume there were other sharks.)

You can usually eliminate ambiguity by rewording your sentence. (Oh, and don't be surprised if your rewording hacks your original sentence to shreds.)

• Joe was in the cage when he fed the shark.
• Joe fed the shark that was in the cage.

Often, context means there is no genuine ambiguity.

• Never ruin an apology with an excuse. (Benjamin Franklin)
(This is clearly telling you how not to ruin an apology as opposed to telling what type of apology not to ruin (i.e., the prepositional phrase is functioning as an adverb not an adjective.)
• Joe hit the burglar with a hammer.
(So, who had the hammer? Often, a standalone sentence will be ambiguous (as this example is), but if the surrounding context eliminates the ambiguity, you will get away with not rewording your sentence.)

The ambiguous examples so far have involved uncertainty over whether the prepositional phrase is functioning as an adverb or an adjective. Be aware that ambiguity (often humorous ambiguity) also occurs when it's unclear what a prepositional phrase is modifying.

• We will not sell paraffin to anyone in glass bottles.
(What? There are people who live in glass bottles?)
• Simon and his mother were reunited after 52 years in McDonald's.
(What? They spent 52 years in McDonald's?)

When you use a prepositional phrase, do a quick check to see whether it could potentially be modifying something else in your sentence. Try to bear in mind that even though it's clear to you what it's meant to be modifying, it might not be clear to your readers.

If your prepositional phrase is ambiguous, move it next to (usually immediately to the right of) whatever it's meant to be modifying. That usually does the trick. If that makes your sentence too unwieldy, reword your sentence.

These examples have been fixed by moving the prepositional phrase:

• We will not sell paraffin in glass bottles to anyone.
• Simon and his mother were reunited in McDonald's after 52 years.

Let's try that with the example "Joe hit the burglar with a hammer":

• Joe hit with a hammer the burglar.
(This is too unwieldy. We need to reword it. "Joe used a hammer to hit the burglar" is an option.)

Key Points

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