Learning about prepositions

English Grammar 101 - Prepositions, Lesson 1: Prepositions and Prepositional Phrases

Definition:: A preposition is a word that shows the relationship between a word in the sentence and the word that is the object of the preposition.

You have just finished the Modifiers Module. You learned that adjectives tell which one, what kind, how much, and how many about a noun or pronoun. You learned that adverbs tell where, when, how, and to what extent about verbs, adjectives, and adverbs.

Sometimes the answers to those questions take more than one word. Often those phrases are prepositional phrases.

Which one: The flower in the vase is a peony.
What kind: The umbrella with the polka-dots is Mary Anne's.
Where: We will be going to the movies.
When: My lunch period is after science.
How: You are walking on your tiptoes.

Definition:: A phrase is a group of words working together that does not have both a subject and a verb. Phrases usually act as a single part of speech. (We will get to that part later.)

Prepositions can never be alone, so it makes sense to learn about prepositions in their phrases. Any lone preposition is actually an adverb.

A preposition is a word that shows the relationship between a word in the sentence and the word that is the object of the preposition.

In the previous examples:

In shows the relationship between the flower and the vase.
With shows the relationship between the umbrella and the polka-dots.
To shows the relationship between where we are going and the movies.
After shows the relationship between our lunch and science class.
On shows the relationship between how we are walking and our tiptoes.

Definition:: The object of the preposition is the noun following the preposition that the preposition is relating to something in the sentence.

In the previous examples, the objects are vase, polka-dots, movies, science class, and tiptoes.

Hint:: To find the object of the preposition ask "What?" after the preposition.
The flower in the vase is a peony.

You found in - ask "In what?" Answer - vase. Try it with the other examples.

Definition:: A prepositional phrase is the preposition, the object of the preposition, and all the modifiers between the two.

in (preposition) the vase (object)
with (preposition) the polka-dots (object)
to (preposition) the movies (object)
after (preposition) science class (object)
on (preposition) your tiptoes (object)

Some teachers have their students memorize a list of common prepositions. That can be confusing because sometimes those same words act as adverbs. It is better to understand how they show a relationship.

Some Common Prepositions
Prepositions of time:	after, around, at, before, between, during, from, on, until, at, in, from, since, for, during, within
Prepositions of place:	above, across, against, along, among, around, at, behind, below, beneath, beside, between, beyond, by, down, in, inside, into, near, off, on, opposite, out, over, past, through, to, toward, under, underneath
Prepositions of direction/movement:	at, for, on, to, in, into, onto, between
Prepositions of manner:	by, on, in, like, with
Other types of prepositions:	by, with , of, for, by, like, as

Do you need to know what categories they fit into? Not really. It's just a way to sort them. Remembering time, place, direction, and manner might help you remember what prepositions do.

Hint:: The word to is often a preposition, but it is just as often part of an infinitive verb. If the word after to is a verb, to is not a preposition.
Preposition: I want to go to Florida for vacation.
Infinitive Verb: I want to go to Florida for vacation.

Hint:: Think of prepositions as arrows.
→ to, at, for...
← from, next to...
↔ with, between...
↑ above, on...
↓ in, inside, under, below...

Hint:: One of the best ways to understand prepositional phrases is to learn how to diagram sentences.

Practice What You've Learned

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Part 1

Directions:: Click on the prepositions in each sentence.

1.: The cherries in that bowl are from the trees in my grandmother's garden.
2.: My sister painted sheep on the walls of her bedroom.
3.: Those mounds on the ground are home to meerkats.
4.: Thomas and his family spend their vacations at the cabin in the woods near the lake.
5.: The third car on the racetrack belongs to the cousin of my neighbor.
6.: You should put the textbooks on the desks in the cabinet in the back of the room.
7.: I would rather have the jeans with the dark blue wash than the jeans with the stone wash.
8.: The cookies at the back of the tray were made from the fresh eggs laid by your chickens.
9.: My cousins from Chicago are arriving at the airport in three hours.
10.: The cars driving in the street outside my bedroom window keep me awake.

Part 2

Directions:: Mark the prepositional phrases in each sentence by clicking each preposition and then the object of the preposition.

11.: We climbed into the cave and down the passageway to find the secret treasure.
12.: The boxes along the wall in the hallway go in your room.
13.: The suitcases with our things were taken to our rooms by a porter.
14.: Is there any film in your camera or is it in the camera bag?
15.: The box with my colored pens in it was left in your desk.
16.: The pitcher for the lemonade is in the dishwasher.
17.: Before the movie, we watched previews for new movies.
18.: The tower with the princess in it was in the forest.
19.: My backpack was beside your desk but is now under Jessie's desk.
20.: The battery in my phone is dead because I forgot to plug it into the charger.

Teacher's Corner: Prepositions | American English

This week’s Teacher’s Corner introduces two activities during which students practice the prepositions in, at, and on. In these activities, students must act quickly to identify appropriate times to use the common prepositions in, at, and on. In Activity One, students will compete to physically swat the correct prepositions and use them correctly in sentences with times, days, and months of the year. In Activity Two, students ask and answer questions using prepositions in a moving circle. These activities require that students are already familiar with using these three prepositions to discuss time.

Level

Intermediate and above

Language Focus

Listening, speaking, and reading

Goals

During the activities, students will:

Listen to information and determine which preposition to use: in, at, or on
Form oral questions and statements using the prepositions in, at, and on

Materials

Chalkboard or whiteboard with chalk or markers
Two fly swatters or sturdy pointers
Index cards
Container to hold the index cards such as a hat, box, or empty coffee can

Preparation

Prepare the index cards with the following (one per card):
- Days of the week
- Specific dates, such as June 26th, January 1st, etc.
- Months of the year
- Years, such as 1982, 2012, 2001, etc.
- Times of day or night, such as 12:00pm, 7:30am, 10:45pm, etc.
- Time phrases: ___ the morning, ___ the afternoon, ___ the evening, ___ night

Note: Each card will be used for one turn in the game, so be sure you make enough cards for your whole class to participate.

Fold the cards, mix them up, and place them in the container.
Review when to use each of the prepositions with your students, if needed.

Activity One: Swat it

Tell students they will play a game to review the prepositions in, at, and on. Divide the class into two equal teams.
In the middle of the board, write the prepositions in, at, and on in a column. Leave a bit of space vertically between each of the words.
Say, “In this container there are cards with days, months, dates, years, or times on them. To play the game, each team will send one member at a time to the board. Each person at the board will get a fly swatter/pointer to use. I will pull out a card and read what it says. The goal is for you to decide which preposition goes along with what I have said, and be the first person to hit the preposition you think is correct with your swatter/pointer. I will decide who hit the preposition first, and that person must then form a sentence correctly using the words on the card and the preposition. If you choose the correct preposition and use it correctly in a sentence, you will earn a point for your team.”
Choose a student to help you model the procedure at the board. Ask another student to choose a card from the container and read it aloud.
Explain to students that if they choose the wrong preposition, a player from the other team will have a chance to make a sentence to earn a point for their team. If the player on the other team also does not create a correct sentence, the card will be placed back into the container. After both teams have attempted to answer, the students at the board sit down and a new player from each team comes up.
This game can be played until all the cards have been used, or until all students have had a chance to participate.

Activity Two: Inside outside circle

Split the class in half. (If you have a very large class, you may wish to model the procedure beforehand and use four groups for the activity. )
Have one half of the class form a circle with everyone facing out. This is the inside circle. Give each one of these students one of the cards containing a date, time, month, etc.
Have the second half of the class form another circle around the inside circle, with everyone facing in. This is the outside circle.
Tell students, “Those of you in the inside circle have a card with a time, date, day of the week, or something similar on it. You are also facing one person. Your task is to ask the person facing you a question using the time on your card and the appropriate preposition.”
Provide some examples, such as:

Can you come to my house on Wednesday?
Are you going to travel in June?
Did you eat breakfast at 7:30?

Say, “Those of you in the outside circle must answer the question you are asked. You must include the time and the preposition.” Give examples, such as:

Yes, I can come to your house on Wednesday.
No, I am not going to travel in June. I am going to travel in July.
I did not eat breakfast at 7:30. I ate breakfast at 6:30.

Tell students they will have thirty seconds to complete the task (asking and answering questions) before the inside circle moves. After thirty seconds, the inside circle should shift one person to the right so that everyone has a new partner. The outside circle does not move.
When everyone has a new partner, students in the inside circle should ask their new partner a question using what is written on their card and the appropriate preposition. New partners should answer and then the inside circle shifts again.
Once everyone in the inside circle has had a chance to speak to all of the students in the outside circle, the roles should change. Collect cards from the inside circle. Distribute new cards to the outside circle and inform those students that they will now ask the questions and the inside circle will provide answers. The procedures for moving should remain the same.

During this activity, partners can provide feedback and corrections about how to use the prepositions if necessary. The circle can be repeated multiple times using different cards.

Format: Text

This week’s Teacher’s Corner presents two activities using the prepositions for, while, during, and since. In these activities, students practice correctly using the prepositions for, while, during, and since to talk about time. In Activity One, students complete sentence frames to write about events using the prepositions. In Activity Two, students listen to sentences that are missing prepositions and move around the room to indicate the correct preposition to complete the sentence. Students should have some knowledge of how these prepositions are used before participating in these activities.