Lesson 1: The Prepositional Phrase

Definition

A phrase is a group of related words that is used as a single part of speech and that does not contain both a verb and its subject.

Explanation

Think of a phrase as a word team! It’s a group of words that work together to act like a single part of speech, such as a noun or an adverb. The most important rule to remember is that a phrase is never a complete sentence because it's missing a subject-verb pair.

Examples

• Verb Phrase: should have been studying [This phrase acts as the verb but has no subject.]
• Prepositional Phrase: behind the curtain [This phrase has no subject or verb.]
• Infinitive Phrase: to finish the race [This phrase has no subject or verb.]

Definition

A prepositional phrase includes a preposition, the object of the preposition, and any modifiers of that object.

Explanation

This type of phrase always kicks off with a preposition (like in, on, of, or through) and ends with a noun or pronoun called the object. Any words sandwiched between them are just modifiers describing that object. This whole phrase gives information about another word, often showing a relationship of time, location, or direction.

Examples

• During the long, cold winter. [The preposition is During, and its object is winter. The words the, long, cold are modifiers.]
• The team celebrated their victory after the championship game. [The preposition is after, and its object is game. The entire phrase describes when they celebrated.]
• We found the lost keys under the kitchen table. [The preposition is under, and its object is table. The entire phrase describes where the keys were found.]

Definition

A prepositional phrase that modifies a noun or a pronoun is called an adjective phrase. A prepositional phrase that modifies a verb, an adjective, or an adverb is called an adverb phrase.

Explanation

Whether a prepositional phrase is an adjective phrase or an adverb phrase depends entirely on the word it modifies. Adjective phrases answer Which one? or What kind? about a noun. Adverb phrases answer How? When? Where? or Why? about a verb, adjective, or another adverb.

Examples

Adjective Phrases

• The girl with the red backpack is my sister. [The phrase modifies the noun girl, telling us which one.]
• I read a book about a famous explorer. [The phrase modifies the noun book, telling us what kind.]

Adverb Phrases

• The athlete ran with great speed. [The phrase modifies the verb ran, telling how she ran.]
• Tired from the long hike, we went to bed early. [The phrase modifies the adjective Tired, telling why we were tired.]