Preposition And Prepositional Phrases (SS1 English Language)

Preposition is the word that comes before a noun or a pronoun, to indicate a relationship between other words which could be people, places or things.  Examples of prepositions are below:

• by
• Out
• From
• Among
• Except
• In
• With
• Down
• About
• behind
• On
• Into
• Unto
• Above
• Despite
• To
• Over
• Till
• Beside
• beneath
• Of
• Next
• Under
• Inside
• Towards
• At
• Near
• Until
• Across
• Between
• Off
• Past
• Below
• Before
• Opposite

Let us try to form basic sentences with the prepositions above:

1. Seun is at the party.
2. The baby fell off the staircase this morning.
3. The book is behind the chair.
4. The turtle dove walked towards the river
5. Mr Uche taught about the respiratory system last week.
6. Ola parked across the zebra crossing.
7. My movement is between church and office.
8. I was at the cinema with my siblings on Sunday.
9. Mr Suleiman’s table is next to mine
10. I will not sleep until I am done with my assignment.

Let us Infer using the examples above

• In most cases, prepositions are followed by a noun (phrase) or pronoun.
• We can conclude by saying prepositions are ‘word linkers’ or ‘connectors’.
• We can also refer to prepositions as indicators of space or time relationship.
• So as not to forget the role of prepositions, always remember ‘position’.

What are the Categories of Prepositions?

The categorisation is done based on the word usage or function.

• Prepositions According to Function

1. Preposition of direction: It is used to indicate movement. Examples are across, among, around, etc
2. Preposition of time: indicates when an event occurs. Examples are in, at, on, etc.
3. Preposition of place: It indicates the final location of a particular object. Examples are beside, behind, above, under, etc.

• Preposition According to Structure

1. Simple prepositions: These are very common prepositions. They are formed from two-syllables such as of, out, under, since, on, in, of, down, via, etc.
2. Double preposition: These are prepositions with two-word formations such as; from behind, despite, up to, due to, etc.
3. Compound prepositions: These are formed by prefixing such as besides, inside, above, within, towards, before, etc.
4. Participial prepositions: Involves using present participle as prepositions, such as pending, during, notwithstanding, including, touching, following, respecting, etc.
5. Phrase prepositions: Deals with the use of a group of words as prepositions, such as, according to, in order to, in fear of, in case of, in exchange for, in harmony with, in place of, etc.

Let’s move further to prepositional phrases.

What is a Prepositional Phrase?

It is important to remind you that a phrase is a group of words that cannot form a complete unit of thought.

A prepositional phrase is a group of words that contains a preposition, object and the object’s modifiers. Also, the preposition comes at the beginning and ends with a noun phrase which is called object or complement.

To conclude that we have a prepositional phrase, the language structure must be in place: Preposition (on, among, of, over, despite, till, etc.)+ object (a noun/pronoun) + Object modifiers (an article/+ an adjective). Examples:

1. before the church.
2. on the chair.
3. in the living room
4. about the meeting
5. around the building

The important role of a prepositional phrase is to determine:

1. Where something happened.
2. When it happened.
3. To define a person/thing.

A preposition is the head word in a prepositional phrase. Prepositional phrases add meaning to sentences and function adverbially, adjectivally or nominally.

Functions of Prepositional Phrase

The prepositional phrase has many grammatical names, depending on its function. Below are some of the grammatical functions of prepositional phrases and their function in the sentence:

• As an Adjective

1. The girl with the black scandal is my sister (modifying ‘my sister’)
2. Tola came with the new dog (modifying Tola)
3. The girl in my school sings well (modifying ‘the girl’)
4. Mr Femi showed the picture of his new bride (modifying ‘bride’)

• As a Complement

It can either be a subject, object, adjective, noun or verb complement.

1. They look on to Jesus (complement of the verb ‘look’).
2. He agrees with what they say (complement of the verb ‘agree’)
3. They are good to us. (complement of the adjective ‘good’)
4. Mr Gambo’s car is at the mechanic’s workshop (complement of the noun ‘mechanic workshop’)

• As an Adjunct/Adverbial Phrase

1. Mr Ojo saw the thief in the living room (Adverbial phrase of place modifying the verb saw)
2. At a later date, the Governor met the victim of the blast (Adverbial phrase of time modifying the verb met)
3. Governor Seyi Makinde spoke with great passion (Adverbial phrase of manner modifying the verb spoke)
4. I work late on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays (Adverbial phrase of time modifying the verb late)

Usually, a prepositional phrase functions as an adjective or an adverb and when this occurs, we refer to such as a modifier. It can modify a noun/pronoun, or verb.

Takeaway Point: In the past, it was grammatically wrong to end a sentence with a preposition but now it is acceptable.

Exercise: Take five minutes to form sentences, identify the prepositions, and state the function of the prepositional phrase, if any.

Read here, SS1 English Language Scheme of Work for 2nd Term.