Prepositions

A preposition is a word that relates a noun or a pronoun to another word in the sentence. Prepositions help to indicate location (physical, time, etc.).  

For example:

The puppy sat on my lap.

“On” would be the preposition, since it tells you where the puppy was sitting.

At midnight, Noah craved a glass of orange juice.

At midnight indicates a location in time, therefore “at” is the preposition.

Prepositions are always found at the beginning of prepositional phrases. A prepositional phrase is a group of words that start with a preposition and end with a noun or pronoun. The noun or pronoun at the end of the prepositional phrase is called the object of the preposition.

Prepositional phrases often look like this:

Preposition + modifiers (optional) + noun, pronoun, or gerund.

Here are some examples:

According to them...

According to = preposition; them = pronoun

Under the bed...

Under = preposition; the = modifier; bed = noun

In the fluffy, soft sheets...

In = preposition; the, fluffy, soft = modifiers; sheets = noun

Here is a list of frequently used prepositions: