Prepositional Phrases

Prepositional phrases show relationships between things, adding detail about time, place, cause, manner, and more. They consist of a preposition plus its object, and they function as modifiers.

Key Prepositions

Key prepositions include short, common words like in, on, at, by, for, with, about, and from. Each one signals a particular type of relationship.

Preposition	Usage
in	time periods, enclosed spaces
on	dates, surfaces
at	specific times, places, events
by	agent, deadline, means
for	purpose, beneficiary, duration
with	accompaniment, instrument
about	topic
from	origin, starting point

English Example	English Translation
🌳 The cat is on the tree branch.	The cat is on the tree branch.
🐦 The bird flew over the garden.	The bird flew over the garden.
🌼 The dog is lying among the flowers.	The dog is lying among the flowers.
🚪 The child hid behind the garden shed.	The child hid behind the garden shed.
🌞 The bench is under the glowing sun.	The bench is under the glowing sun.
🌷 She walked toward the row of tulips.	She walked toward the row of tulips.
🐇 The rabbit hopped across the lawn.	The rabbit hopped across the lawn.
🌿 Seeds fell between the two trees.	Seeds fell between the two trees.

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Prepositional Phrases

A prepositional phrase adds detail by attaching to a noun, verb, or sentence. It consists of a preposition followed by its object, which can be a noun, pronoun, or phrase.

Usage

Prepositional phrases can express time, place, cause, manner, and more. They help make descriptions precise and vivid by situating actions and things within context.

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Placement

Prepositional phrases usually come after the noun they modify or at the end of the clause. Moving them can change emphasis, so place them near the word they relate to for clarity.

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Examples

English Example	English Translation
🌱 After the rain, the garden smelled fresh.	After the rain, the garden smelled fresh.
🧺 She set the basket on the checkered blanket.	She set the basket on the checkered blanket.
🌬️ During the breeze, leaves danced lightly.	During the breeze, leaves danced lightly.
🔦 He looked under the lantern’s glow.	He looked under the lantern’s glow.

Common Prepositional Phrases

Common prepositional phrases are fixed expressions used frequently in speech and writing. Learning them as chunks helps you sound natural and fluent.

Prepositional Phrase	Meaning
in time	early enough
on purpose	deliberately
at once	immediately
by mistake	accidentally
for good	permanently
with care	carefully
about to	nearly ready to
from now on	starting now

English Example	English Translation
☀️ In the morning, the garden sparkled.	In the morning, the garden sparkled.
🌇 At sunset, colors deepened in the sky.	At sunset, colors deepened in the sky.
🌧️ During the shower, flowers closed their petals.	During the shower, flowers closed their petals.
🌙 At night, fireflies lit the paths.	At night, fireflies lit the paths.
🧭 Beyond the fence, the wild meadow stretched.	Beyond the fence, the wild meadow stretched.
🐦 Above the treetops, birds sang melodies.	Above the treetops, birds sang melodies.
🐛 Near the roots, insects busily crawled.	Near the roots, insects busily crawled.
🗑️ Behind the hedge, the wind whispered secrets.	Behind the hedge, the wind whispered secrets.

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Summary

Prepositional phrases add essential detail about time, place, cause, and manner. Learn key prepositions and common set phrases to describe situations clearly and naturally.

Last updated: Sun Sep 14, 2025