English Grammar Understanding the Basics - Evelyn P. Altenberg, Robert M. Vago 2010
Lesson 17: Identifying prepositions
Unit 5: Prepositions
Part I: Kinds of words
What is a preposition? The prepositions are underlined in the following sentences.
1. She made notes on the paper.
2. My office is between the post office and the laundromat.
3. I’ll meet you after work.
Quick tip 17.1
Prepositions are words, usually small, that typically indicate information about direction, location, or time. There is only a small number of prepositions in English. Some commonly used examples are at, from, in, on, and to.
The following are common prepositions:
Quick tip 17.2
If you can put a word in one of the empty slots in one of the following sentences, the word is a preposition: I walked ... the table. It happened ... that time.
This tip will help you identify many, though not all, prepositions.
Test yourself 17.1
Underline the prepositions in the sentences below. There may be more than one. Use the Quick tips and the list of prepositions to help you.
Sample: My friends are going with me.
Getting started (answers on p. 68)
1. Let’s go into the dining room.
2. It was the dumbest thing he did in his entire life.
3. Felice was having dinner on the patio.
4. She ran to the candy store.
5. I looked for you during the intermission.
More practice (answers on the website)
6. We were flying over Europe.
7. Lenore looked beneath the rock.
8. She found the pot of gold.
9. Is it over the rainbow?
10. He appeared at the right place at the right time.
Test yourself 17.2
Underline the prepositions with a solid line and the nouns with a squiggly line in each of the sentences below.
Getting started (answers on p. 68)
1. A uniformed guard stood near the massive entryway.
2. She leaned out the window and waved to the large crowd.
3. The older woman from Chicago had already left.
4. She staggered into the store.
5. Carissa sat at the computer in a large room.
More practice (answers on the website)
6. Are you going to the prom with Stan?
7. Mike always gives a nice present to his wife on her birthday.
8. Please don’t ask how my day at the office was!
9. I couldn’t open the door of my car without my key.
10. Let’s meet at or near midnight.
To enhance your understanding
Don’t confuse the two types of to:
4. I want to go home. (infinitive: to + verb)
5. I went to Chicago. (preposition: to + noun)
Test yourself 17.3
Underline the prepositions with a solid line, the verbs with a double underline, and the adjectives with a squiggly line in the sentences below.
Getting started (answers on p. 68)
1. Jean walked around the grounds of the magnificent estate.
2. His friend pounded him on the back.
3. The puppy gazed at him expectantly.
4. The loud music in that store bothered Jamie.
5. He has hot coffee before class.
More practice (answers on the website)
6. Jose buys fresh bread for his family every week.
7. Do you want tickets to the new play?
8. The young bride’s mother seemed happy among her friends.
9. The tireless teenager ran across the park with his new running shoes.
10. I placed some small apples near the sink.
To further enhance your understanding
Take a look at the following sentences.
6. I’m standing in front of my house.
7. That man was ahead of her.
8. Please get out of his way.
Each of these sentences contains a multiword preposition, that is, a preposition consisting of more than one word. Below is a list of common multiword prepositions, commonly called compound or phrasal prepositions.
For more about prepositions, see Lesson 29.