C1 - Grammar - Prepositional Phrases

PREPOSITIONAL PHRASES

GRAMMAR

START

Video

Let's watch a video to learn more about Prepositional Phrases.

Remember to take notes. For better quality of the video turn off the music in the background.

Your idiom for today

behind the scenes

Your idiom for today

be (caught) between a rock and a hard place

Your idiom for today

out of the blue

LET'S CHECK WHAT YOU REMEMBER

What is a preposition? Can you give a few examples of short and long prepositions, and prepositions made up of more than one word?

LET'S CHECK WHAT YOU REMEMBER

What is a prepositional phrase?

LET'S CHECK WHAT YOU REMEMBER

What is a modifier?

LET'S CHECK WHAT YOU REMEMBER

What is an object?

Types of Prepositions

Prepositions of time are prepositions which are used to indicate a relationship of something with time.

Examples; after, at, before, by, during, for, in, since, until/till

Types of Prepositions

Prepositions of place are ones that tell where one thing is in the space in relation to another.

Examples: above, across, around, at, behind, below,by, in, inside, near, out, on

Types of Prepositions

Prepositions of direction give us a sense of place or location.

Examples: away from, down, from, into, off, onto, over, past, through

Types of Prepositions

Prepositions which don't fit neatly into the category of time, place or direction.

Examples: against, along with, because of, by, despite, due to, except for, for, inspite of, of, with

What is the difference between adjective prepositional phrase and adverb prepositional phrase?

How to identify types of prepositional phrases and sentences?

REMEMBER THE STEPS

Amy showed me a picture of her new puppy. 1) Find the prepositional phrase. Remember it starts with a preposition. "of her new puppy" 2a) Find a word the phrase describes The phrase "of her new puppy" describes "picture" 2b) What part of speech is "picture"? It is a noun. 3) Identify the phrase as an adjective or an adverb prepositional phrase. Because "of her new puppy" describes a noun "picture", we know it's an adjective prepositional phrase.

One more thing to remember

How do we know which word in a sentence the prepositional phrase describes? 1) Often a prepositional phrase will come right after the word it describes. 2) When the above is not the case, we need to identify the word which our prepositional phrase modifies/adds information to.

Practice time

Warm - up

1. The relationship _______ the two boys has changed significantly over the past few years. 2. My dad insisted __ taking the later train. 3. Mr Jenkins has been disabled all his life as a result __ a childhood illness. 4. All the celebrations and parties were called ___ because of the tragic accident. 5. There was a great need __/___ volunteers at the site of the crash.

Practice time

Warm - up

1. Smoking in public places is ______ the law in many countries.2. The boss looked ____ on him arrogantly. 3. Many products sold at the market have been carefully manufactured __ hand. 4. Many of the trains leaving London are currently running ______/__ schedule. 5. We were terrified ____ fear when we saw what had happened.

Practice time

What do you see in the following question: an adjective prepositional phrase or an adverb prepositional phrase? Explain why.

Have you read the Shakespeare play about a Scottish king?

Practice time

What do you see in the following sentence: an adjective prepositional phrase or an adverb prepositional phrase? Explain why.

The tall girl from my English class is on the basketball team.

Practice time

What do you see in the following sentence: an adjective prepositional phrase or an adverb prepositional phrase? Explain why.

Ross rode his brand new bicycle across the bridge.

Practice time

What do you see in the following sentence: an adjective prepositional phrase or an adverb prepositional phrase? Explain why.

With extreme caution, Jonathan pulled into the narrow parking space.

Practice time

What do you see in the following sentence: an adjective prepositional phrase or an adverb prepositional phrase? Explain why.

My uncle with the lake house invited us on summer vacation.

Practice time

Create sentences with the following prespositional phrases:

- according to the weather forecast- across many deserts - out the door - through the looking glass - throughout the thick forest - between a rock and a hard place - by the light of the moon

A LITTLE EXTRA TIP

Be Careful With Prepositional PhrasesIt’s important to note that a misplaced prepositional phrase can create an ambiguous sentence. Jack and Jill discussed their recent safari trip in the kitchen. The sentence above can be interpreted in two different ways: Jack and Jill went on a safari in their kitchen, or Jack and Jill went on a safari and then discussed it in their kitchen. To avoid this ambiguity, rewrite the sentence.

A QUICK SUMMARY

In short, prepositional phrases are a group of words that modify or add information within a sentence. To identify them, all you have to do is look for the preposition, the object, and any word that modifies it. If you can find those, then voilà, you can find the prepositional phrases.

Thank you

We need to follow three simple steps:1) find the prepositional phrase in the sentece; 2)find the word the phrase describes and identify which part of speech it is; 3) identify the phrase. Just to remind you: - if a word the phrase describes is a a noun or a pronoun, you know it's an adjective prepositional phrase. - if a word the phrase describes is a verb, adjective or adverb, you know it's an adverb prepositional phrase.

1) “from my English class” = prepositional phrase2a) the word the phrase describes is "girl" 2b) described part of speech "girl” is a noun 3) adjective prepositional phrases describe nouns

1) “with the lake house” = prepositional phrase2a) the word the phrase describes is "uncle" 2b) described part of speech "uncle” is a noun 3) adjective prepositional phrases describe nouns

1) “about a Scottish king” = prepositional phrase2a) the word the phrase describes is "play" 2b) described part of speech "play” is a noun 3) adjective prepositional phrases describe nouns

1) “with extreme caution” = prepositional phrase2a) the word the phrase describes is "pulled" 2b) described part of speech "pulled” is a verb 3) adverb prepositional phrases describe verbs

An object is a noun or pronoun that comes after the preposition in a sentece. Example: at school "at" - preposition "school" - object

A prepositional phrase is a group of words with a preposition plus an object.Many prepositional phrases have one or more modifiers. Each prepositional phrase begins with a preposition. Example of a prepositional phrase: at school where "at" is a preposition and "school" is an object

1) between 2) on 3) of 4) off 5) of/for

1) “across the bridge” = prepositional phrase2a) the word the phrase describes is "rode" 2b) described part of speech "rode” is a verb 3) adverb prepositional phrases describe verbs

If something happens behind the scenes, it happens without most people knowing about it, especially when something else is happening publicly:A lot of hard work has been going on behind the scenes.

1) against 2) down 3) by 4) behind/on 5) with

A preposition is a word that shows a connection or relationship between other words in a sentence. Examples of short prepositions: at, by, for, from, in Examples of long prepositions: throughout, underneath, between Examples of prepositions made up of more than one word: along with, because of, in addition to

A modifier is a word or words that describe or modify the object. For example in a sentence: Sam had a vegetarian burger. "vegeterian" is a modifier as it modifies/gives information about the word "burger"

This means that we are in a very difficult situation and to have to make a hard decision. There is a synonym which we can use: Between the devil and the deep blue sea.

If something happens out of the blue, it is completely unexpected:One day, out of the blue, she announced that she was leaving.

An adjective prepositional phrase describes a noun or a pronoun. Adverb prepositional phrase describes a verb, adjective or adverb.

We need to follow three simple steps:1) find the prepositional phrase in the sentece; 2)find the word the phrase describes and identify which part of speech it is; 3) identify the phrase. Just to remind you: - if a word the phrase describes is a a noun or a pronoun, you know it's an adjective prepositional phrase. - if a word the phrase describes is a verb, adjective or adverb, you know it's an adverb prepositional phrase.