Sentences are made of subjects and predicates. The more quickly we can identify the simple subject (or the noun that the sentence is about) and simple predicate (or the verb), the more quickly we can understand the meaning of the sentence.
In more complicated sentences, one of the most common ways simple subjects and simple predicates get hidden are by groups of words starting with prepositions, or with prepositional phrases.
We use prepositions ALL DAY LONG. Studying prepositions and understanding how they work can make our writing much stronger and our reading much faster.
What is a preposition?
A preposition is a word used to show the relationship between a noun (or a pronoun) and some other word in the sentence.
“The water in the glass is cold.”
The preposition “in” shows the relationship between ‘water’ and ‘glass’.
The relationships might be about direction, place, time, cause, manner or amount. (where, when, how, how much)
Examples
- It is under the table. “Under” is a preposition which shows ______.
- She went to the store. “To” is a preposition which shows _______.
- He came by bus. “By” is a preposition which shows ________.
- They will be here at three o’clock. “At” is a preposition which shows ________.
- They sold it for $3.00. “For” is a preposition which shows ________.
Adapted from https://examplanning.com/types-of-prepositions-with-examples-list/
Practice
For practice, download the document below and make some sentences with the words on the list. For more of a challenge, see how many you can use in the same sentence. (And send them to me!)