English Literature Module: Prepositional Phrases

ENGLISH LITERATURE MODULE
Prepositional Phrases
Grade XII – Semester 1

Academic Year 2017 - 2018
Learning Objectives:
 Students are able to identify the use of preposition
 Students are able to make a preposition phrases
 Students are able to make various sitaution using prepositional phrases
Conceptual Map
The use of
preposition
Preposition Function as
Phrases adjective
Function as
adverb
PREPOSITION PHRASES
Preposition
is a word that explains the time, space or logical relationship between the other parts of the
sentence. In other words, it links all the other words together, so the reader can understand how the
pieces of the sentence fit.
Prepositions are used in many different ways in English - perhaps that's why a lot of people have
problems with them.
First, they are used with time words:
 on Monday
 in the 20th century
 at night
Prepositions of time - here's a list of the time words that need 'on', 'in', 'at' and some that don't need
any preposition. Be careful - many students of English use 'on' with months (it should be 'in'), or put
a preposition before 'next' when we don't need one.
times: at 8pm, at midnight, at 6:30
holiday periods: at Christmas, at Easter
at night
at
at the weekend
at lunchtime, at dinnertime, at breakfast time
days: on Monday, on my birthday, on Christmas Day

days + morning / afternoon / evening / night: on Tuesday morning
on
dates: on the 20th of June
years: in 1992, in 2006
months: in December, in June
decades: in the sixties, in the 1790s
in centuries: in the 19th century
seasons: in winter, in summer
in the morning, in the afternoon, in the evening
next week, year, month etc

last night, year etc
this morning, month etc
no
every day, night, years etc
prep
today, tomorrow, yesterday
Second, they are used to show where something or someone is:
 The plate is on the table.

 Julie is in the garden.
 The picture is on the wall.
Prepositions of place can be difficult - here's some help about using 'at', 'in' and 'on' when you're
talking about where things are.
Basics:
If something is contained inside a box or a wide flat area, we use ‘in’:
in the newspaper in a house

in a cup in a drawer
in a bottle in a bag
in bed in a car
in London in England
in a book in a pub
in a field in the sea
in my stomach in a river
If something is on a line or a horizontal or vertical surface, we use ‘on’:
on the table on the wall

on the floor on the window
on my face on a plate
on the page on the sofa
on a chair on a bag
on the river on a t-shirt
on the ceiling on a bottle
on a bike on his foot
If something is at a point, (it could be a building) we use ‘at’:
at the airport at the door

at the table at the bus stop
at the cinema at the top
at the bottom at the pub
at the traffic lights at the front
at the back at school
at university at the window
at the hospital at the piano
Here are some more common ones that don't really fit:
 on TV
 on the bus
 on a train
 on a plane
 on the radio
 at home
 at work
Third, they are used after some adjectives:
 She is good at tennis.
 Scotland is famous for whisky
 I'm worried about my new job.
Some adjectives need a preposition before their object. There doesn't seem to be a logical rule, I'm
afraid! We just need to learn them.
Here are some of the most common ones:
 famous for
France is famous for its food.
 proud of
He is very proud of his new car.
 interested in
Julie is very interested in sport.
 pleased with
John is very pleased with his new suit.
 bad at
They are very bad at maths.
 good at
Einstein was very good at physics.
 married to
My mother has been married to my father for 20 years.
 excited about
I'm very excited about my holiday.
 different from / to
Coffee is different from tea.
 afraid of
I'm afraid of spiders.
Fourth, they are used after some verbs:
 I'm listening to music.
 She is waiting for her friend.
 He borrows money from his sister.
Some verbs need a preposition before an object or another verb. The preposition is only
grammatical, so it doesn't change the meaning of the verb.
Here are some of the most common ones:
 arrive at / in somewhere
We arrived at the airport.
We arrived in London.
 belong to somebody
This book belongs to me.
 borrow something from somebody
I borrowed a book from my classmate.
 concentrate on something / doing something
I concentrated on studying at the weekend.
 depend on something / somebody
It depends on the weather.
 explain something to somebody
The teacher explained the exercise to the students.
 listen to something / somebody
I listened to music.
 pay somebody for something
I paid the waiter for the coffee.
 wait for somebody / something
Wait for me!
 worry about somebody / something
Don't worry about a thing!
Fifth, they are used after some nouns:
 She has trouble with remembering new vocabulary.
Finally, they are used in certain phrases:
 The bus arrived in the end.

 She arrived just in time for the film.
ADJECTIVE PREPOSITIONAL PHRASES
Adjective prepositional phrases follow the nouns they modify, unlike adjectives which generally go
immediately before the nouns they modify. Like adjectives, they tell which one, what kind, how
much, or how many.
 The show \on television tonight is about snow leopards \in Asia.
On television tells us which show. In Asia tells us which leopards.
ADVERB PREPOSITIONAL PHRASES
Adverb prepositional phrases that modify adjectives and adverbs must go after the words they
modify. Like intensifiers, they tell to what extent. They can also tell why or in what way or in what
circumstances.
 I am hungry \because of this diet. (Because of this diet tells why I'm hungry.)
You can run pretty quickly \in those high heels. (In those high heels tells when you
run quickly.)
Adverb prepositional phrases that modify verbs can move about the sentence, just as adverbs
do. Like adverbs they can tell where, when, how, and to what extent. Since they use more than
one word, they can also tell why.
 We will go snowboarding \in the winter. (In the winter tells when we will go
snowboarding.)
\In the winter, we will go snowboarding.
We will, \in the winter, go snowboarding.
Hint:
 Sometimes a prepositional phrase could make sense either as an adjective phrase modifying
the noun before it or as an adverb phrase modifying the verb. In this case, it is usually
considered an adjective phrase.
 The plant \in the window gets lots of sunlight. (Tells which plant.)
\In the window, the plant gets lots of sunlight. (Tells where the plant gets lots of
sunlight.)
The plant gets lots of sunlight \in the window. (Tells where the plant gets lots of
sunlight.)
EXERCISE
LET’S TRY! 
a. Put in the correct preposition (choose in / on / at). If no preposition is needed put in -.

1. Lucy is arriving _______ February the 13th ______ eight o’clock _______the morning.
2. The weather is often terrible _____ London.
3. It’s better to get taxi if you are out alone _____ night.
4. She got married ____ September.
5. I usually go to my parents’ house _____ Christmas. We eat turkey together _____ Christmas
Day.
6. The wine is ______ the bottle.
7. Pass me the dictionary, it’s ______ the bookshelf.
8. Jennifer is _______ work.
9. Berlin is ______ Germany.
10. You have something ______ your face.
11. It’s so noisy that I can’t concentrate _____ my homework.
12. Don’t worry – I’ll pay ______ the tickets.
13. The car belongs ____ my father, so I don’t think we can use it.
14. I borrowed a pen _____ my classmate.
15. I’ve been waiting _____ the bus for more than twenty minutes.
b. Mark the prepositional phrases in the following sentences as adjective or adverb phrases.
1. I bought the dress with the blue stripes for the party.
2. The man with the mustache raises horses on his farm.
3. Before the nect storm, we need to cut the damaged branches in that tree.
4. The snow on the trees turned the forest in a wonderland.
5. The little brick house between the skyscrapers was built in 1800s.
References
Noun Clause http://english.tutorvista.com/grammar/noun-clauses.html (retrieved on

January 9, 2016)
Sudarwati, Th. M. & Eudia Grace. 2014. Pathway to English. Erlangga.
Quick Grammar http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/quick-grammar/reported-
questions (retrieved on July 21, 2016)
https://www.englishgrammar101.com/module-6/prepositions/lesson-8/adjective-or-
adverb-prepositional-phrases
http://www.perfect-english-grammar.com/prepositions.html

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ENGLISH LITERATURE MODULE

Grade XII – Semester 1

First, they are used with time words:

days: on Monday, on my birthday, on Christmas Day

next week, year, month etc

 The plate is on the table.

If something is contained inside a box or a wide flat area, we use ‘in’:

in the newspaper in a house

If something is on a line or a horizontal or vertical surface, we use ‘on’:

on the table on the wall

If something is at a point, (it could be a building) we use ‘at’:

at the airport at the door

Third, they are used after some adjectives:

Here are some of the most common ones:

Fourth, they are used after some verbs:

Here are some of the most common ones:

Fifth, they are used after some nouns:

 She has trouble with remembering new vocabulary.

Finally, they are used in certain phrases:

 The bus arrived in the end.

ADVERB PREPOSITIONAL PHRASES

a. Put in the correct preposition (choose in / on / at). If no preposition is needed put in -.

Noun Clause http://english.tutorvista.com/grammar/noun-clauses.html (retrieved on

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