Prepositional Phrase Activity

Every prepositional phrase is a series of words made up of a preposition and its object. A prepositional phrase functions as an adjective or adverb.

By reviewing examples of prepositional phrases you can see that they can modify various parts, functioning as either adjectives or adverbs.

Commonly Used Prepositional Phrases

•Across many deserts•After many tries•Amid the confusion•Around the world•Before we start the meeting•Between a rock and a hard place•By the light of the moon•Like a beautiful swan•Near the ocean•Of my boss•Off the top•Out the door•Through the looking glass•Throughout the thick forest•To the amusement park •According to the weather forecast

Prepositional Phrases that Function as an Adjective 

•The book with the tattered cover has been read many times.•All the passengers aboard the runaway train were frightened.•The present inside the big box is mine.•Our boss put out a memo regarding the new rule.•The clues within the first few chapters will lead to the murderer.•His is only one voice among many, but it will be heard.•The extra blanket is in the box under the bed.•Saul, unlike many others, will remain there.•The car beside the red one is the one I want to buy.•The area outside the boundary is dangerous to cross.•All rooms below deck are for sleeping.•Tell me the story about the dragon slayer.

Prepositional Phrases that Function as Adverbs

•Racing toward the finish line, Sarah realized she just might win.•My shopping list needs to be put into my purse.•Without a GPS, we will lose our way.•Until today, I had never heard that.•The balloon drifted up the stairs.•Put the fresh flowers upon a high shelf.•Despite warnings, she tried to ski down Devil’s Run.•Against all odds, our team won the tournament.•The tiger crept slowly over the grass.•We will order pizza during halftime.•I will climb up the highest mountain tomorrow.•I love to take my jeep off the road.

Prepositional Phrases in Quotes

• “Once we accept our limits, we go beyond them.” - Albert Einstein • “We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things,

because we're curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.” - Walt Disney 

• “There has to be evil so that good can prove its purity above it.” - Buddha 

• “I've had tendonitis since college.” - Michael Jordan  • “I prefer winter and fall, when you feel the bone structure of the

landscape. Something waits beneath it; the whole story doesn't show.” - Andrew Wyeth 

• “ “When you dance, your purpose is not to get to a certain place on the floor. It's to enjoy each step along the way.” - Wayne Dyer

How did it sound? What did you notice about it?

A Day at the Park I went to the park. I went on Saturday. I went with my friends. My friends are Marie, Connie, and Roy. We rode our bikes. I rode my new bike. Roy brought his basketball. We played basketball. We played for two hours. We were hot. We were thirsty. Connie and Roy’s mom brought us lemonade and sandwiches. We ate them for lunch. We had a lot of fun.

Many times, weak stories are full of very short, choppy sentences. One way writers can make these stories stronger is to learn how to compose more elaborated sentences.

Prepositional phrases and clauses that could be added by answering the questions where, when, how, and why? 

The boy saw a bug.

Last night,/ waking from a bad dream,/ the boy,/ hearing a skittering sound,/saw a bug /crawling out /from under his bed/ to eat the cookie crumbs on the floor.

Where did he see the bug? crawling out/from under his bedWhen did he see the bug? last nightHow did he see the bug? (Or how did the bug crawl out?) waking from a bad dreamWhy did he see the bug? hearing a skittering sound(Or, Why did the bug crawl out?) to eat the cookie crumbs on the floor

Work with a partner to complete

Expand the short sentences by adding prepositional phrases and clauses that answer the questions where, when, how, and why? Rewrite the sentences to include the phrases and clauses.Rearrange the clauses within the sentence and add commas where needed.

Add prepositional phrases and clauses to simple sentences?Correctly use commas to punctuate the complex sentences they create?

A Day at the ParkI went to the park.I went on Saturday.I went with my friends.My friends are Marie, Connie, and Roy. We rode our bikes. I rode my new bike. Roy brought his basketball. We played basketball. We played for two hours. We were hot. We were thirsty. Connie and Roy’s mom brought us lemonade and sandwiches. We ate them for lunch. We had a lot of fun.