Prepositionalphrases begin with prepositions and include nouns or pronouns that are the objectsoftheprepositions. They also include all the words that describe, or modify, the objects. The purpose of prepositional phrases is to act as adverbs or adjectives in a sentence, providing extra information about the actions and other words and ideas in the sentence.
During her ski trip, Kayley fell off the ski lift and broke her ankle in two places.
The cute dog with the red bandanna sprinted towards the girl in the pink shirt.
Using Appropriate Prepositions
Elsa fought between the illegal dumping of toxic waste through the river.
Elsa fought against the illegal dumping of toxic waste into the river.
Appropriate Placement of Prepositional Phrases
Some prepositional phrases can be moved around in a sentence without affecting meaning.
Example:
The audience was so captivated by the action on the stage that it remained almost completely silent during the performance.
The audience was so captivated by the actionon the stage that it remained almost completely silent during the performance.
INCORRECT: The audience was so captivated on the stageby the action that it remained almost completely silent during the performance.