What is a prepositional phrase?

A preposition is a word that begins a prepositional phrase and shows the relationship between its object and another word in the sentence. A preposition must always have an object. A prepositional phrase starts with a preposition, ends with an object, and may have modifiers between the preposition and object of the preposition.

Here is a list of common words that can be used as prepositions:

about
above
across
after
against
along
among
around
at
before
behind
below
beneath
beside
besides
between

beyond
but (when it means except)
by
concerning
down
during
except
for
from
in
inside
into
like
near
of
off

on
out
outside
over
past
since
through
to
toward
under
until
up
upon
with
within
without

These words can be used as other parts of speech. What part of speech it is depends on how it is used in that sentence. Many of the common words used as prepositions can be used as adverbs. They are prepositions if they have an object to complete them. To decide which it is, say the preposition followed by whom or what. If a noun or a pronoun answers the question, the word is a preposition. Example: The boy stood up and ran down the street. Up what? There is no object; therefore up is not a preposition. Down what? Street answers the question; therefore, down is a preposition. Down the street is the prepositional phrase starting with the preposition down and ending with the object street with a modifier the in between.

A prepositional phrase may be used as an adjective telling which or what kind and modifying a noun or pronoun. An adjective prepositional phrase will come right after the noun or pronoun that it modifies. If there are two adjective prepositional phrases together, one will follow the other. Only adjective prepositional phrases modify the object of the preposition in another prepositional phrase.

http://www.dailygrammar.com/Lesson-177-Prepositional-Phrases.htm

You may have learned that ending a sentence with a preposition is a serious breach of grammatical etiquette. It doesn't take a grammarian to spot a sentence-ending preposition, so this is an easy rule to get caught up on (!). Although it is often easy to remedy the offending preposition, sometimes it isn't, and repair efforts sometimes result in a clumsy sentence. "Indicate the book you are quoting from" is not greatly improved with "Indicate from which book you are quoting." Based on shaky historical precedent, the rule itself is a latecomer to the rules of writing. Those who dislike the rule are fond of recalling Churchill's rejoinder: "That is nonsense up with which I shall not put."

Is it any wonder that prepositions create such troubles for students for whom English is a second language? We say we are at the hospital to visit a friend who is in the hospital. We lie in bed but on the couch. We watch a film at the theater but on television. For native speakers, these little words present little difficulty, but try to learn another language, any other language, and you will quickly discover that prepositions are troublesome wherever you live and learn. This page contains some interesting (sometimes troublesome) prepositions with brief usage notes. To address all the potential difficulties with prepositions in idiomatic usage would require volumes, and the only way English language learners can begin to master the intricacies of preposition usage is through practice and paying close attention to speech and the written word. Keeping a good dictionary close at hand (to hand?) is an important first step.

Prepositions of Time: at, on, and in

We use at to designate specific times.
        The train is due at 12:15 p.m.

We use on to designate days and dates.
       My brother is coming on Monday.
    We're having a party on the Fourth of July.

We use in for nonspecific times during a day, a month, a season, or a year.
       She likes to jog in the morning.
    It's too cold in winter to run outside.
    He started the job in 1971.
    He's going to quit in August.

Prepositions of Place: at, on, and in

We use at for specific addresses.
        Grammar English lives at 55 Boretz Road in Durham.

We use on to designate names of streets, avenues, etc.
        Her house is on Boretz Road.

And we use in for the names of land-areas (towns, counties, states, countries, and continents).
       She lives in Durham.
    Durham is in Windham County.
    Windham County is in Connecticut.

Prepositions of Location: in, at, on, and No Preposition

IN
(the) bed*
the bedroom
the car
(the) class*
the library*
school*

AT
class*
home
the library*
the office
school*
work

ON
the bed*
the ceiling
the floor
the horse
the plane
the train

NO PREPOSITION
downstairs
downtown
inside
outside
upstairs
uptown

* You may sometimes use different prepositions for these locations.

Prepositions of Movement: to and No Preposition

We use to in order to express movement toward a place.
       They were driving to work together.
    She's going to the dentist's office this morning.

Toward and towards are also helpful prepositions to express movement. These are simply variant spellings of the same word; use whichever sounds better to you.
       We're moving toward the light.
    This is a big step towards the project's completion.

With the words home, downtown, uptown, inside, outside, downstairs, upstairs, we use no preposition.
       Grandma went upstairs
    Grandpa went home.
    They both went outside.

Prepositions of Time: for and since

We use for when we measure time (seconds, minutes, hours, days, months, years).
       He held his breath for seven minutes.
    She's lived there for seven years.
    The British and Irish have been quarreling for seven centuries.

We use since with a specific date or time.
       He's worked here since 1970.
    She's been sitting in the waiting room since two-thirty.

Prepositions with Nouns, Adjectives, and Verbs

Prepositions are sometimes so firmly wedded to other words that they have practically become one word. (In fact, in other languages, such as German, they would have become one word.) This occurs in three categories: nouns, adjectives, and verbs.

NOUNS and PREPOSITIONS

ADJECTIVES and PREPOSITIONS

VERBS and PREPOSITIONS

approval of
awareness of
belief in
concern for
confusion about
desire for
fondness for
grasp of
hatred of

hope for
interest in
love of
need for
participation in
reason for
respect for
success in
understanding of

afraid of
angry at
aware of
capable of
careless about
familiar with
fond of
happy about
interested in

jealous of
made of
married to
proud of
similar to
sorry for
sure of
tired of
worried about

apologize for
ask about
ask for
belong to
bring up
care for
find out
give up
grow up
look for

look forward to
look up
make up
pay for
prepare for
study for
talk about
think about
trust in
work for
worry about

http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/prepositions.htm

Below is The Christmas Song with the prepositions highlighted in blue and the phrases underlined:

The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire)
Mel Torme, 1946)

Chestnuts roasting on an open fire
Jack Frost nipping at your nose
Yule-tide carols being sung by a choir
And folks dressed up like Eskimos.

Everybody knows a turkey
And some mistletoe
Help to make the season bright
Tiny tots with their eyes all aglow
Will find it hard to sleep tonight.

They know that Santa's on his way
He's loaded lots of toys
And goodies on his sleigh
And every mother's child is gonna spy
To see if reindeer
Really know how to fly.

And so I'm offering this simple phrase
To kids from one to ninety-two
Although it's been said
Many times, many ways
Merry Christmas to you.

Photo of chestnuts roasting on an open fire

Objectives

Presentation

Attention

Co-construct

Extension

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