I show the relationship between the object—Noun or Pronoun—and other words in the sentence.
A preposition is placed at the beginning of a prepositional phrase.
into the bank.
beside Angie’s white bicycle
throughout the entire day
A preposition can locate the object in time.
I never eat during class.
Jimmy went outside after dinner.
A preposition can locate the object in space.
The moon shone brightly in the night sky.
I left a key under the welcome mat.
A preposition can show a logical relationship between the object and another word in the sentence.
I have always wanted to dance like Michael Jackson.
Are people still for the fountain of youth?
A compound preposition is a single preposition that is more than one word.
We won the game because of Billy’s lucky shoes.
According to my dad, the meteor shower is over.
Prepositions & Adverbs
Some words can be used as either prepositions or adverbs, but how do you tell the difference? Remember a preposition always has to be at the front of the phrase. If there’s no phrase, it’s not a preposition!
We ran around the field.
around the field is a prepositional phrase, so around is a preposition.
We ran around.
around is by itself, without the rest of a phrase. That means it’s an adverb.