An example of a prepositional phrase is, “With a reusable tote in hand, Matthew walked to the farmer’s market.” Every prepositional phrase is a series of words consisting of a preposition and its object. In the example above, “with” is the preposition and “reusable tote” is the object.

Common prepositional phrase examples include about, after, at, before, behind, by, during, for, from, in, of, over, past, to, under, up, and with.

Recognize a prepositional phrase when you find one. At the minimum, a prepositional phrase will begin with a preposition and end with a noun, pronoun, gerund, or clause, the “object” of the preposition. The object of the preposition will often have one or more modifiers to describe it. At = preposition; home = noun.

Some of the most common prepositions that begin prepositional phrases are to, of, about, at, before, after, by, behind, during, for, from, in, over, under, and with.

A gerund phrase is a group of words consisting of a gerund and the modifier(s) and/or (pro)noun(s) or noun phrase(s) that function as the direct object(s), indirect object(s), or complement(s) of the action or state expressed in the gerund, such as: The gerund phrase functions as the subject of the sentence.

A prepositional phrase is a group of words containing a preposition, a noun or pronoun object of the preposition, and any modifiers of the object. A preposition sits in front of (is “pre-positioned” before) its object.

Preposition List

• aboard.
• about.
• above.
• across.
• after.
• against.
• along.
• amid.

An appositive is a noun or pronoun — often with modifiers — set beside another noun or pronoun to explain or identify it. An appositive phrase usually follows the word it explains or identifies, but it may also precede it.

Sentences Can End with Prepositions from Phrasal Verbs These are verbs made up of multiple words, and one is usually a preposition. “Cheer up,” “run over,” “log on,” and “leave off” are all examples of phrasal verbs, and often sentences that use phrasal verbs end with a preposition: I wish he would cheer up.

Near can function as a verb, adverb, adjective, or preposition. Nearly is used as an adverb to mean “in a close manner” or “almost but not quite.” Here are some examples that demonstrate the differences between various uses of near and nearly.

Preposition stranding

Prepositions are always used to indicate the relationship of a noun or phrase to something else. When using a preposition, you must always have the subject and verb before it, and follow it with a noun. You should never follow it with a verb! Let’s have a closer look at some examples.

When the quote ends, use a comma inside the quotation marks, and then continue the sentence outside. If the quote ends with a question mark or an exclamation point, use it inside the quotation marks, and then continue the sentence outside the quotation marks like: “Where are you going?” she asked.

Only can be used to emphasize amount or price, whether you mean lack of or low cost. However, only must precede the amount. It can’t be placed at the end of the sentence.

We will look at the times when you must choose one and not the other. “Just” can mean “merely,” “barely” or “exactly.” It is also used to describe a time in the recent past, or a simple truth. Here are some examples where you can use “just” while “only” would be incorrect. I just made tea.