Prepositions

A preposition is a word placed before a noun or pronoun to form a phrase modifying another word in the sentence. The prepositional phrase nearly always functions as an adjective or as an adverb.

To the summit functions as an adjective modifying the noun road; past craters functions as an adverb modifying the verb travels; from an extinct volcano functions as an adjective modifying the noun craters.

There are a limited number of prepositions in English. The most common are included in the chart.

Some prepositions are more than one word long. Along with, as well as, in addition to, and next to are common examples. Phrases beginning with these prepositions do not make a singular subject plural. See Subject-verb agreement.

Prepositions are also used in idioms such as capable of and dig up.

Common idioms

Common prepositions

Exercise: All parts of speech 1

Exercise: All parts of speech 2

Related topics:

Prepositional phrase

Adjective + preposition combinations

Verb + preposition combinations

Subject-verb agreement with prepositional phrases

Using standard idioms

noun The name of a person, place, thing, or an idea.

pronoun A word used in place of a noun. Usually the pronoun substitutes for a specific noun, known as its antecedent.

adjective A word that modifies or describes a noun or pronoun: lame, old, rare, beautiful; also the articles a, an, the.

adverb A word that modifies a verb, an adjective, or another adverb: very, smoothly, never.

idiom Speech form that does not follow typical language rules and cannot be understood literally.