Prepositional Phrases
Words in a sentence always have to be related to one another. The work of prepositions in basically to relate words in a sentence. However, to be able to do their work, prepositions have to be accompanied by an object. A prepositions and its object are collectively known as a prepositional phrase
It is very easy to recognize a prepositional phrase when one knows what to look for. A preposition always sits before its object. The object of a preposition can either be a noun, a pronoun, a gerund or a clause. You can have more than one prepositional. some of the most commonly used prepositions include; below, After, Along, Against, in, in front, with, within, without, of , to except, from, until, toward, among, behind, and since among others
Examples of prepositional phrases
A prepositional phrase can be made up of a preposition and a Noun. For instance, in the phrase “At school”, “At” is a preposition while “school” is a noun. In the phrase “with him”, “with” is a preposition while “him” is a pronoun. Some contain a gerund and prepositions like in the phrase “through laying” in which “through” is a preposition while “laying” is a gerund
In a sentence, prepositional phrases help answer the questions How? When? or Where?. For instance in the sentence “the phone is in the kitchen”, the preposition phrase “in the kitchen is the answer to the question “Where is the phone?”. Prepositional phrases also help in answering the question “Which one?” For example in the sentence “the vehicle on the third row was recovered from hijackers”, the prepositional phrase “the vehicle on the third row helps in answering the question “Which vehicle?”
Follow-up activity
- What is a preposition?
Answer: A word that is normally used to show relationship between two or more words
- Describe what a prepositional phrase is
Answer: A preposition and its object
- List at least eight commonly used prepositions
Answer: below, After, Along, Against, in, in front, with, within, without, of , to except, from, until, toward, among, behind, and since
In the sentences below, identify the preposition, the object and hence the prepositional phrase
- I'd rather have tea instead of juice
Answer: instead of juice
- In case the teacher does not come, the students will be allowed to leave
Answer: In case the teacher
- Write three sentences with prepositions. Identify the prepositions, objects and prepositional phrases in you sentences
Compound Subject
A subject is a person, a place or a thing, or an idea of a sentence. Locating a subject in a sentence is easy when one is able to locate the verb in the sentence. Every verb in sentence must have at least a subject; this is why subjects are normally identified with help of verbs. Some verbs can have more than one subject. Ideally there are two types of subject; simple and compound subject. A verb that has only one subject is said to be having a simple subject while a verb having two or more subjects is said to be having a compound subject. For example, the verb in the sentence “After class, Jack held Terry’s hand” has only one subject. The verb in the sentence “After class, Jack and Reuben held Terry’s hands” has a compound subject.
Compound Verb
A verb is word (or words) is a sentence that is used to express an action. A subject in a sentence must exist alongside a verb. In most cases, one verb exists for one subject but there are instances when a single subject might be accompanied by two or more verbs. This type of subject are said to have compound verbs. In the sentence “The teacher scolded James for failing an easy exam”, the teacher is the subject while scolded is a verb. The subject in the above sentence has only one verb called a simple verb. In the sentence; “The teacher scolded John for failing an easy exam, asked Lydia to seat next to James and spanked Caleb for failing to submit his work for marking”, the teacher is the subject and scolded, asked, and spanked are verbs. Ideally in this sentence, the subject is accompanied by more than one verb. This is an example of a compound verb.
Follow up activity
- Define a simple subject
Answer: A subject is a person, a place or a thing, or a idea of a sentence
- Using a sentence., give an example of a simple subject
- Identify the simple subjects in the following sentences
- The angry chef slammed the pots and pans
Answer: The angry chef
- Every teenager wants that phone
Answer: Every Teenager
Identify the compound subject in the following sentences
- Tom and his brother travelled to Africa
Answer: Tom and his brother
- His bicycle and my toy have been taken to the repairman
Answer: His bicycle and my toy
- The President, the vice president as well as other invited guests arrived before 10 o'clock
Answer: The President, the vice president as well as other invited guests
- Differentiate between a simple verb and a compound verb
Answer: A simple verb is a single verb accompanying a subject while a compound verb is made up of two or more verbs accompanying a subject
