Prepositional Phrase (Definition & Examples)

Prepositional phrase is the group of words that are formed with the combination of preposition and its object and is used to modify the object.

Contents

1 Prepositional Phrase:
2 What is a Preposition?
3 What is a Phrase?
4 Prepositional Phrase
5 Function of Prepositional Phrase
- 5.1 Examples:
6 List of Prepositional Phrases Meanings & Examples:

Prepositional Phrase:

A prepositional phrase is a combination of two words, ‘preposition’ and ‘phrase’. To better understand the prepositional phrase, firstly it is important to know about ‘preposition’ and ‘phrase’.

What is a Preposition?

A preposition is a word placed before a noun or a pronoun to show its relation to some other word in the sentence. The common prepositions in a sentence are on, in, at, to, of, by, within, upon, etc.

What is a Phrase?

It is a group of words in which the combination of subject and verb is not present.A phrase can be formed by joining two or more words.

Prepositional Phrase

It is the group of words that are formed with the combination of preposition and its object and is used to modify the object.

Function of Prepositional Phrase

In a sentence, the prepositional phrase is either works as an adjective or as an adverb.

Examples:

The boy in the yellow shirt is my fiance.

In the above sentence, the words i.e. ‘in the yellow shirt’ have been used as an adjective, which is describing the noun ‘boy’.

The cat sitting beneath the table was found me last week.

Here in the sentence, ‘beneath the table’ is a prepositional phrase which is giving information about a specific cat i.e. noun.

He will give me notes after the class.

Here ‘after the class’ is working as a prepositional phrase which is indicating the adverb ‘when’ in a sentence.

He got vaccinated in the evening.

In the sentence, the words ‘in the evening’ is acting as a prepositional phrase and is giving information about the adverb ‘when’ in a sentence.

Julia is arranging a dinner at her home.

Here ‘at her home’ is a prepositional phrase that is explaining the adverb of action ‘where’.

List of Prepositional Phrases Meanings & Examples:

Prepositional Phrase	Meaning	Sentence
Abide by	Obey laws	Good people abide by the rules of the game
Absorbed in	Pay full attention	He was absorbed in reading a book at that time
Abstain from	Keep oneself from	Abstain from drinking
Accede to	Agree	He will accede to my proposal.
Accord with	Match	His personality does not accord with his talk.
Account for	Answerable	You must account for your mistakes
Accuse of	Allegation	The police can accuse him of theft
Accustomed to	Be used to	We are accustomed to walking one hour daily
Acquit of	Do something well	She will acquit herself in this matter
Act on	Follow	Now act on your promise
Adapt to	Make suitable	We shall adopt this plan to our needs
Addicted to	Be in the habit of	He is addicted to smoking
Adequate to	Enough	This income is adequate for our needs
Adhere to	Be faithful to	Always adhere to your religion
Admit of	Allow as possible	This question admits of another answer
Affected by	Troubled with	We were deeply affected by our friend’s failure
Affection for	Fondness	He has great affection for his sister
Afraid of	Fearful	I am not afraid of the danger here
Agree on	Decide to do after discussion	They have agreed to start a project for the needy people
Agree with	Have some opinion as someone else	I do not agree with you on this matter
Aim at	Intend to	I aim at becoming a doctor
Alive to	Fully aware	We are alive to our duties
Allude to	Indirectly refer to	You allude to my mistakes, and I feel sorry.
Prepositional
Phrase start with “B”
Back out of	Knowing well	I am aware of his arrival
Bathe in	Bathing	They bath in the canal near their house
Bear away	Win the prize	We hope that we shall bear away the prize at the debate
Bear out	Support the truth of	I can bear out his statement
Beg for	Ask humbly for	we do not beg for your help
Believe in	Consider being true	I cannot believe this story
Belong to	Be connected with	This shop does not belong to him
Blame for	Consider responsible	Do not blame her for the accident
Blame on	Put the responsibility	Do not blame this loss on me
Blind in	Can’t see anything physically	The beggar is blind in the right eye
Blind of	Unable to see	Joker was blind of one eye
Born in	Birth	She was born in poverty
Boast of	Talk too proudly	Do not boast of your property so much
Bound for	Intending to go	This plane is bound for London
Break away	Leave free oneself from	The thief broke away from the policemen
Break into	Force one’s away into the steal	The thief could not break into the bank
Break off	To end	The two countries may break off their relations
Break out	Begin suddenly	No disease can break out in a clean town
Break through	Force away through	The army will break through the enemy lines
Bring up	Train	She will bring up the children in the best ways
Buy off	Bribe for getting something done	They can buy off the government officer
Prepositional
Phrase
start with “C”
Call at	Pay a visit	We shall call at his house in the evening
Call for	Require	Our leader made a call for an end to begging
Call in	Ask to attend	I shall call in the police if there is a danger
Call off	Cancel or give up	The worker may call off the strike
Capacity for	Ability to do something	He has the capacity for climbing high mountains
Capable of	Having the ability to do something	He has the capacity for climbing high mountains
Care about	Think it important	I do not care about your talk against me
Care for	Like	I do not care about your talk against me
Care for	Look after	My mother will care for her friend’s child
Careful about	Taking care	Be careful about your money and property
Carry on	Continue	Carry out the orders of your officers
Catch at	Try to hold or seize	Our cat will catch at your bird
Caution against	Warn about possible danger	We cautioned him against copying in the examination
Certain of	Sure	I am certain of his success
Change in	Becoming different	We feel the change in the weather
Change of	Replacement	We want a change of the government
Clever at	Quick in learning	Rafel is clever at cooking
Come by	Get by chance	We have come by a gold watch on the road
Come off	Become separated	The cover of the book may come off
Come over	Affect someone	A happy feeling came over him when he met his mother after a long time
Commence with	Start with	They will commence the meeting with a prayer
Comment on	Give an opinion about	I do not like to comment on the dirty politics of the country
Compete for	Try to win something in the competition	You should compensate for his losses
Confide to	Tell secrets to somebody	Do not confide your secrets to John because he is against you
Confident of	Certain of	He is confident of his success
Confront with	Bring face to face with	They will confront you with your corruption
Congenial to	In agreement with one’s taste	The weather here is congenial to your health
Consist in	Have the qualities as described	Honesty consists in speaking the truth
Prepositional
Phrase start
with “D”
Deal in	Sell	These shops deal in cloth
Deal with	Behave towards	Our boss deals affectionately with the staff members
Decide on	Choose to do something	We decided on a visit to the hill station at last
Delight in	Fee happy	My mother is a delight in my success
Demand for	Desire to obtain	There is a lot of demand for Graphic Designers today
Depend on	Rely upon for support	John use to depend on Julia for preparation his exams
Deprive of	Take away from	The thief deprive the lady of her personal belongings
Derive from	Obtain from	We can derive a good lesson from this story
Desire for	Strong wish	They have a desire to become a doctor in future
Develop into	Grow or increase	This plant will soon develop into a tree
Devoid of	Not having	She is devoid of wisdom
Differ from	Different from another thing	My books differ from your books
Different from	-do-	My opinion is different from her
Differ with	Not to agree with other	I differ with you in this matter
Discovery of	To find out something	The discovery of new countries is impossible now
Disgusted with	Feeling strong dislike	He is disgusted with her behavior
Displeased with	Unhappy	Her boss is much displeased with her
Dispose of	Giving away	I want to dispose of my old bicycle
Divide into	Make distribution	Divide this apple into two parts
Drive at	Mean to say	Can you tell what he is driving of?
Drop off	Fall asleep	They drop off in class together
Prepositional
Phrase
start with “E”
Eager for	Having a strong desire	She is eager for a visit to Paris
Efficient in	Doing something very ably	She is very efficient in her work
Emphasis on	Give special importance to	The place emphasis on hard work
Engaged in	Be busy with	He was engaged in studies when we went to him
Enlist in	Join one of the armed forces	They have enlisted in the army
Entitled to	Deserve	You are entitled to a better position in the profession
Entrust with	Give the charge	We should not entrust this difficult task to her
Envious of	Showing envy	Some of my friends are envious of my success
Equipped with	Supplied with	The factory is equipped with modern machinery
Estimate at	Calculate roughly	They estimate the arrival of guests in function at one thousand
Excel in	Do better than	You cannot excel him in singing
Expel from	Turn out	Why was he expelled from his college?
Prepositional
Phrase
start with “F”
fall back on	Turn to for support	You can fall back on your friend’s help in difficulty
Fall out	Quarrel	They will never fall out as they are close friends
Fall in with	Meet by chance	We become very happy when we fall in with old friends in new cities
Familiar with	Knowing well	He is familiar with your boss
Feel for	Have sympathy with	They do not feel for their old friend who is in poor
Find out	Learn with effort	We should find out the truth in the matter
Fire at	Shoot at	The police fired at the thieves
Fit for	Suitable	You are quite fit for this job
Focus on	Pay special attention to something	The government should focus on the education of special persons
Fond of	Great liking for	Locus is very fond of red color cars
Foreign to	Not natural to	Business is foreign to his character
Frown at	Show anger or worry	She frowned at me when I told her about her dark future
Prepositional
Phrase
start with “G”
Gaze at	Look constantly	He became angry when we gazed at her
Get at	Reach with effort	He tried to get at the apples on the tree
Get over	Overcome	We shall get over our problems soon
Get at	Reach with effort	He tried to get at the apples on the tree
Get over	Overcome	We shall get over our problems soon
Give away	Distribute	Who will give away the prizes at the end of the match?
Give in	Accept defeat	Don’t give in to his demands
Give up	Stop having	Do not give up your efforts
Glad at	Be happy at	They all are glad at your success
Glance at	Take a quick look at	I glanced at the clock, I found that it was time for the departure
Go about	Handle	I do not know how to go about getting my money back from him
Go after	Follow someone	I tried to go after the running child
Grasp at	Hold	He tried to grasp at my shirt
Greedy for	Having excessive desire	He is greedy for money and power
Grieve for	Feel deeply sad	They grieve for their dead father
Grow out of	Develop from something	Crime grows out of poverty
Guess at	Make a guess about	We can only guess at his income
Guilty of	Responsible for some wrongdoing	He is guilty of this crime
Prepositional
Phrase
start with “H”
Hand over	Give control of	Out teacher will hand over the charge of the class to the junior teacher
Hang up	Halt the progress of	The floods will hang up the construction of the road
Hanker after	Desire to have greatly	Do not hanker after money so much
Hard on	Treat	Do not be so hard on the students
Hatred for	Intense dislike	We should not have any hatred for each other
Heir to	Legally entitle	The son is heir to most of his property
Hindrance to	Stops in the way	His inability is a great hindrance to his progress
Hint at	Make gesture	I hinted at his failure if he did not study
Hold out	Face	Our army will hold out against the enemy until its defeat
Hold up	Block the movement of	The road repairs hold up the traffic for a long time
Honest in	To be loyal	We should be honest in our work
Hope for	Feeling of expectation	Hope for the best and be prepared for the worst
Hostile to	Against	They are hostile to me for nothing
Hunt for	Search for	The hunt for the lost aircraft is continuing
Prepositional
Phrase
start with “I”
Ignorant of	Not knowing	We are ignorant of the result of poverty
Inform of	Tell about	I have informed him of the examination result
Impose on	Establish officially	The government will impose fines on the smugglers
Impress on	Fix deeply on the mind	He tried to impress on me that he was very able
Impute to	Attribute	Do not impute his mistake to him
In preference to	A greater liking over one alternative	I bought a book in preference to shoes
Incite to	Encourage or stir up	They tried to incite me to quarrel with Joe
Inclined to	Desire to do something	He is inclined to do business
Included in	Compromise or contain	You are included in the team
Incapable of	Not able to do	He is incapable of learning this subject
Increase in	Greater in size	He wants an increase in his salary
Indebted to	Very grateful to	I am indebted to you for your timely help
Independent of	Free from outside control	Julia is spending her life independent of her parents
Indifferent to	Not caring about	Locus is indifferent to your anger
Indulge in	Enjoy something much	We should not indulge in hunting so much
Infected with	With disease put into the body	He was infected with measles at the dirty place
Infer from	Draw the meaning from	I cannot infer any result from this talk
Inherit from	Receive from those who have died	We inherited this house from our father
Injurious to	Causing damage	Smoke is injurious to health
Innocent of	Not guilty of a crime	He is innocent of this crime
Inquire of	To ask	We injured of her what she wanted to do
Insight into	Deep understanding of	He has insight into political matters
Insist on	Require or demand something forcefully	Do not insist on your point
Interest in	Wanting to know or learn	I have no interest in useless films
Intimate with	Close and familiar with	Do not be so intimate with them
Introduce to	Make known for the first time	Please introduce me to your new friend
Prepositional
Phrase
start with “J”
Jealous of	Wanting to get what someone has	He is jealous of Joe’s new job
Prepositional
Phrase
start with “K”
Keen about	Wanting to do something	He is very keen on starting projects for the poor people
Keep to something	Do what one has promised	Keep to your promise
Knock at	Strike a surface noisily	He will knock at the door when he comes
Knock about	Lead an irregular life	It is his habit to knock about in new cities
Prepositional
Phrase
start with “L”
Lack of	Not having enough	Lack of money has forced them to work hard
Late for	After the right time	You are very late for the class
Laugh at	make the spontaneous sound	Do not laugh at his foolishness
Lay down	Stop using something	Our forces will never lay down their arms before the enemy
Lay out	Show to others	We can never let out your secrets
Lecture on	Serious speech	His lecture on democracy was useful
Live on	Having a particular thing to spend life	They live on their lands
Long for	Desire greatly	We long for his friendship
Look for	Try to find	We should look for a new house
Look out	Be ready	Look out! You may fail if you do not study
Loyal to	Faithful to	We should be loyal to our country
Lack in	Do not have enough	We lack in tea
Prepositional
Phrase
start with “M”
Made of	Material use in something	This table is made of glass
Make away with	Steal	He tried to make away with my watch but was caught
Make for	Move in the direction of	She made for her house when she got tired in the market
Make out	Understand with difficulty	Can you make out this writing?
Meddle with	Interfere with	We should not meddle with the affairs of others
Mediate on	Try to get an agreement between two parties	You should mediate between the two brothers
Mix with	Associate with	Do not mix with people of bad habits
Prepositional
Phrase
start with “N”
Necessary for	Needed to be done	It is necessary for you to wear the uniform
Notorious for	Famous for the bad quality	He is notorious for dealing in narcotics
Prepositional
Phrase
start with “O”
Object to	Be against	He should not object to my plans
Obliged to	Grateful	I am obliged to him for his help
Offended with	Much displeased with	He was offended by your talk
Operate on	Perform the operation	The surgeon operated on the patient successfully
Opposed to	Much displeased with	He is opposed to your political ideas
Overcome with	Overpowered by	We cannot be overcome with your power
Overwhelmed with	Overpowered with emotion	She was overwhelmed with anger when he abused her
Prepositional
Phrase
start with “P”
Part with	Give away	I cannot part with these books
Part from	Be separated from	We feel very sad when we part from school friends
Partial to	Favoring one side more	A teacher should not be partial to any student
Participate in	Take part	He is going to London to participate in a seminar
Particular about	Give close attention to	She is quite particular about her hair and clothes
Patience with	Tolerate with	A teacher should have patience with weak students
Passion for	Very great desire for	He has a great passion for old coins
Persist in	Continue with	They were ill, but they persisted in playing game
Play at	Do something without real interest	She plays at teaching
Play on	Take advantage of one’s feelings	Do not try to play upon her fears
Plot against	Make secret plans against	The worker plotted against the boss
Possessed of	Have, own	She is possessed of beauty, wisdom, and wealth
Pray for	Polite request	I pray for your success
Prefer to	Like better	I prefer coffee to tea
Prepared for	Be ready for	We are prepared for success as well as failure
Preside over	Participate as head	The Principal presided over the meeting of the teachers
Prevail on	Persuade	I shall prevail on him to sell his old books to me
Proceeded with	Continue	Proceeded with our work, please
Proficient in	Expert in	You areproficient in English
Prominent in	Widely known	He is prominent in his profession
Pull down	Destroy a building	They should pull down the dangerous building
Put in	Spend time doing something	He put in two hours writing this essay
Put out	Extinguish a fire	They put out the fire at the factory
Put up with	Tolerate	I cannot put up with this insult
Prepositional
Phrase
start with “Q”
Quick at	Intelligent at something	He is quick at business but poor in housework
Prepositional
Phrase
start with “R”
Reason for	Come	What is the reason for your good health?
Rebel against	Fight against	Many soldiers rebelled against the government
Recover from	Get well	He has just recovered from a long illness
Refrain from	Hold oneself back	We should refrain from telling lies
Rejoice at	Be very happy of	We rejoice at our grand success
Regard for	Respect for	He has great regard for his teachers
Relevant to	Directly connected with	Your answer is relevant to the question
Relieve of	Remove unpleasant feeling	This tablet will relieve you of pain
Rely on	Trust	We cannot rely on them as they are dishonest
Repent of	Be sorry for	Now I repent of my mistake
Replete with	Well supplied	The store is replete with the best food
Rescue from	Save from	He rescued her from the fire
Retreat from	Move back or away	The fighters retreated to the forest from the battle
Rule out	Reject	We rule out support to dishonest rulers
Prepositional
Phrase
start with “S”
Search for	Find out	We searched for the lost watch everywhere
See to	Attend to	See to the letters that you have to write
Seek after	Try to find	A good student seeks after knowledge at all places
Sell at	Be sold at a price	We sell this cloth at Rs. 50$ per meter
Set in	Begin and continue	The summer season has set in
Set up	Go in business as	He will set up as a doctor on his return from America
Shocked at	Feel very upset	I am shocked at his strange behavior
Shoot at	Fire a gun	They shot at the thieves
Side with	Take aside	You should not side with my enemy
Sneer at	Speak hatefully	Do not sneer at your enemies
Sorry for	Feel sympathy for	We are sorry for the children who go uneducated
Stand	Support somebody	We shall stand by you in every difficulty
Stare at	Look fixedly in wonder	Do not stare at others like this
Stink of	Give a bad smell	These shops stink of dirty oil
Strive for	Make great effort	We shall strive for success in all these difficulties
Sufficient for	Enough	Our income is sufficient for the family
Suitable for	Fit for	This house is suitable for our family
Surety for	Guarantee for	Who will stand surety for you at his job?
Prepositional
Phrase
start with “T”
Take care of somebody	Look after	Take care of your parents well
Take down	Write down	As I speak, take down my words
Take off	Remove clothes	He took off his clothes and then he jumped into the river
Taken in	To be cheated	The poor people are taken in by clever politicians
Take to	Begin regularly	He will take to acting if he fails the examination
Tally with	To agree with	Your figures do not tally with ours
Tempt with	Make someone do something bad in an attractive way	He tempted his friend into busying his old camera
Tide over	Overcome difficulties	We are trying to tide over our difficulties
Tired of	Bored with	I have got tired of working long hours
Triumph over	Gain a victory over	He triumphed over his opponents in the election
Trust in	Have confidence in	All of us trust in your leadership
Prepositional
Phrase
start with “U”
Usher into	Show the way to	The servant ushered us into the office
Prepositional
Phrase
start with “V”
Vote for	Give opinion in favor of another person	We should vote for able leaders
Prepositional
Phrase
start with “W to Y”
Want of	Absence of	The crops failed for want of water
Wash off	Remove by washing	She washed off the stains easily
Wash up	Wash plates	Please wash up the plates after eating
Weary of	Very tired	He is wary of visiting that office every day
Wind up	Finish a speech	Let us wind up this long discussion
Wish for	Have a desire for	We cannot wish for the moon
Withdraw from	Move back	We will not withdraw our proposal in the auction proceeding
Witness to	One who can explain something	He is a witness to the accident
Work out	Find the solution by thinking or talking	We are trying to work out an agreement with them
Wrest with	Struggle with a person	He wrestled well with the strong man
Write off	Cancel bad debt	Rich countries should write off our debts
Yield to	Stop opposition to surrender to	We can never yield to force

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Prepositional Phrase (Definition & Examples) – ultimate guide