List of Prepositions

This list of prepositions will help you understand what a preposition is.

Quick Refresher: Prepositions are words that show the relationship between a noun or a pronoun and some other word or element in the rest of the sentence.

Be sure to listen to the preposition song at the end of this list! Are you ready? Here we go!

Preposition List

* Notice that this list of prepositions contains one-word, two-word, and three-word prepositions. Sometimes, words act together to form one preposition. A
aboard, about, above, across, after, against, ahead of, along, amid,

amidst, among, around, as, as far as, as of, aside from, at, athwart, atop

B

barring, because of, before, behind, below, beneath, beside, besides,

between, beyond, but, by, by means of

C

circa, concerning

D

despite, down, during

E

except, except for, excluding

F

far from, following, for, from

I

in, in accordance with, in addition to, in case of, in front of, in lieu of,

in place of, in spite of, including, inside, instead of, into

L

M

minus

N

near, next to

O

of, off, on, on account of, on behalf of, on top of, onto, opposite, out,

out of, outside, over

P

past, plus, prior to

R

regarding, regardless of

S

save, since

T

than, through, till, to, toward, towards

U

under, underneath, unlike, until, up, upon

V

versus, via

W

with, with regard to, within, without

The Preposition Song

Sing this song to the tune of "Yankee Doodle".

above, across, after, at,

around, before, behind,

below, beside, between,

by, down, during, for, from,

in, inside, onto, of,

off, on, out, through,

to, under, up, with

And that's the preposition song!

What Is A Preposition?

Seeing a list of prepositions is great, but you also need to understand what prepositions are.

* Remember that prepositions are words that show the relationship between a noun or a pronoun and some other word in the sentence.

They are ALWAYS found in prepositional phrases.

Prepositional phrases are groups of words that act as a single part of speech, so all of the words act together as either an adjective or an adverb.

They always start with a preposition and end with a noun or pronoun.

Here are some examples of prepositional phrases:

at the movie

up the tree

around the block

Notice that all three of these prepositional phrases begin with a preposition (at, up, around) and end with a noun (movie, tree, block).

Sentence Diagramming!

Sentence diagramming shows us how all of the parts of a sentence are related. If you are a visual person, diagramming is the best way to learn grammar.

When diagrammed, prepositional phrases go underneath the word that they modify.

The preposition goes on the slanted line, and the object of the preposition goes on a horizontal line coming off of the slanted line.

Just take a look!

The cake with nuts fell onto the floor.

With nuts starts with the preposition with and ends with the noun nuts. The whole phrase is functioning an adjective modifying the subject cake. It's easy to see that because its diagram is branching off of cake.

Onto the floor starts with the preposition onto and ends with the noun floor. The whole phrase is functioning as an adverb modifying the verb fell. Does the diagram help you to see that?

You can diagram, too!

Learn step by step diagramming for prepositions and prepositional phrases.

If you want to teach or learn grammar the easy way, then follow a step-by-step program that clearly lays everything out for you and allows you to move at your own pace. The Get Smart program is presented in a meaningful sequence, so it's not an overwhelming mishmash of information. Before you know it, you'll be a grammar and sentence diagramming pro!

The whole program is online, so you have instant access to these lessons and videos. It's easy and fun. You can get it at www.English-Grammar-Revolution.com/daily-diagrams.html

Keep learning and have fun!

Elizabeth O'Brien is the creator of the Grammar Revolution step-by-step grammar and sentence diagramming programs. Her programs are guaranteed not only to teach you grammar, but also to give you more confidence in your communication skills.

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