Essential Grammar: Prepositions

What are they?

A preposition is a connector word that shows the relationship between a noun or pronoun (its object) and another word in the sentence. Together, the preposition and its object form a prepositional phrase.

Prepositional phrases are modifiers: descriptive phrases that add information about where, when, how, why, or which one.

Structure: prepositional phrase = preposition + object

Examples: on the table, before the terrible storm, by her side, in front of the old library

Common Uses

Function	Examples
Location / Position	at the station, in the drawer, on the page, under the stairs, between the trees
Direction / Movement	to the shore, into the cave, through the tunnel, across the street, toward the summit
Time	at noon, on Tuesday, during winter, before sunrise, since 2019
Agent / Means	by the author, with a brush, via email, through effort
Association / Topic	of glass, about the project, regarding your application, on ethics
Contrast / Exception	despite the rain, except the final step, unlike her peers
Cause / Purpose	for research, because of the delay, due to weather

Complete List

Single-word Prepositions


aboard	about	above
across	after	against
along	alongside	amid
among	anti	around
as	at	atop
bar	barring	before
behind	below	beneath
beside	besides	between
beyond	but (except)	by
circa	concerning	considering
despite	down	during
except	excluding	failing
following	for	from
in	including	inside
into	like	minus
near	notwithstanding	of
off	on	onto
opposite	out	outside
over	past	pending
per	plus	post
regarding	respecting	round
save	saving	since
than	through	throughout
till	to	toward
towards	under	underneath
unlike	until	up
upon	versus	via
with	within	without
worth

Multi-word (Compound) Prepositions


according to	across from	ahead of
along with	apart from	as for
as of	as per	as regards
as to	as well as	aside from
away from	because of	close to
due to	except for	far from
in accordance with	in addition to	in back of
in case of	in charge of	in favor of
in front of	in lieu of	in line with
in place of	in regard to	in spite of
in terms of	in view of	instead of
near to	next to	on account of
on behalf of	on top of	other than
out of	outside of	owing to
prior to	pursuant to	rather than
regardless of	together with	up to
with respect to

Prepositions & Placement

Prepositional phrases attach to other words to add detail. Changing their placement can change what word they describe. Make sure the sentence is logical!

As adjectives (answering which one? / what kind of?), prepositional phrases usually follow the noun they modify and should be kept close to it.
- The painting on the easel is unfinished. → “on the easel” modifies painting.
As adverbs (answering where? when? how? why?), prepositional phrases modify a verb, adjective, or entire clause and have more flexible placement.
- During the summer, the lab runs outreach programs.
- The team trained after practice in the gym.

Tip: Keep adjectival prepositional phrases close to the noun they modify to avoid ambiguity.

❌ She handed the sketches to the architect in a folder.

This sounds like the architect is in a folder!

✅ She handed the sketches in a folder to the architect.

Now it's clear: the sketches are in a folder.

Prepositions & Verbs

For Subject-Verb Agreement (SVA), prepositional phrases are modifiers. They are not the real subject of the verb.

TRICK: Mentally bracket off prepositional phrases to reveal the core subject. Then match the verb!

The list [of artifacts] was revised.
- Subject = list (singular), not artifacts
- Verb = was (singular), not were
A series [of lectures] has concluded.
- Subject = series (singular), not lectures
- Verb = has (singular), not have

👉 Deep dive: Subject-Verb Agreement Guide

Prepositions & Commas

Use a comma after introductory prepositional phrases, especially if they are more than three words long:
- ❌ In the middle of the school year homework can begin to seem like torture.
- ✅ In the middle of the school year, homework can begin to seem like torture.
Do not use a comma between a preposition and its object:
- ❌ The kitten in, the tree with the red leaves, meowed piteously.
- ✅ The kitten in the tree with the red leaves meowed piteously.
Generally, do not use a comma between a noun and preposition that describes it.
- ❌ The volcano, on the island of Hawaii, is about to erupt.
- ✅ The volcano on the island of Hawaii is about to erupt.
However, prepositional phrases may sometimes be bracketed by commas if they are inessential to the meaning of the sentence. This situation will usually be indicated by a comma already present on one side of the prepositional phrase:
- ❌ The policy is inefficient and in the long run, doomed to fail. (Comma after "run" indicates the entire prepositional phrase must be bracketed by commas.)
- ✅ The policy is inefficient and, in the long run, doomed to fail.

Final Thoughts: Verbs, Placement, and Commas

For Subject-Verb Agreement, ignore prepositional phrases when choosing the verb.
Prepositional phrases add descriptions, so changing their placement changes what they describe. Keep them close to the noun to avoid ambiguity.
Use commas after introductory prepositional phrases. Most other uses don't require commas.
Mastering these rules will streamline your analysis on the SAT, ACT, and in academic writing.

Review Subject-Verb Agreement next • (Misplaced Modifiers guide coming soon.)