How many prepositional phrases are in this sentence

Grammarly can save you from misspellings, grammatical and punctuation mistakes, and other writing issues on all your favorite websites. At a minimum, a prepositional phrase consists of one preposition and the object it governs. He arrived in time. Is she really going out with that guy? He arrived in the nick of time. Is she really going out with that tall, gorgeous guy? Some of the most common prepositions that begin prepositional phrases are to, of, about, at, before, after, by, behind, during, for, from, in, over, under, and with.

When a prepositional phrase acts upon a noun, we say it is behaving adjectivally because adjectives modify nouns. A prepositional phrase that behaves adjectivally is called, quite logically, an adjectival phrase. The cat in the middle is the cutest. I always buy my milk from the convenience store on Main Street. My mother has always wanted to live in a cabin by the lake.

In the first of these sentences, in the middle answers the question of which cat the writer thinks is the cutest. U niversity of W isconsin —Madison. Improving Your Writing Style. Expand all Collapse all. Use the active voice Put the action in the verb Tidy up wordy phrases Reduce wordy verbs Reduce prepositional phrases Reduce expletive constructions Avoid using vague nouns Avoid unneccessarily inflated words Avoid noun strings. Every prepositional phrase is a series of words consisting of a preposition and its object.

In a prepositional phrase, the object may be a noun, pronoun, gerund, or clause. A prepositional phrase can function as an adjective or adverb. There are certain prepositions that we use more often than others. They pop up in our daily speech and writing. For more, enjoy this list of common prepositions. Adjectives modify nouns, pronouns, and other adjectives.

They can be simple words that provide more detail. Take a look at the manner in which they can tell us more about the nearby noun indicated in italics :. While adjectives modify nouns, adverbs modify verbs and other adverbs. They, too, can be simple words. Here are some examples:. They provide us with more information, act as adjectives, and stand in as adverbs.

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