Name:______________________________
9th Grade Grammar: Prepositions
Directions:
1. Find and print out a comprehensive list of prepositions, commonly used AND
compound prepositions.
2. Review the notes below.
3. Complete the following activities.
Preposition Notes:
Prepositions are words that show the relationship between a noun or pronoun (aka: objects of
prepositions) to another word.
Typically, most prepositions can be plugged into the following sentences:
The squirrel ran ___ the logs. (through, around, between, in…)
Democracy is a government ___ the people. (of, by, for, about)
Everything ___ the beach was wonderful. (in addition to, next to, aside from)
Prepositional Phrases=Preposition + (adjectives) + noun(s) or pronoun(s)
Prepositions connect a word in a sentence to A NOUN or PRONOUN.
This noun or pronoun is the object of the preposition. He went to the store. (to the storeprepositional phrase; store is the object of the preposition to).
The preposition and its object (and any words describing the object) are called a prepositional
phrase.
The squirrel ran around the logs.
Prepositional phrase= around the logs; preposition=around; object of prep.= logs (logs is the
noun that answers “around what?”)
We took a picture with the famous movie star.
Prepositional phrase= with the famous movie star; preposition=with; object of prep.= star (star
is the noun that answers “with whom?”); famous and movie are adjectives that describe the
o.p.
Exercise 1: Underline each prepositional phrase. Then circle the
preposition and draw and arrow to its object(s), the noun or pronoun
it connects to the rest of the sentence. Some sentences have multiple
prepositional phrases; the number of prepositional phrases is listed at
the end of the sentence.
1. Mom said the stuffing was homemade, but we saw the box of
Stovetop in the trashcan. (2)
2. Granny bastes the turkey with artery-clogging, tasty butter. (1)
3. My mom puts the stuffing in the turkey. (1)
4. My dad injects a special blend of herbs and spices into the raw
turkey. (2)
5. We will travel to Uncle Jerry and Aunt Lisa’s house for dessert. (2)
6. Without jellied cranberries, my Thanksgiving meal is not complete.
(1)
7. Before gobbling the meal, you should say something for which you
are thankful. (2—toughie)
8. Mom Mom and Aunt Vera glare at each other across the table with
contempt in their eyes. (4)
9. Don’t feed the dog underneath the dinner table. (1)
10. I put ice cream on my pumpkin pie. (1)
11. Above the mantel is a turkey handprint that I made in first grade.
12. At the dinner table I sit between Matt and Briana. (2)
13. Joe sits with the kids at the “children’s table.” (2)
14. Throughout the meal, Gramps chews like a cow with a mouthful
of cud. (3)
15. It is nice to eat among friends and family. (1)
Exercise 2: Your turn. Create three sentences that contain multiple prepositional phrases.
Underline the prepositional phrases, circle the prepositions, and draw arrows to the objects of
the prepositions.
1.
2.
3.