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Date: _____________________________
Practice Sheet: Adding Adjective, Adverbs, and Prepositional Phrases to
Sentences so that They Make Better Sense
Building Sentences with Prepositional Phrases
Prepositional phrases often do more than just add minor details to a sentence: they may be needed for a sentence
to make sense. Consider the vagueness of the sentence below without prepositional phrases:
The workers gather a rich variety and distribute it.
Now see how the sentence comes into focus when we add prepositional phrases:
From many sources, the workers at the Community Food Bank gather a rich variety of surplus and
unsalable food and distribute it to soup kitchens, day-care centers, and homes for the elderly.
Notice how these added prepositional phrases give us more information about certain nouns and verbs in the
sentence:
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Which workers?
The workers at the Community Food Bank.
What did they gather?
A rich variety of surplus and unsalable food.
Where did they gather the food?
From many sources.
Who did they distribute it to?
To soup kitchens, day-care centers, and homes for the elderly.
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Like the other simple modifiers, adjectives and adverbs, prepositional phrases are not merely ornaments; they add
details that can help us understand a sentence.
PRACTICE: Building more meaning into Sentences
Use adjectives, adverbs, and prepositional phrases to expand the sentences below. Add details that answer the
questions in parentheses and make the sentences more interesting and informative.
1) Jenny stood, raised her shotgun, aimed, and fired. (Where did Jenny stand? How did she aim? What did she
fire at?)
2)
The man lifted the bag and walked.
(What kind of man? What kind of bag? Where did he walk?)
3)
We forget. (When do we forget? What do we forget? Why do we forget?)
4)
Life was. (Life where?
Life when? Life was what?)
5) Sarah found the ring. (When did Sarah find the ring? Where did she find it? Which ring was it?)