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Prepositional Phrase: by Windawati M.PD

A prepositional phrase consists of a preposition, its object, and any modifiers. It can modify a verb or noun. When modifying a noun, it is called an adjectival phrase and provides specificity. When modifying a verb, it is called an adverbial phrase and provides details like manner or location. An adjective clause, also called a relative clause, uses a relative pronoun like who or that to modify a noun and combine two sentences into one complex sentence. Adjective clauses contain a subject and verb but are dependent clauses that cannot stand alone.

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116 views10 pages

Prepositional Phrase: by Windawati M.PD

A prepositional phrase consists of a preposition, its object, and any modifiers. It can modify a verb or noun. When modifying a noun, it is called an adjectival phrase and provides specificity. When modifying a verb, it is called an adverbial phrase and provides details like manner or location. An adjective clause, also called a relative clause, uses a relative pronoun like who or that to modify a noun and combine two sentences into one complex sentence. Adjective clauses contain a subject and verb but are dependent clauses that cannot stand alone.

Uploaded by

alan subagio
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Prepositional Phrase

By Windawati M.Pd
What Is a Prepositional Phrase?
A prepositional phrase is a group of
words consisting of a preposition, its
object, and any words that modify the
object. Most of the time, a prepositional
phrase modifies a verb or a noun. These
two kinds of prepositional phrases are
called adverbial phrases and adjectival
phrases, respectively.
At a minimum, a prepositional phrase consists of one 
preposition and the object it governs. The object can be a
noun, a gerund (a verb form ending in “-ing” that acts as a
noun), or a clause.
 He arrived in time .
 Is she really going out with that guy ?

To these two basic elements, modifiers can be freely


added.
 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.
Prepositional Phrases That Modify Nouns

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. Similarly, on Main
Street gives us information about which store the writer is
describing, and by the lake tells us what kind of cabin the
writer’s mother is dreaming about. All of these adjectival
phrases provide specificity to a noun in order to enhance our
understanding.
Prepositional Phrases That Modify Verbs

When a prepositional phrase acts upon a verb,


we say it is behaving adverbially because
adverbs modify verbs. A prepositional phrase
that behaves adverbially is called
an adverbial phrase.
To find the person who stole the last
cookie, look behind you.
Harry drank his Butterbeer with fervor.

In the first sentence, behind you answers the


question “Look where?” In the second, with
fervor answers the question “Drank how?”
Adjective Clause

An adjective clause, also known as an


adjectival clause, is a type of dependent
clause that works to describe a noun in a
sentence. It functions as an adjective even
though it is made up of a group of words
instead of just one word. In the case of an
adjective clause, all the words work
together to modify the noun or pronoun.
Adjective Clauses (Relative Clauses)

Why is it called an adjective clause? Because adjective


clauses modify (describe) nouns, just like adjectives. For
example:
 The tall man smiled. = tall is an adjective, modifying the
noun man.
 The man who had long hair smiled. = ‘who had long
hair‘ is an adjective clause that modifies the noun man.

Why Use Adjective Clauses?


 When you use adjective clauses, you are able
to combine two sentences into one. A sentence with an
adjective clause is called a complex sentence. Good
writers use a mix of simple sentences, compound
sentences, and complex sentences.
Relative Pronouns for Adjective Clauses

subject and object pronoun for people only. (*whom can be used as an object relative
who
pronoun.)
 
E.g. The man who(m) I saw was old.

subject and object pronoun for people and things.


that
E.g. The book that I saw was red.

subject and object pronoun for things only.


which
E.g. The book, which I saw, was red.

used for possessions.
whose
E.g. The man whose house was for sale was old.

used for places.
where
E.g. The restaurant where we met was downtown.

used for times.
when
E.g. The day when we met was cloudy.
Adjective Clauses are Dependent

All adjective clauses are dependent clauses. A dependent


clause is a group of words that consists of a subject and a verb,
yet it is not a complete sentence that can stand alone. Adjective
clauses begin with a relative pronoun, which connects them to
the word they describe, such as:

that
where
when
who
whom
whose
which
why
Once you remember the relative pronouns, it's very easy to pick out an
adjective clause in a sentence:

 Chocolate, which many people adore, is fattening.


 People who are smart follow the rules.
 I can remember the time when cell phones didn't exist.
 Charlie has a friend whose daughter lives in China.
 The wine that vintners produce in Tuscany is not cheap.
 The reason why Sandra went to law school is that she didn't want to be a
doctor.

begins with a relative pronoun from the list above. This connects it to the noun
being described, which comes directly before the relative pronoun in the
sentence.
Each adjective clause above also contains a subject and a verb, all of which
work together to describe the original noun being modified. For example, the
clause which many people adore contains the subject "people" and the verb
"adore," yet by itself it is not a complete sentence. Instead, its job is to provide
more information to describe the noun "chocolate."
In some cases, the relative pronoun also serves as the subject of the clause. For
example, in the adjective clause who are smart, the relative pronoun "who" also
acts as the subject that is smart.

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