Prepositional phrases

Prepositional phrases are usually formed by a preposition, followed by a noun or noun phrase.  Although they often indicate place or direction, they can also indicate, amongst other things, time, the manner in which an action is performed, to express 'having' or attributes, purpose and as agent after the passive.

Time: on the 5th May, at midnight, within a few days, since, for 3 days.
Manner: by car, with kindness, like a mad dog.
Attributes: with the red hair, without shame, of intelligence.
Purpose: because of the floods, as a result of the sun, from tiredness,for a reason, out of kindness.
Agent: by the burglar, with a baseball bat.

Prepositional phrases which express 'having'/attributes are often used to modify nouns.  They occur after the main noun, so 'post-modify' it, but are still part of the noun phrase.

The boy in the bright yellow jumper...      waved excitedly.


 Although 'boy' is the main noun being talked about, the information contained in the prepositional phrase post-modifies the noun and the whole phrase could be replaced with the pronoun 'He'.  It is useful to know this when assessing children's writing: if 'The boy' was considered as the noun phrase, there isn't much expansion, but 'The boy in the bright yellow jumper' shows a lot more noun phrase expansion.

Prepositional phrases can also be used to complement adjectives or adjectival phrases:

• The politician was sorry for his comments.
• The girl was delighted with her shiny, new bike. 

A phrase using the preposition 'than' can also qualify adjectives and enable a comparison, for example, 'The hare was quicker than the tortoise.'