Preposition & Prepositional Phrase

Preposition
Prepositions are close system items that relate two different entities, of which one is always a
complement of preposition. e.g. I’ll come after Preposition two days complement or object of Preposition.
List of Common Prepositions
The following table lists the most commonly used prepositions in English.
about below in spite of regarding
above beneath instead of since
according to beside into through
across between like throughout
after beyond near to
against but (meaning except) of toward
along by off under
amid concerning on underneath
among down on account of until
around during onto up
at except out upon
atop for out of with
because of from outside within
before in over without
behind inside past
Complex Prepositions: in front of, due to, owing to, because of, despite of etc.
Prepositional phrase
Prepositional phrase consists of a preposition and a complement or object of a preposition,
which can be a noun phrase, wh-clause or V-ing clause. e.g. underpre the warm blanketNP,
bypre writing furiously V-ing clause, forpre what he saidwh-clause
Syntactic Functions of Prepositional Phrases
Post modifier of a noun in a noun phrase e.g. The book on the bathroom floor
is swollen from shower steam.
As an adverbial, a prepositional phrase will answer questions such as How? When? or
Where?
Adjunct are integrated within the structure of the clause. e.g. Freddy is stiff
from yesterday's long football practice.
Disjunct express an evaluation of what is being said with respect to its form or content. e.g.
To my surprise, Josh begged his friends for a pencil.
Conjunct have connective function by indicating the connection between what is being said
and what was said before. e.g. The car stalled in spite of the tune-up.
Nominal: In English, sometimes words function as nouns but aren't themselves nouns. These
words are called nominals. Prepositions sometimes perform this important function in
sentences when they are used in conjunction with the verb to be. e.g. The park is next to the
hospital.
Semantic Properties of Prepositions
In semantic terms, the preposition functions to illustrate a logical, temporal, or spatial
relationship between the object of the prepositional phrase and the other components of the
sentence. e.g. The dog is asleep on his bed (spatial). The town hasn't been the same since the
war (temporal). The family survived despite the accident (logical).