prepositional phrase

American  

noun

Grammar.

prepositional phrases plural

1. a phrase consisting of a preposition, its object, which is usually a noun or a pronoun, and any modifiers of the object, as in the gray desk I use.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• prepositional phrases
  plural

Etymology

Origin of prepositional phrase

First recorded in 1960–65

Example Sentences

And I mistook a perfectly good English word, “rosé,” for the Polish prepositional phrase “o rosie,” which means “about the dew.”

From Washington Post • Feb. 23, 2023

The White House disagreed with The Washington Post’s description, so the paper had to issue a correction noting a change of a prepositional phrase in a sentence.

From Salon • May 12, 2017

Another awkwardly placed prepositional phrase; he’s not resigning from any newspapers.

From New York Times • Feb. 24, 2015

A noun or pronoun used as object or objective complement, or as the principal word of a prepositional phrase, is in the objective case.

From Graded Lessons in English An Elementary English Grammar Consisting of One Hundred Practical Lessons, Carefully Graded and Adapted to the Class-Room by Reed, Alonzo

Before the prepositional phrase: The boat is sailing | across the river.

From The Canadian Elocutionist by Howard, Anna Kelsey