English/Parts of Speech/Prepositions/Prepositions of Space

Prepositions are the most essential parts of speech to learn in order to understand sentence structures in the English language. Prepositions show the relationships of words to one another. Locating and labeling nouns and verbs in sentences along with their functions requires an understanding of prepositions. Understanding the English language requires a basic recognition and understanding of noun and verb usage just the same as knowing that 1+1=2 is essential to understanding mathematical calculations.

Following these easy steps will help increase your understanding of prepositions therefore increasing your understanding of sentence structures.

1. Memorize prepositions. Common prepositions: in, out, under, over, near, to, by, beneath (Remember those little words that the bee can do to the honey pot!)

2. Identify prepostional phrases in sentences.

  Practice Sentence:   After lunch Justin walked around the track at the high school.

     Locate the prepositions.  

After lunch Justin walked around the track at the high school.

     Locate the noun/pronouns that are the objects.  All prepositional phrases must have one. 

After lunch Justin walked around the track at the high school.

     After locating all prepositional phrases, mentally remove them from the structure of the sentence.  Locating the noun subject and verb is very simple now.  

Justin--noun subject walked--verb