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Finding Prepositional Phrases
Practice Exercise # 8
Directions: Place parentheses ( ) around every prepositional
phrase.
| The text is: |
| The preacher was wired for sound
with a lapel mike, and as he preached, he moved briskly about the platform,
jerking the mike cord as he went. Then he moved to one side, getting wound
up in the cord and nearly tripping before jerking it again. After several
circles and jerks, a little girl in the third pew leaned toward her mother
and whispered, "If he gets loose, will he hurt us?" |
| Work your way through the text one sentence
at a time. |
Sentence #1
| Identify all the prepositional phrases. |
| The preacher was wired
(for
sound) (with a lapel mike), and as he preached, he moved briskly
(about
the platform), jerking the mike cord as he went. |
| Note that "as," which appears twice in
this sentence, can be a preposition, but in the first case if we ask "As
what?" the answer would be "As he preached." Because "he preached" is a
subject and verb (and can stand as a sentence), this "as" is not a preposition.
The same is true in the second case -- "he went" could be a sentence, so
"as he went" is not a prepositional phrase. [Later, you will learn that
these are subordinate clauses.] |
Sentence #2
| Identify all the prepositional phrases. |
| Then he moved (to
one side), getting wound up (in the
cord) and nearly tripping (before jerking
it again). |
If you rely on your knowledge
of English (and pay attention to what the words mean), you will see that
"up" does not function as a preposition here. Rather, it is part of the
verb, "wound up." [Note that, if you break it into phrases, you would break
it into "wound up" and "in the cord." You would probably not break it into
"wound" and "up into the cord."]
The last phrase, "before jerking it again,"
is more complicated. Note that it is a prepositional phrase, even though
"jerking" is a verb. You can often determine this because verbs that function
as "jerking" does here cannot form a simple sentence -- No one would accept
"He jerking it again." as an acceptable sentence. Some students prefer
to end phrases like this one immediately after the verb --
"(before jerking) it again." Other students would include
the "it" -- "(before jerking it) again." I will
accept any of these variations. |
Sentence #3
| Identify all the prepositional phrases. |
| (After
several circles and jerks), a little girl (in
the third pew) leaned (toward her mother)
and whispered, "If he gets loose, will he hurt us?" |
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