Preposition Study Guide

Column 1	Column 2	Column 3	Column 4	Column 5
aboard	before	for	off	under
about	behind	from	on	underneath
above	below	in	out	unlike
across	beneath	in front of	out of	until
after	beside	inside	over	up
against	between	instead of	past	up to
along	beyond	into	since	upon
among	by	like	through	with
around	down	near	throughout	within
as	during	next to	till	without
at	except	of	to	towards

A preposition is a word that shows the relationship of one word in a sentence to another word.

 Prepositions can tell four things:

1. location (where something is in relation to something else)

2. direction (where something is going)

3. time

4. relationship (between a noun or pronoun and another word).

Examples:

I waited outside the movie theatre. (location)

I walked toward the building (direction)

I waited until 7:30 (time)

I went with my friend. (relationship)

A compound preposition is two or more words that work together like a one word preposition.  Examples include: up to, in front of, and next to.

A prepositional phrase is a phrase that begins with a preposition and ends with a noun or pronoun known as the object of the preposition.

Joe sits near the window.

My mother drove over the hill and swerved around the pothole.

The object of the preposition is the noun or pronoun that follows a preposition in a prepositional phrase.  There may be descriptive words in between the preposition and the object of the preposition.

I am going to school.

I put the books inside my new L.L. Bean backpack.

Pronouns Study Guide

A pronoun takes the place of a noun or nouns. 

Example:

The pediatrician prescribed medication.  He prescribed it to the child.

An antecedent is the word or words to which a pronoun refers.  Every pronoun needs a clear antecedent.  It is not necessary for the antecedent to be in the same sentence as the pronoun.

Example:

The pediatrician prescribed medication.  He prescribed it to the child.

(The underlined words are the antecedents of the pronouns he and it.)

A subject pronoun takes the place of the subject of a sentence.

I, you, he, she, it, we, and they are subject pronouns.

Example:

Mrs. Swalec loves to read.  She often reads before going to sleep.

An object pronoun takes the place of a noun that follows an action verb and is also used after prepositions.

Me, you, him, her, it, us, and them are object pronouns.

Example:

Mrs. Swalec often has a book with her.  She is currently reading My Thirteenth Winter and is truly enjoying it.

A possessive pronoun shows ownership or possession.  It takes the place of a possessive noun.  Some possessive pronouns are used before nouns, while others stand alone. Do not confuse possessive pronouns with contractions. A possessive pronoun never has an apostrophe!

My, your, his, her, its, our, and their are used before nouns.

Example:

His binder desperately needs to be organized.

Mine, yours, his, hers, ours, and theirs stand alone.

Example:

This baseball glove is his.