Here's why:
* Prepositional Phrases: These are groups of words that begin with a preposition (like "under", "on", "in", "by", etc.) and include a noun or pronoun (the object of the preposition).
* Preposition: "Under" is the preposition in this phrase.
* Object of the Preposition: "The desk" is the noun that follows the preposition and tells us where the paper was dropped.
The prepositional phrase "under the desk" acts as an adverbial phrase in the sentence, modifying the verb "dropped" by telling us where the action took place.