1. Preposition: This is the key word that introduces the phrase and indicates the relationship between the object of the preposition and another word in the sentence. Some common prepositions include:
* on, in, at, to, from, by, with, of, for, about, through, during, after, before, around, over, under, beside, between, among, across, against, towards, upon, despite, according to, instead of
2. Object of the preposition: This is a noun, pronoun, or noun phrase that follows the preposition and receives its action. It answers the question "what?" or "whom?" after the preposition.
Example:
* The cat sat on the mat.
* on the mat is the prepositional phrase.
* on is the preposition.
* the mat is the object of the preposition.
Prepositional phrases can function as adjectives, adverbs, or even nouns in a sentence.
Here are some examples of how prepositional phrases can be used:
* Adjective: The book on the table is mine.
* Adverb: He walked to the store.
* Noun: After the game was a time for celebration.
It's important to note that prepositional phrases can be quite complex and contain other phrases within them. For example, "The book on the table by the window" contains two prepositional phrases: "on the table" and "by the window".