A preposition relates the noun or pronoun following it to another word in the sentence.

1. Prepositions A preposition relates the noun or pronoun following it to another word in the sentence.

2. Fifty commonly used prepositions.(Found on page 362 in your textbook) About behind during off to through Above below except on toward down Across beneath for onto under After beside from opposite underneath Against besides in out until against Besides in out until along between Inside outside up among beyond into Over upon around but like past with At by near since within before of without

3. Compound Prepositions(Found on page 362 in your textbook) According to by means of instead of Ahead of in addition to in view of Apart from in back of next to Aside from in front of on account of As of in place of on top of Because of in spite of out of

4. The choice of preposition affects the way the other words in a sentence relate to each other. In the following example notice how each preposition changes the relationship between the words playedand gym. The girls played near the gym. in back of in on

5. Practice Identify the prepositions in the following sentences. • Basketball is a game between two teams. • A basketball hoop is suspended above each end. • The team that has the most points by the end wins. • According to archaeologists, kicking games were played in many ancient societies.

6. Prepositional Phrases • A preposition must always be followed by a noun or a pronoun. • A group of words:1. beginning with theprepositionand2. ending with the nounorpronounis called apreposition phrase. • The noun or pronoun that follows the preposition is called the object of the preposition.

7. Examples: Preposition object of preposition • withus withus • according toaccording tocoach the new coach • inside the large inside stadium stadium • over the green hill over hill

8. PracticeRecognizing prepositional phrases. Put the prepositional phrase in ( ). Then underline the preposition and circle the object of the preposition. 1. An umpire stands behind home plate. 2. Fans don’t like waiting for home runs. 3. The pitcher stands on the mound. 4. Eager fans are in line for tickets. 5. We waited for the hot dog vendor.

9. Preposition or Adverb? Some words can be either prepositions or adverbs, depending on how they are used in a sentence. To be a preposition, a word must have an object and be part of a prepositional phrase. Example: The ball flew past third base. An adverb modifies a verb and has no object. (an object answers the question, “what?”) Example: The umpire ran past quickly.

10. Examples: Preposition: They sat inside the dugout Adverb: Please comeinside soon. Preposition: They like to see players running around the bases. Adverb: Fans don’t like to sit aroundwaiting for hits.

11. PracticeDistinguish between prepositions and adverbs Find the word that appears in both sentences. If the word acts as apreposition,write prep. above it. If the word acts as an adverb, write adv. above it. • At a night game, the lights are turned on. • The pitcher stands on the mound. • The players warm up before the game. • They’ve practiced the skills many times before. • The pitcher threw the ball across the plate. • The catcher ran across to the pitcher.