Common Core Skills Practice:

Grammar Lesson #6
Adapted from resources available on
Lettieres English on the Web: dukeofdefinition.com
DEFINITION:
A adjective is a word that shows a
relationship between a noun or pronoun and
another word in the sentence.

The most common prepositions: of, in, on,
at, for, with, by

Etymology: pre (before) + pos (put)
Prepositional phrases
! Prepositions begin prepositional
phrases.
! A prepositional phrase is a group of
words that is a unit and together this
phrase functions as an adjective or an
adverb.
1. There are only about 50
prepositions, so its easy to
remember them.
Memorize the most
common forms: of, in, on,
at, for, with, by and to.
2. You can replace a preposition
with another preposition and it
should still sound correct, even if
the meaning is wrong.
For example:
! The squirrel goes near the tree.
" We can replace the word near with on and
we have The squirrel goes on the tree.
Though the meaning has significantly
changed, the sentence still sounds right.
3. Prepositions have objects.
! Prepositions always begin prepositional
phrases, so they are the first part of a
group of words that team up.
! In the previous sentence, The squirrel
goes near the tree, tree is the object of
the preposition near.
! We know that near is a preposition
because it starts this phrase.
A quick list of prepositions
aboard, about, above, across, after,
against, along, alongside, among,
around, as, aside, at, before, behind,
below, beneath, beside, between,
beyond, by, down, for, from, in, inside,
into, near, next to, of, off, on, onto, out,
outside, over, past, than, to, toward,
under, up, with, within, without
Practicing identification
! I felt lost without my books.
! He fell off the ladder.