Prepositions, Conjunctions, and Interjections

Unit 6

A preposition usually indicates the temporal, spatial or logical relationship of its object to the rest of the sentence as in the following examples:

• The book is on the table. • The book is beneath the table. • The book is leaning against the table. • The book is beside the table. • She held the book over the table. • She read the book during class.

• The puppy is on the floor.

• The puppy is in the trashcan. • The puppy is beside the

phone.

"about," "above," "across," "after," "against," "along," "among," "around," "at," "before," "behind," "below," "beneath," "beside," "between," "beyond," "but," "by," "despite," "down," "during," "except," "for," "from," "in," "inside," "into," "like," "near," "of," "off," "on," "onto," "out," "outside," "over," "past," "since," "through," "throughout," "till," "to," "toward," "under," "underneath," "until," "up," "upon," "with," "within," and "without."

The Most Common Prepositions Are

(Mine eyes have seen the glory. . .) Read downward by columns.

aboard among beside for

about around between from

above at beyond in

across before by into

after behind down like

against below during of

along beneath except off

(Next slide when sing off.)

(Glory, glory, halleluiah. . .) Read downward by columns.

over to underneath with

past toward until within

since under up without

through upon

throughout

(Next slide when sing without.)

(Second Verse-Glory, glory, halleluiah. . .)

Prepositions come in phrases. The phrases always end in objects.Prepositions never work alone, or they’re called adverbs!

Posted Wed Aug 9 06:36:18 PDT 2000 by Anne Moran (teachmoran6@aol.com). Ursuline Academy, Wilmington, DE

Prepositions• A preposition is a word that links a noun or a

pronoun to some other word in a sentence.• Prepositions answer the questions Where? Or

When?

The boy by the window is French.

• The word by in the sentence above is a preposition. By shows the relationship of the word boy to the noun window.

Commonly Used Prepositionsabout behind for onto toward

above below from opposite under

across beneath in out underneath

after beside inside outside until

against between into over up

along beyond like past upon

among by near since with

around down of through within

at during off throughout without

before except on to

• A preposition can consist of more than one word making it a compound preposition.

Jasmine will visit Trinidad instead of Jamaica.

Compound Prepositions

Compound Prepositions

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

Prepositional Phrase

• A prepositional phrase is a group of words that begins with a preposition and ends with a noun or pronoun, which is called the object of the preposition.

The painting near you is by a Brazilian artist.

• The sentence had two prepositional phrases, near you and by a Brazilian artist

Grammar Tip

• A preposition is always the first word in a prepositional phrase. Prepositional phrases always include a noun or pronoun object.

Identify the prepositions in the following sentences.

• You can think about a sport as an athletic game or a test of skill.– about, of

• Sports can be a source of diversion for those who play or observe them.– of, for

Sports have existed for various purposes since the times of the ancient Egyptians and Greeks.– for, since, of

• The ancient Egyptians swam, raced, wrestled, and played games with sticks and round objects.– with

At first, the ancient Greeks held athletic contests in honor of the gods or in thanksgiving to them.– At, in, of, in, to

Identify the compound prepositions in the following sentences.

• The games provided entertainment, in addition to having religious significance.– in addition to

• According to historians, the games were a vital part of ancient Greek civilization.– According to

Eventually, professional athletes played in place of volunteer citizens.

– in place of

• Because of the importance of the games, winners were treated as heroes.

– Because of

Warring city-states sometimes called a truce due to the games.

– due to

State the prepositional phrase/s you find in each sentence. Identify the object of each preposition.

• In Rome, games took place at the beginning of each year.– In Rome, at the beginning, of each year

• At first, the public treasury provided funds for the events.– At first, for the events

• Corrupt politicians later tried winning the support of the people by lavishly spending excessive amounts of money on the games.– of the people, of money, on the games

• These politicians held games on the slightest pretext so that they could compete for the favor of the public.– on the slightest pretext, for the favor, of

the public

Over time, athletic events lost their original religious meaning and purpose among the people.– Over time, among the people

Distinguishing Between Prepositions and Adverbs

• Some words can be either prepositions or adverbs depending how they are used

• A preposition must have an object and be part of a prepositional phrase

• An adverb modifies a verb and has no object

• Adverb answers the question Where? When? In what way? Or To what extent?

Remember! Adverbs modifies a verb and has no object.

Preposition or Adverb

The ball flew past third base.

- preposition, base is the object of the preposition

Preposition or Adverb

• The umpire ran past quickly.

- adverb, answers the question Where? referring to the verb ran

• Please come inside soon.

– adverb, answers the question Where? referring to the verb come

• They sat inside the dugout.

– preposition, dugout is the object of the preposition

Grammar Tip

• To distinguish between a preposition and an adverb, students can try rewriting the sentence so that the preposition is part of a prepositional phrase. If they can do this, the preposition is not an adverb:

I am the one the baseball belongs to.

The baseball belongs to me.

State if the underlined word is an adverb or a preposition.

• We have learned a lot about the games.

– preposition

• They were celebrated over the summer every four years.

– preposition

Each city-state brought along its best athletes.– adverb

• The athletes walked about, waiting to be called.– adverb

• Some stood in lines along the edge of the arena.– preposition

In each of the following pairs of sentences, one sentence contains a word used as a preposition, and the other contains the same word used as and adverb. Identify if the word is used as a preposition and state the object of the preposition. OR Identify if the word is used as a adverb and state the verb.

• In modern baseball, an umpire stands behind home plate.

– Behind preposition, plate

• A single strikeout can cause one team to win a game or to fall behind.

– Behind adverb, fall

• At a night game, the lights are turned on.

– on: adverb, turned

• The pitcher stands on the mound.

– on: preposition, mound

• The players warm up before the game.

– before: preposition, game

• They’ve practiced the skills many times before.

– before: adverb, practiced

Prepositional Phrases used as Adjectives Phrases

phrase – a group of words that functions in a sentence as a single part of speech

– phrases do not contain a subject and verb

adjective phrase – a prepositional phrase that modifies a noun or pronoun by telling what kind or which one

Adjective

The New Mexican climate is warm.

Adjective Phrase

The climate of New Mexico is warm.

An adjective phrase usually follows its noun or pronoun.

Adjective

The blue-eyed acrobat slipped and fell.

Adjective Phrase

The acrobat with the blue eyes slipped and fell.

A temple of great size stands here.

The prepositional phrase of great size modifies the subject of the sentence, temple.

I noticed some men with heavy suitcases.

The prepositional phrase with heavy suitcases describes a noun in the predicate, men.

Prepositional Phrases used as Adverbs Phrases

adverb phrase – a prepositional phrase that modifies a verb, an adjective, or an adverb

adverb phrases point out where, when, in which way, or to what extent

Adverb Phrases Modifying a Verb, an Adjective, and an Adverb

Describes a verb

The tourists travel in a group.

Describes an

adjectiveThe temple is impressive from this view.

Describes an adverb

It has held up well for its age.

How Adverb Phrases Function

When? They left the hotel in the morning.

Where? The curious visitors went to Japan.

How? The large group traveled by airplane.

Adverb

The bus left late.

Put the package there.

Adverb Phrase

The bus left after a two-hour delay.

Put the package in the closet.

Grammar Tip

• One helpful way to differentiate between adverbs and adjectives is to remember that adverbs modify the words that adjectives don’t: verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs.

Identify each prepositional phrase and state whether it is an adjective phrase or an adverb phrase.

Most people in Japan follow the traditional customs of their country.

– in Japan—adjective phrase

– of their country—adjective phrase

The Japanese traditionally bow on certain occasions.

– on certain occasions—adverb phrase

They show great respect for their elders.

– for their elders—adjective phrase

Throughout their history the Japanese have also loved beauty.

– Throughout their history—adverb phrase

Their gardens are models of grace and delicacy.

– of grace and delicacy—adjective phrase

Japanese gardens are exceptional in their harmony.

– in their harmony—adverb phrase

Artificial and natural elements blend together in their gardens.

– in their gardens—adverb phrase

Soft woven mats cover the floors of many Japanese homes.

– of many Japanese homes—adjective phrase

Conjunctions

conjunction

– connects words or groups of words

– links words and ideas

Conjunctions act like the cement between bricks. Words such as and, as, and when connect individual words or groups of words. They are the “cement” of sentences.

Conjunctions fall into three groups: coordinating conjunctions, correlative conjunctions, and subordinating conjunctions.

Coordinating Conjunctions

• connect words of the same kind, such as two or more nouns or verbs

• can connect larger groups of words, such as prepositional phrases or even entire sentences

• and, for, or, yet, but, nor, so

In the following examples, the coordinating conjunctions are bolded. The words they connect are italicized.

Connecting Nouns:

My cousin and his wife left yesterday for a trip to Washington, D.C.

Connecting Verbs:

They printed out directions but forgot to bring them.

Connecting Prepositional Phrases:

Put the luggage on the doorstep or in the garage.

Connecting Two Sentences:

Our family wanted to go the White House but we decided to go to the Capital first.

Critical Viewing:

What thoughts come to mind when you view this photograph of Mount Rushmore?

Link two thoughts with and and two others with but.

http://www.travelsd.com/placestogo/rushmore/

Correlative Conjunctions

• Connect the same kinds of words or groups of words as do coordinating conjunctions, but correlative conjunctions are used in pairs.

both . . . and

neither . . . nor

whether . . . or

either . . . or

not only . . . but also

Connecting Nouns:We have seen both the Hoover Dam and

the Grand Canyon Dam.

Connecting Pronouns:Either you or I will be the leader on the trail.

Connecting Verbs:The sick hiker would neither eat or drink.

Connecting Prepositional Phrases:

We hiked slowly, whether in a large group or by ourselves.

Connecting Two Sentences:

Not only are the Sierra Mountains rugged, but they are also beautiful.

Identify the coordinating conjunction in each sentence and the words or groups of words connected by the conjunction.

The Arlington National Cemetery is a historic burial place, and it is reserved for soldiers.

There are more than 240,000 graves, yet there is room for more.

The land previously belonged to Robert E. Lee and his family.

During the Civil War, the Union army took over the property, so the residents had to leave.

Many recipients of the Medal of Honor or the Distinguished Flying Cross are buried there.

Identify the correlative conjunction in each sentence and the words or groups of words connected by the conjunction.

Both soldiers and war heroes are buried in Arlington.

Not only men are buried there, but also many brave women.

Many graves are of soldiers who died in either the Vietnam War or the Civil War.

Neither the cemetery nor its inspiring memorials existed before the Civil War.

People buried in the cemetery today must either have died in war or spent twenty years in the military.

Conjunctive Adverb

A conjunctive adverb may be used to join the simple sentences in a compound sentence.

When two simple sentences are joined with a conjunctive adverb, a semicolon always appears before the second sentence.

The conjunctive adverb can appear at the beginning, at the end, or in the middle of the second sentence. When it comes at the beginning or end, it is set off with a comma. When it appears in the middle, one comma proceeds it, and one follows it.

Chinese people often stir-fry their food; therefore, they must cut it into very small pieces.

Stir-frying should be done quickly; the wok must be very hot, therefore.

Vegetables cook more quickly than meat; they must, therefore, be added to the wok last.

Using Conjunctive Adverbs

To replace andalso, besides, furthermore, moreover

To replace but however, nevertheless, still

To state a resultconsequently, therefore, so, thus

To state equality equally, likewise, similarly

Identify each conjunctive adverb, and add any needed punctuation.

People in different lands often have different eating styles moreover they may use different utensils.

– styles; moreover,

Many people in India use bread as a scoop some however use a fork.

– scoop; some, however,

Chinese cooks cut meat into bite-size pieces similarly they chop or slice most vegetables.

– pieces; similarly,

Food is bite-size thus a knife isn’t needed.

– bite-size; thus,

Soup may be served without spoons it must however be sipped carefully.

– spoons; it must, however,

State a conjunctive adverb that makes sense in completing the sentence.

Cuisines differ from country to country; _____________, they often feature similar dishes.

– To replace but: however, nevertheless, still

A crepe is a thin pancake around a filling; ______________, an enchilada may feature cheese inside a pancake.

– To state equality: equally, likewise, similarly

Each nation has its specialties; ___________, these are the best foods to sample.

– To state a result: consequently, therefore, so, thus

You can enjoy these foods in restaurants; ______________, cookbooks offer recipes.

– To replace and: also, besides, furthermore, moreover

Subordinating Conjunctions

• connect two ideas by making one idea dependent on the other

• the idea is dependent on the sentence’s main idea

• the subordinate conjunction introduces the subordinate idea.

Frequently Used Subordinating Conjunctions

after as though since until

although because so that when

as before than whenever

as if even though though where

as long as if till wherever

as soon as in order that unless while

A subordinating conjunction always comes before the dependent idea.

The subordinating conjunction connects the dependent idea to the main idea.

Examples:I did the planning after he made reservations.

When he phoned this morning, he was unable to reach the senator.

Examples:I did the planning after he made reservations.

When he phoned this morning, he was unable to reach the senator.

The examples show that the main idea can come at the beginning or at the end of the sentence.

When the dependent idea comes first, it must be separated from the main idea with a comma.

Identify the subordinating conjunction and the dependent idea following the conjunction.

Wherever important events have occurred, there are landmarks.

Monuments and other landmarks are constructed so that important people and events can be remembered.

Many are built after the people themselves have died.

Some landmarks were constructed because they mark an important historic spot.

Whenever people visit, they are reminded of the person or event.

Even though many landmarks are old, they remain popular.

Interjections

• expresses feeling or emotion and functions independently from the rest of the sentence

• part of speech that is used the least

• only use is to express feelings or emotions

• used to attract attention

An interjection has no grammatical relationship to any other word in a sentence.

An interjection is set off from the rest of the sentence with a comma or an exclamation mark.

Interjections can express different feelings or emotions.

Joy: Wow! I can’t believe the size of this statue.

Surprise: Oh, I didn’t expect to hear from you.

Pain: Ouch! That hurts.

Impatience: Tsk! How long do they expect me to wait?

Hesitation: I, uh, think we should leave now.

Other common interjections include:

Ah, alas, gee, golly, hah, help, hey, hooray, no way, oh my, oh no, oh, oops, psst, so, ugh, uh-oh, well, whew, whoa, and yeah

Some interjections can be used sarcastically.

A word such as Great! Can be used to express not only joy but also impatience or disgust, depending on tone of voice alone.

Identify the interjections in the following sentences.

Wow! This park is amazing.

Yeah, but I am sure that it gets cold here in the winter.

Oh, I would hate to be stuck outside in the cold.

State an interjection that could complete each sentence, Make sure the sentence makes sense.

______! Our next stop in Italy will be the ancient city of Rome.

The city was first built during the great Roman Empire, more than 2,500 years ago. ______!

______! Today’s Romans live surrounded by remnants of an entirely different civilization.

______! We are planning instead to lunch on some of Italy’s more than 200 kinds of pasta.

Bibliography

Carroll, Joyce A., Edward E. Wilson, and Gary Forlini. Prentice Hall Writing and Grammar. Boston, Massachusetts: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2008.

Royster, Jacqueline J., and Mark Lester. Writer's Choice Grammar Workbooks : Teacher's Wraparound Edition. New York: Glencoe/McGraw-Hill, 1996.