1. PREPOSITIONAL PHRASES Profª. Flávia Cunha

2. DEFINITION • A prepositional phrase consists of a preposition followed by a prepositional complement, which is usually: a) a noun phrase – e.g. There will be 1400 delegates at the conference. She studies at UVA.

3. DEFINITION b) a wh- clause – e.g. No conclusion can be drawn from what the press reported yesterday. Please, pay attention to what I am saying.

4. DEFINITION c) an –ing clause - e.g. By signing the treaty, both nations have made an effort towards peace. By traveling abroad,shewill improve her English.

5. Compare the complements: her remark. (a) • He was surprised at what she said. (b) her saying this. (c)

6. FUNCTION • The boy from the shop is waiting at the corner.

7. FUNCTION • A prepositional phrase, which has a preposition as its head, can function as an adjectival or adverbial.

8. FUNCTION • The boy from the shop is waiting at the corner. • - from the shop:the head of this prepositional phrase is the preposition from. The function of the phrase is adjectival - it does the work of an adjective by describing the noun boy. It modifies the noun, answering the question: which boy?

9. FUNCTION • The boy from the shop is waiting at the corner. • - at the corner:the head of this prepositional phrase is the preposition at. The function of the phrase is adverbial - it does the work of an adverb by modifying the verb waiting. It answers the question: where is he waiting?

10. FUNCTION Adjectival prepositional phrases, like adjectives, modify nouns: for example, they tell you which boy we are talking about: • The boy in a hurry is waiting over there. • The boy at the station told me. • The boy from London lives here. • The boy with red hair is called Ginger. • The boy behind the shed is smoking

11. FUNCTION Adverbial prepositional phrases, like adverbs, modify verbs, adjectives, adverbs or prepositions, and answer the same range of questions as adverbs: • how? in a hurry, with enthusiasm; • when? after the party, at midnight; • where? at the station, near London; • why? for my sake, because of the cold.

12. FUNCTION • Important: as some of those examples, the same phrase can be adjectival or adverbial, depending on the position it takes in the sentence.