Object of preposition refers to a noun, noun phrase, or pronoun that comes after a preposition and elaborates its meaning. A group of words comprising a preposition, its object, plus any object’s modifiers is referred to as a prepositional phrase.
In present English grammar, the object of a preposition is sometimes referred to as a prepositional complement. So as to have a deep understanding of what the object of a preposition is, let’s delve into each of its constituents.
Object of Preposition
Object
In grammar, the object refers to the substance that the subject works on.
Example in a sentence:
- The cat was run over by a car.
In this example, “cat” is the subject and patient, while “car” is the agent in the prepositional phrase “by a car.” More often, the subject precedes the object, though not all the time. Following is an example in which the object antecedes the subject.
- The antelope was chased by the lion.
In this example, “lion” is the subject because it is the doer of the action. Alternatively, “antelope” is the object of the sentence because it is the recipient of the subject’s action.
Preposition
A preposition is a word that denotes the connection between two things in a sentence. Most of the typical prepositions express the physical relationship between two items, where they relate to each other. Some of the typical prepositions include: in, to, from, after, on, under, and with.
Examples of prepositions in a sentence:
- The book is on the table.
- The cat is in the kitchen.
- The woman is under intensive care.
The preposition in each of the examples expresses the relation between two nouns.
Prepositional Phrase
A prepositional phrase is a group of words that contains a preposition but often doesn’t feature a subject or a verb. However, it is only in extreme cases that it has a subject and verb. Typically, it contains a preposition and a noun or pronoun. Here are some examples of prepositional phrases in a sentence:
- The boy likes to exercise before lunch.
- The child is coming home from school.
- The woman is concerned about her hubby.
- The book is on the table.
What Is the Object of a Preposition?
It refers to a noun, noun phrase, or pronoun that comes after a preposition and elaborates it further to clarify. The object of a preposition describes the preposition making it more meaningful. Here are some examples of the object of a preposition in sentences:
- His roomie should have arrived by now.
- The school principal is in a hurry.
- The dog stays awake at night.
- The dog walks to the park with the boy.
In the above examples, the object of a preposition in every sentence is bold and underlined. It is good to note that though the object of a sentence does not always need to come after the subject, the object of a preposition must always come after the preposition. A preposition’s object can appear at the start, middle, or end of a sentence, irrespective of where the subject appears. To exemplify this point, let’s study a few more examples:
- The teacher was not late for class. In fact, she arrived on time.
- Horses are friendly by nature, but some horses can be hostile.