Pronouns as Objects of Preposition: What It Is and How To Use It

Do you know what an object of a preposition is? This article will provide you with all of the information you need on the object of a preposition, including its definition, usage, example sentences, and more!

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What is an object of a preposition?

According to Grammar Monster, in English grammar, an object of a preposition is the noun or pronoun governed by a preposition. This is usually the noun or pronoun that is right next to the preposition. While the object of a sentence does not always need to follow the subject, the object of a preposition must always follow the preposition or prepositional phrase. The object of a preposition cannot be the subject of a verb, not can it use a subject pronoun. It can only use object pronouns such as direct object pronouns and indirect object pronouns. Native speakers in any grade may find this easy to comprehend, but others may need to work on it with a language workbook.

In Spanish, the Spanish prepositional pronouns are below from Rocket Languages:

  • Uds. – you (plural)
  • Entre Tú y Yo
  • él – him
  • Conmigo
  • Contigo
  • ti – you
  • mí – me
  • vosotros/as – you (plural)
  • ellas – them
  • nosotros/as – us
  • Ud – you
  • ella – her
  • ellos – them

You will often see these in phrases such as con ti, con mí, en, para ti, de, por, and more.

What are examples of objects of prepositions?

An object of a preposition can be used in many different contexts in the English language. Trying to use a word or literary technique in a sentence is one of the best ways to memorize what it is, but you can also try making flashcards or quizzes that test your knowledge. Try using this term of the day in a sentence today! Below are a couple of examples of object of a preposition that can help get you started incorporating this tool into your everyday use.  Take a look at the following examples of object of a preposition from Soft Schools and Grammar Monster and see how many you can identify the object of a preposition in!

  •  Half of the cake is missing. 
  •  The ants get in your ears when you are sleeping.
  •  Morgan’s house is across the street.
  •  Our school is around the corner.
  •  I have such a strong belief in women’s ability to sustain each other. (American actress Deidre Hall)
  •  I hid behind the tree. 
  •  She threw my grammar book of grammar lessons in the trash.
  •  The majority of the cake has been eaten by Jim. 
  •  Half of the cakes are missing. 
  •  Little Jane will stand in the hallway tomorrow.
  •  Jennifer sits beside me in class. 
  •  The grape rolled under the table. 
  •  Half our life is spent trying to find something to do with the time we have rushed through life trying to save. (Will Rogers, 1879-1935)
  •  Inside every cynical person, there is a disappointed idealist. (George Carlin)
  •  She told me about the proposition in her living room.
  •  The majority of the cakes have been eaten by my colleagues like PAt. 
  •  Lee cried during the movie.
  •  Each of the billion people has a reason to tell jokes, including Pablo. 
  •  Marcus hid under the bed.
  •  He locked me outside of the house out of spite.
  •  This is one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind. (Neil Armstrong)
  •  You want me to talk to whom
  •  Each of the guide dogs is assigned a trainer. 
  •  The suspect Martha’s phone is on the table. 
  •  Are those cookies on the table for the dogs?
  •  Go with her. 
  •  You cannot work with men who won’t work with you. (American businessman John Harvey Kellogg)
  •  The scope of projects was too wide for further reading beyond the first example. 
  •  Kate’s play will begin at 7:00. 
  •  A box of magazines is under the stairs for Juan. 
  •  Please give the paper to Marissa as a gift.
  •  The elephant lived at the zoo.
  •  Jake bounced the rubber ball outside the school. 
  •  There is a particle in my eye.

What are other grammar terms?

There are many different literary and grammatical techniques and devices that you might see when you are reading prose or poetry. It is important to recognize these terms because they are always used for some purpose. Knowing these devices can help readers understand the author’s deeper meaning and why they are using such a device. Take a look at the below list of grammatical devices from OED and see how many you know! Then try researching ones that are unfamiliar to you. 

  • base form
  •  subjective
  •  cognate object
  •  verbal noun
  •  progressive
  •  to-infinitive
  •  instrumental
  •  anticipatory
  •  construction
  •  adverb (adv.)
  •  anaphoric
  •  cataphoric
  •  impersonal (impers.)
  •  possessive
  •  predicative
  •  present participle
  •  agent noun
  •  premodify | premodifier
  •  tense
  •  person
  •  adverbial | adverbially
  •  possessive adjective
  •  part of speech
  •  complement
  •  past tense
  •  direct speech
  •  passive
  •  collocation | collocate
  •  demonstrative
  •  genitive
  •  modify | modifier
  •  construed (const., constr.)
  •  locative
  •  subject
  •  combination
  •  prepositional object
  •  noun (n.)
  •  interrogative
  •  indirect question
  •  superlative
  •  participle | past participle | present participle
  •  predicate
  •  noun phrase
  •  neuter
  •  common noun
  •  filler
  •  indicative
  •  imperative (imper.)
  •  auxiliary verb | auxiliary
  •  personal pronoun
  •  third-person
  •  main clause
  •  gender
  •  double object
  •  reflexive
  •  main verb
  •  article
  •  complementary
  •  object | direct object | indirect object
  •  prepositional phrase
  •  suffix
  •  number
  •  appositive
  •  concrete
  •  causative
  •  comparative
  •  infinitive
  •  phrasal verb
  •  masculine
  •  first person
  •  prepositional passive
  •  absolute (absol.)
  •  protasis
  •  clause
  •  present tense
  •  parasynthetic
  •  agree | agreement
  •  definite article
  •  direct object
  •  nominal relative | nominal relative clause
  •  finite
  •  interjection
  •  dual
  •  adjective
  •  positive
  •  morpheme
  •  determiner
  •  relative
  •  pleonasm | pleonastic
  •  attributive
  •  transitive
  •  gerund
  •  zero
  •  pro-form
  •  copular verb | copula
  •  perfect
  •  indirect speech
  •  mood
  •  intransitive
  •  possessive pronoun
  •  past participle
  •  mass noun
  •  ellipsis | elliptical
  •  direct question
  •  quasi-
  •  indefinite
  •  dative
  •  passive infinitive
  •  periphrasis | periphrastic
  •  inflection | inflected | inflectional
  •  indirect object
  •  phrase (phr.)
  •  apodosis and protasis
  •  parenthetical | parenthetically
  •  collective noun
  •  modal verb | modal auxiliary verb | modal auxiliary
  •  stem
  •  sentence adverb |sentence adverbial
  •  that-clause
  •  subjunctive
  •  intensifier
  •  non-finite
  •  unmarked genitive
  •  subordinate clause
  •  second person
  •  bare infinitive
  •  participial adjective
  •  pronoun (pron.)
  •   postmodify | postmodifier
  •  singular
  •  apposition
  •  special use
  •  verb (v.)
  •  head
  •  plural
  •  feminine
  •  antecedent
  •  objective
  •  preposition (prep.)
  •  conditional
  •  declarative
  •  similative
  •  simple
  •  indirect passive
  •  proper noun | proper name
  •  conjunction (conj.)
  •  combining form (comb. form)
  •  compound | compounding
  •  accusative
  •  active
  •  case
  •  count noun
  •  non-referential
  •  element
  •  nominative
  •  abstract
  •  optative
  •  prefix
  •  vocative

Overall, an object of a preposition is the noun or pronoun that is governed by the preposition.

Sources:

  1. Glossary of grammatical terms | OED 
  2. Object of the Preposition Examples | Soft Schools 
  3. Object of a Preposition | What is the object of a preposition? | Grammar Monster 
  4. Spanish Prepositional Pronouns | Rocket Languages