Object 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. A prepositional phrase can appear at the beginning, middle, or end of a sentence, regardless of where the subject appears. This is simply a matter of style. 

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!

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

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. 

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

Overall, an object of a preposition is the noun or pronoun that is governed by the preposition. Prepositions are words that show where something is in time and space. The object is usually placed right next to the preposition in the sentence at the beginning, middle or end. 

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 MonsterÂ