Prepositions
You learn to find the preposition: the small word that tells you where or when.
How to do the test
- Find a noun.
- Look at the small word just before it.
- If it tells you where or when, it is a preposition.
A worked example
Tap the preposition. The cat sat on the mat.
- A preposition links a noun to the rest of the sentence.
- Look at "on the mat": it tells you where the cat sat.
- On comes before the noun mat.
- On is the preposition.
More examples
Tap the preposition. The bird flew over the house.
- A preposition links a noun to the rest of the sentence.
- Look at "over the house": it tells you which way the bird flew.
- Over comes before the noun house.
- Over is the preposition.
Tap the preposition. They ate after the game.
- A preposition links a noun to the rest of the sentence.
- Look at "after the game": it tells you when they ate.
- After comes before the noun game.
- After is the preposition.
Watch out
You tap the noun the preposition belongs to, like table in under the table.
The noun is the thing. The preposition is the small word just before the noun that tells you where it is.
Tips
- Try the box test: the cat is in the box, on the box, under the box. Words that fit are prepositions.
Exceptions
- Some words, like before and after, are prepositions in one sentence and conjunctions in another.
Why it works
A preposition links a noun to the rest of the sentence. It comes right before a noun, and it tells you where, when or which way. If you find the noun, the preposition is just before it.