A preposition is a word such as under, toward, during, or about. It expresses a relationship, often by showing where or when something happens, where it is going, or what it concerns.
What prepositions can show
- Place. The ball rolled under the bench.
- Direction. Mina walked toward the gate.
- Time. We met after lunch.
- Topic. They spoke about the new trail.
Prepositions and their objects
In under the bench, under is the preposition, and the bench is its object. A pronoun can also be an object, as in beside her. Together, the preposition and the words that complete it form a prepositional phrase.
A word can change jobs. In after lunch, after is a preposition. In after we ate lunch, traditional grammar calls after a subordinating conjunction because it introduces a clause with a subject and verb.
