Prepositional Phrases

What are Prepositional Phrases?

A prepositional phrase is a group of words which consists of:

• a preposition,
• prepositional object, and
• any other words that modify the prepositional object.

So structure-wise, a phrase that has a preposition as the main particle, is called a Prepositional Phrase.

In a sentence, a prepositional phrase can function either as:

• an adverbial phrase, or
• an adjectival phrase.

Some common Prepositional Phrases

According to

According to – as stated by / in the opinion of

According to the pre-nuptial, you will have to provide her 25% of your savings.

By dint of

By dint of – by force of, because of

I won the race by dint of hard work.

In case of

In case of – in the event of

Do give me a call in case of emergency.

By virtue of

By virtue of – by the authority of

Azerbaijan defeated Armenia by virtue of superior air power.

Owing to

Owing to – it roughly means ‘due to’

But there are a few minor differences between ‘owning to’ and ‘due to’:

• We should start a sentence using ‘owing to’ and not ‘due to’.
  Due to snowfall, my bike skidded on the road. (incorrect)
  Owing to snowfall, my bike skidded on the road. (correct)

• We use ‘due to’ (rather than ‘owning to’) after ‘be‘ (i.e. after is/was/were/are etc.)
  The crash was owing to engine failure. (incorrect)
  The crash was due to engine failure. (correct)

With reference to

With reference to – in relation to, in context of

I guess it is with reference to the UFO incident that happened in 2019.

In order to

In order to – for the purpose of

We have to raise $2.5 million in order to keep our company financially buoyant.

In the course of

In the course of – during a certain period/activity

He surely made a lot of friends, as well as foes, in the course of his life.

On behalf of

On behalf of – as a representative of

Sacha Baron Cohen received the award on behalf of his wife.

By means of

By means of – through the use of

They have looted many people by means of white-collar crimes.

For the sake of

For the sake of – in order to, indicates purpose

Stop drinking for the sake of your kids.

In favour of

In favour of – to the benefit of

He voted in favour of an alt-right party.

In lieu of

In lieu of – in the place of

I got only Rs. 5,000 in lieu of my insurance claim.

On account of

On account of – by reason of

You are being fired on account of your negligence.

In relation to

In relation to – in connection with, in the context of

There is some confusion among students in relation to the new rules.

Made of / Made from

Made of – when the original material can be taken back.
Made from – when the original material can’t be taken back.

Do you know that paper is made of wood. (incorrect)
Do you know that paper is made from wood. (correct)

Everyone knows that butter is made of milk. (incorrect)
Everyone knows that butter is made from milk. (correct)

Your chair is made from wood. (incorrect)
Your chair is made of wood. (correct)

Deal in / Deal out / Deal with

Deal in - to trade
Deal with – to handle / describe
Deal out – to distribute

We deal in gold and silver.

The book deals with the pathetic plight of the poor in Asia.
It is very difficult to deal with a person like you.

All the pamphlets will be dealt out tomorrow.

Compare to / Compare with

Compare to – In case of different things.
Compare with – In case of similar things

Many philosophers have compared life with a pilgrimage. (incorrect)
Many philosophers have compared life to a pilgrimage. (correct; life and pilgrimage are different things)

Christianity cannot be compared to Buddhism. (incorrect)
Christianity cannot be compared with Buddhism. (correct; both Christianity and Buddhism are religions)

Differ from / with / on

Differ from – In case of quality/colour/shape/size/…….. (differences in physical things)
Differ with – In case of opinions
Differ + on + “point”

Your house differs with mine in many ways. (incorrect)
Your house differs from mine in many ways. (correct; house is a physical thing)

I beg to differ with you on the issue of counter-insurgency. (correct; my opinion is different from yours)

Many economists differ on the cause of inflation. (correct; they differ on the point of inflation)
Many economists differ with one another on the cause of inflation. (correct; their opinions differ)

Agree + with/to/on

Agree with – In case of persons.
Agree to + request / proposal
Agree + on + “point”

Do you agree to me on this issue. (incorrect)
Do you agree with me on this issue. (correct; agreement with a person is being talked about)

Our manager can’t agree with your proposal. (incorrect; proposal is not a person)
Our manager can’t agree to your proposal. (correct)

We couldn’t agree on what to buy. (correct; agreement on the issue of buying is being talked about)

Beside the mark/point AND Beside oneself with

Beside the mark / point – not relevant
Beside oneself with – to be filled with some emotion.

Your comments are beside the mark. (correct; your points are not relevant)

When Sardar Patel died, everyone was beside himself with grief.

Part

Part from

Part from - To depart from someone/something (In case of Person).

I have parted from that institute.

Part with

Part with – In case of possession.

A miser can never part from his wealth. (incorrect)
A miser can never part with his wealth. (correct)

Part company with

Part company with – To end a relationship

Honda will part company with Hero group of industries.

Part in/of

Part in/of – to be a part of

I want no part in/of your crazy plans.

Part and parcel of

Part and parcel of – to be essential (this is an idiom)

Teaching is part and parcel of my life.

Apart from

Apart from – excluding / in addition to

He answered all the questions apart from the last one. (i.e. excluding)

Apart from a bike I also had a car. (i.e. in addition to)

Blind in/to

Blind in – To lose one eye
Blind to – To be ignorant

He is blind in one eye.

Your mother is blind to your ill manners.

Absorbed / Engrossed / Soaked in

Absorbed / Engrossed / Soaked + in – means to be engrossed in something
Soaked with – to be wet with something

We are absorbed in our studies.

Your clothes are soaked with blood.

on time / in time

on time / in (good) time / at times / at all times / at a time

on time – at an appointed time
in (good) time – sufficiently early
at times – sometimes
at all times - always
at a time – during a particular duration of time

Everyone is requested to come on time tomorrow.

I want to be home in time for tea.

At times she becomes very violent.

I stand by you at all times.

I can do only one thing at a time.
Please speak one at a time, not all at once.

Tired of / Tired from

Tired of - in case of mental tiredness.
Tired from – in case of physical tiredness.

We are tired of this repeated conversation.

He seems to be tired from running here and there.

cash in on / zero in on / go in for

cash in on – to make profit
zero in on – to concentrate/focus, or aim
go in for – to opt (opt has been made from option) or like to take part in an activity

You don’t know how to cash in on the crisis.

Zero in on your studies.

We don’t go in for cricket much.

Extra Books and Tools

If you prefer to learn via books, or want some good English Grammar books for reference purposes, you may read this article which enlists some of the books recommended by us.