Prepositional Phrases

Two or more words habitually thrown together and ending with a simple preposition may be called Phrase prepositions or Prepositional phrases.

Some Prepositional Phrases: by means of, because of, in front of, in spite of, on account of, with regard to, on behalf of, instead of, in the place of, etc.

Prepositional Phrases Examples

He was absent because of his illness.
The accident occurred in front of the house.
He succeeded by means of hard work.
He made his allegation in opposition to the proposal.
He could not pay his debts on account of the shortage of funds.
He has selected mechanics instead of mathematics.
This was said with reference to his election.
You will get books in lieu of the medal.
A new teacher has been appointed in the place of Rambabu.
He has gone to Darjeeling with a view to writing a new book.
This meeting will not be held in the event of his not coming.

Prepositional Phrases List

On the Brink of -The country is on the brink of disaster.
On the eve of -The whole family assembled on the eve of her marriage.
On the face of – On the face of it, the country seems prosperous.
On the ground of – His application was rejected on the ground of his being below age.
On the pretense of – On the pretense of being a student, he acted as a spy in the USA.
With a view to – He went to North India with a view to visiting various places of pilgrimage.
By dint of – He did well in the examination by dint of regular study.
In agreement with – I am not in agreement with him on this matter.
In comparison with – In comparison with Rabindranath, most of the other poets are very ordinary.
In connection with – I met him in connection with my application for a teaching post.
In consequence of – The study of the students suffered in consequence of the teacher’s long absence.
In consideration of – He was pardoned in consideration of his tender age.
In course of – This topic was raised in course of our conversation.
In keeping with – His actions are in keeping with his words.
In quest of – He went to Delhi in quest of a better job.
In view of – In view of his physical weakness, he was given a light job.
In spite of – He is quarrelling again in spite of repeated warnings.
In the event of – In the event of Mr Sen’s absence, Mr Mitra is to preside over the meeting.
In the interest of – He always worked in the interest of the entire village.
In the teeth of – He kept his conviction even in the teeth of strong opposition.
In the light of – In the light of newly received facts, the charges brought against him were proved to be false.
In order to – In order to succeed you have to work hard.
In pursuance of – In pursuance of your advice, I have rewritten the essay.
In the middle of – He left the room in the middle of the discussion.
In proportion to – Profits should be shared in proportion to the investments made.
In praise of – He wrote a poem in praise of Kalidasa.
In pursuit of – He devoted all his energy in pursuit of success.
On account of – I could not accept your invitation on account of my illness.
Owing to – He could not reach his office on time owing to the late running of trains.
On the verge of – The patient is on the verge of death.
On default of – You will be arrested on default of payment.
Instead of – My brother went there instead of me.
On behalf of – I signed the receipt on behalf of my father.
Due to – His absence was due to his ill health.