Download Two Kinds of Prepositional Phrases:

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Two Kinds of Prepositional Phrases:
Part 2 - The Adverb Phrase
The second kind of prepositional phrase you will encounter is the adverb phrase. As with
the adjective phrase, the adverb phrase is a prepositional phrase that serves as one singular part
of speech: an adverb (duh!). An adverb is a word that modifies, or describes, a verb, an
adjective, or another adverb. Not surprisingly, an adverb phrase also modifies the same parts
of speech. In almost every case, however, the prepositional phrases you deal with will only
modify verbs. An adverb phrase will answer the same questions as a regular adverb: Where?
When? How? How often? and To What Extent? The first three questions are the most common
ones with adverb phrases.
An adverb phrase is a prepositional phrase that modifies a verb, adjective, or other adverb.
Below is a comparison of adverbs and adverb phrases that answer the same question.
Where?
Adverb :
Adverb Phrase:
The student sat there quietly.
The student sat at her desk quietly.
Both examples say
where the student sat.
The play will be performed soon.
The play will be performed in a week.
Both examples say when
the play will be performed.
When?
Adverb:
Adverb Phrase:
Warning: Two adverb phrases often are found in succession (or right after each other).
Sometimes they will both be modifying the same verb. EXAMPLE: The team practiced on Tuesdays
in the gym. In this sentence the two prepositional phrases “on Tuesdays” and “in the gym”
both modify the verb “practiced.” In the first example, the prepositional phrase answers the
question when, in the second, where.
In other cases, you might have two prepositional phrases in succession; the first may be an
adverb phrase, while the second could be an adjective phrase. Obviously, because they are different
kinds of phrases, they will modify different words. EXAMPLE: The bird flew in the window
behind the garage. The first prepositional phrase in this sentence, “in the window,” is an
adverb phrase that modifies the verb “flew” and answers the question where. The second
prepositional phrase, “behind the garage,” modifies the noun “window,” and answers the
question which one, or which window.
One last tricky point about adverb phrases: they are often found nowhere near the
words they modify, unlike adjective phrases, which almost always directly follow the words
they modify. Notice how the following two sentences are very similar:
1. Up the chimney and into the night flew Santa.
2. Santa flew up the chimney and into the night.
The meaning of both sentences is the same, yet they are arranged differently. When you
encounter a prepositional phrase that seems to be “dangling” with no word to modify in sight,
the trick is to ask the right questions and then connect it to the logical word. For example, in the
first sentence above, you might say, “Hmm, ‘up the chimney and into the night.’ Both of these
prepositional phrases answer the question where. Therefore, they must modify a verb! Hey,
what do you know? The only verb in that sentence is ‘flew’! Voilà!”