The Adjective Phrase Examples

You already know that a preposition is a word that expresses the relationship between a noun or pronoun and another word in the sentence. In addition, you know that a prepositional phrase includes the preposition and the object of the preposition, which is the noun or pronoun that relates to another word.

Prepositional Phrases can function in three ways in a sentence: as a noun, as an adjective, or as an adverb.

When a prepositional phrase is functioning as an adjective phrase, it is giving us additional information about a noun or pronoun in the sentence. It is telling us which one, what kind, or how many.

To determine if a prepositional phrase is an adjective phrase:

1) Find the object of the preposition (the noun or pronoun that follows the preposition).

2) Ask yourself which other word in the sentence is related to this noun or pronoun by the preposition.

3) What part of speech is that other word in the sentence? If the other word is a noun or pronoun, then the prepositional phrase is an adjective phrase.

Examples of prepositional phrases functioning as adjective phrases with explanations:

The woman on the boat is my aunt Carol.

The object of this prepositional phrase is "boat". The preposition "on" is telling us the relationship between the boat and the "woman". Woman is a noun, so this is an adjective phrase.

The announcement during class interrupted my work on the math test.

The object of this prepositional phrase is "class". The preposition "during" is

telling us the relationship between the class and the announcement. Announcement is a noun, so this is an adjective phrase.

More examples of adjective phrases:

1) Please wash the dishes in the sink. (gives relationship between dishes and sink)

2) The girl in the red shirt is my little sister. (gives relationship between girl and shirt)

3) Are the shoes under the chair yours? (gives relationship between shoes and chair)

4) The house across the street is mine. (gives relationship between house and street)

5) The show after this one is my favorite! (gives relationship between show and one)

6) I want the doll on that shelf. (gives relationship between doll and shelf)

7) The superhero behind the sofa belongs to Sam. (gives relationship between superhero and Sam)

8) I think the light over the table has stopped working. (gives relationship between light and table)