The Adverb Phrase Examples

A prepositional phrase (the preposition shows the relationship between the object of the preposition and another word in the sentence) can function in three ways in a sentence: as an adjective, as an adverb, or as a noun.

When a prepositional phrase functions as an adverb phrase, it is letting us know the relationship between the object of the preposition and the verb (the action or state of being).

To determine if the prepositional phrase is functioning as an adverb 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 the verb, then the prepositional phrase is an adverb phrase.

4) The adverb phrase answers the following types of questions about the verb in the sentence: when, where, why, how, to what extent, under what conditions.

Examples of prepositional phrases functioning as adverbs with explanation:

Karen stepped onto the boat.

The object of the preposition is "boat". The preposition "on" is telling us the relationship between boat and "stepped". "Stepped" is a verb, so the prepositional phrase is an adverb phrase. The phrase tells us where Karen stepped.

The ballerina danced across the floor.

The object of the preposition is "floor". The preposition "across" is telling us the relationship between floor and "danced". "Danced" is a verb, so the prepositional phrase is an adverb phrase. The phrase tells us where the ballerina danced.

More examples of prepositional phrases functioning as adverb phrases:

1) During the show, the baby slept. (gives relationship between show and slept-tells when)

2) The children ran on the playground. (gives relationship between children and playground-tells where)

3) Put your homework in the basket. (gives relationship between homework and basket-tells where)

4) The plane flew over the field. (gives relationship between field and flew-tells where)

5) Before class, I got my books. (gives relationship between class and got-tells when)

6) Please go into the store. (gives relationship between store and go-tells where)

7) Can I ride to grandma's house? (gives relationship between house and ride-tells where)