Prepositions at the Beginning of Sentences

1. Prepositions at the
Beginning of Sentences

2. What are they?
● Prepositions are words that indicate location
and time.
● If it answers the “Where” or “When” it is most
likely a preposition.

3. What is a prepositional phrase?
Preposition + Optional Modifiers + Noun, Pronoun, or Gerund*
ex: BY the lake
ACCORDING TO us
AFTER an hour
IN the middle of the night
BY chewing
* Gerund is a noun formed from a verb by adding -ing (swimming)

4. 25 Most Common Prepositions
1. of
2. in
3. to
4. for
5. with
6. on
7. at
8. from
9. by
10. about
21. without
22. before
23. under
24. around
25. among
11. as
12. into
13. like
14. through
15. after
16. over
17. between
18. out
19. against
20. during

5. EXAMPLES
1. The book is BENEATH the chair.
2. I got a new puppy ON December 15th.

6. When do you need a comma?
When a preposition is at the beginning of the
sentence you always place a comma after the
prepositional phrase.
Ex: DESPITE the rain, she still walked the dog.
BEFORE going to the store, I always check my list.

7. Avoiding Confusion
If you do not use a comma, the readers may
become confused.
Ex: Before the snow flurry birds sought shelter.
Without the comma, readers may read it as “snow flurry
birds”. It should say “snow flurry, birds”.
Ex: Before the snow flurry, birds sought shelter.

8. Practice
Move the prepositional phrase to the beginning of
the sentence and use the correct comma.
I got a new puppy on December 15th.
I walked home after the game.
There was a whole between the fence.

9. Practice
Move the prepositional phrase to the beginning
of the sentence and use the correct comma.
I got a new puppy on December 15th.
I walked home after the game.
There was a whole between the fence.

10. Practice
Move the prepositional phrase to the beginning
of the sentence and use the correct comma.
I got a new puppy on December 15th.
On December 15th, I got a new puppy.
I walked home after the game.
After the game, I walked home.
There was a whole between the fence.
Between the fence, there was a whole.

11. Practice
Correctly place the comma in the sentence.
Under the bed the dog slept.
Throughout the day people cross the street many times.
Between the screams we heard people calling for help.

12. Practice
Correctly place the comma in the sentence.
Under the bed the dog slept.
Under the bed, the dog slept.
Throughout the day people cross the street many times.
Throughout the day, people cross the street many times.
Between the screams we heard people calling for help.
Between the screams, we heard people calling for help.