How to use our Preposition Finder
Our preposition finder tool is very straightforward.
To begin, start typing or paste some text in the text-box above
The preposition count will automatically update in real-time as you type.
Below the text-box, a comma-separated list of all prepositions found by the preposition finder in the text will be displayed.
There is a green "Copy Text" button that conveniently copies everything inside the text-box upon being clicked.
On the bottom left is a character counter that displays a real-time character count.
Why use a preposition finder tool?
A preposition finder can be helpful for people learning English to more easily identify prepositions in text. By learning prepositions, you can improve your understanding of sentence structure.
If you have a long text, manually identifying all the prepositions can be time consuming. A prepositional phrase finder tool like ours can speed up the process.
Prepositions can be tricky to spot, and identifying them correctly is prone to human error.
How to Use Prepositions Effectively in Writing
As with many parts of speech, prepositions usage almost comes naturally. Mistakes do arise, however, and there are times when one correct choice might be less effective than another. Let's see if we can shed a little light on the topic.
Preposition Definition
I'll start off with a definition, just to eliminate any doubt about what we're discussing and what it's used for. Before doing so, though, I'll point out that there's a great clue to be found in breaking down the word, itself:
pre (prefix meaning before) + position: a word that's used before something to determine its position.
Prepositions are words or groups of words placed before nouns, noun phrases, or pronouns to denote time, location, direction, or spatial relationships. Some of the most commonly used examples are "to," "at," "in," "on," "from" and "of."
There are far too many prepositions to list here, but let's look at some usage examples, grouped by what they describe:
Time:
"I bowl on Wednesday nights."
"I love the fresh air in the morning."
"Dawn will be at 6:56AM tomorrow."
To indicate a period of time:
"I was gone for three days."
"The promotion runs from now until December 24th."
Direction:
"I drove from my home to Vancouver."
"I ducked into the alley."
"He jumped onto the bus."
Place:
"Think outside the box."
"I'm at the office."
"I was in the house."
Spatial relationship:
"I live across the street."
"The plane flew over the island."
"The helicopter hovered above the island."
"Don't go out on a limb." (abstract usage)
Note that many prepositions can be used for more than one of those categories, and the lines can blur a bit between place and spatial relationship. You may have also noticed from the examples that simple prepositions can be combined to make new prepositions, such as "in+to."
Compound and Complex Prepositions
We can use combinations of prepositions to convey something different from the individual prepositions. When the two prepositions are combined into one word, they create a compound preposition, such as "without", "within", "into" and "throughout."
Complex prepositions are created when a preposition is used separately with another word or combination of words, such as, "in lieu of," "on account of," and "in accordance with." Note that the structure of these phrases is usually: "preposition, noun, preposition."
Both of these types are so commonplace in our speech and writing, we commit them to memory over time.
Following Verbs and Adjectives
Prepositions can also be placed after adjectives and verbs. These combinations are also so commonplace that they're memorized, especially since the choice of preposition is very specific. In other words, changing the preposition in one of these phrases would change the meaning of the phrase, often to the point that it makes no sense.
The list of these combinations is long, and can be found in table form on several popular grammar websites. For the sake of illustration, here are several good examples:
From:
- suffer from
- differ from
With:
- argue with
- collaborate with
On:
- depend on
- insist on
To:
- lead to
- contribute to
I'm sure you can think of many more examples. For the most part, it's a matter of choosing the preposition that sounds right. After all, you've been reading and hearing these phrases pretty much your whole life.
Rules for Using Prepositions
There are a few simple rules for using prepositions:
- A preposition must always be placed in front of a noun or pronoun.
- The noun or pronoun must be used as an object in the sentence.
- A verb can't be the object of a preposition.
- Don't confuse the preposition "to" the infinitive "to": "I have to(infinitive) go to(preposition) work."
If you're old enough, you may remember another rule: "Never end a sentence with a preposition." That rule has long since been set aside in favor of conversational usage. For instance:
"What are we waiting for?" is perfectly acceptable."
For what are we waiting?" is correct, but seems overly formal.
Note that this also breaks rule #1: "what" is the object of the preposition.
Dangling Prepositions
It's not acceptable to place a preposition at the end of a sentence when it leaves it "dangling." The most common cause of this is adding a preposition that simply isn't necessary:
"Do you know where we're going to?"
"Do you know where we're going?" (The question makes perfect sense without the dangling "to")
A less common cause is repeating a preposition already used:
"With whom are you going to the prom with?"
With whom are you going to the prom?" (correct, but formal)"
Who are you going to the prom with?" (correct and conversational)
Other Common Mistakes with Prepositions
Unnecessary prepositions: I touched on this one above, under the subject of dangling prepositions. When a phrase makes sense without a preposition, leave it out:
Incorrect: "He jumped off of the boat." Correct: "He jumped off the boat."
Incorrect: "Where are my glasses at?" Correct: "Where are my glasses?"
Too many prepositional phrases: Using too many prepositions in a sentence tends to be confusing. If a sentence seems "wordy," (check the words per sentence with our sentence counter) try restructuring it to simplify or eliminate prepositions:
"The results of a number of studies on drugs performed in labs around the world were never released by the government."
"The results of several global drug studies were never released by the government."
Now, let's simplify it a bit further by using active voice:
"The government never released the results of several global drug studies."
(While "by" isn't actually a preposition in this example, eliminating the adverbial phrase also helps simplify the sentence.)
Thanks for using our Preposition Finder!
I hope you'll find the preposition identifier tool useful. Using prepositions effectively will help make your writing more coherent and engaging.