Object of a preposition masterclass

This lesson helps us understand what an object of a preposition is, what it can be, and how to identify it in a sentence.

What is an object of a preposition?

In English, an object of a preposition is a noun, pronoun, or noun equivalent that comes after a preposition and forms a prepositional phrase.

In this example, ‘to‘ is a preposition, and ‘Jon‘ is the object of the preposition ‘to‘. Together, they form the prepositional phrase ‘to Jon’.

Here, the word ‘in‘ is the preposition, and ‘democracy‘ is its object.

The sentence has two prepositional phrases: about you, and at the party. The pronoun ‘you‘ is the object of the preposition ‘about‘, and the noun phrase ‘the party‘ is the object of the preposition ‘at‘.

What can be an object of a preposition?

An object of a preposition can be the followings:

1. Noun
2. Pronoun
3. Noun phrase
4. Gerund phrase
5. Noun clause

Nouns as the object of a preposition

• You do unimaginable things for love.
• I am not crazy about Riya.
• Don’t listen to people. Keep working in silence.
• She’s always thinking about food.
• I always believed in Sam. He had something extraordinary from the beginning.
• These sarees are imported from India and sold here in Bangladesh.

The object of the prepositions in the above examples and the ones coming are italicized and underlined.

Pronouns as the object of a preposition

• We love working under him.
• Was he hitting on you in the meeting?
• Nobody is afraid of you. Get over yourself.
• All of us knew that the boss was not in the office.
• Siya has an extra laptop; you can borrow it from her.
• This is not for us.
• I can’t work with him anymore. He does not let me speak at all.

Click here to master all pronouns in English.

Noun phrases as the object of a preposition

• Let’s talk about the project.
• What did you think of my report?
• Don’t jump into the pool until I come back.
• You seem to be a huge fan of Chinese food.
• Have you been living under a rock? How could you not answer such simple questions?
• After the class, we are going to a mall.
• You can put the dresses on the couch and get some food from the fridge.
• The man in the black coat seems to be following us.

A noun phrase is a combination of a noun and one or more words (adjectives) that give information about the noun. There are a number of ways in which a noun phrase can be formed. Click here to master it.

Gerunds or gerund phrases as the object of a preposition

A gerund in English is a progressive form of a verb that works as a noun in a sentence. When a gerund is followed by the object of the gerund (if it’s a transitive verb) or a modifier that gives information about the verb or both, it makes it a gerund phrase.

In this example, the word ‘shopping‘ is a gerund, working as the object of the preposition ‘about’.

‘Smoking‘ is the object of the preposition ‘to’ in the sentence.

In this example, ‘going there‘ is a gerund phrase that functions as the object of the preposition ‘about’. It has a gerund (going) and its modifier/adverb (there).

More examples:

• My little sister Alice is passionate about singing.
• She was rewarded for working extra hours.
• You will get a hang of it after doing it.
• Are you not excited about meeting her?
• My opinion about working for money hasn’t changed yet.
• His reason for coming late to the office was absurd.

Note that a gerund is a verb form that functions as a noun, meaning that it can have its object and modifiers in a gerund phrase. But the entire phrase works as a noun in a sentence.

Noun clauses as the object of a preposition

A noun clause is a dependent clause, also known as a subordinate clause, that functions as a noun in a sentence. It starts with a subordinating conjunction.

In this example, ‘what Sneha said to me‘ is a noun clause that’s working as the object of the preposition ‘into’.

More examples:

• She is still thinking about how they treated her in the interview.
• You have no idea about what’s going to happen today.
• Are you happy with what your company is paying you?
• I take pride in what I do.
• In terms of taste, it is better than what we had at Riya’s place.
• I often think about what I would do without you.

How to find an object of a preposition in a sentence?

Finding the object of a preposition is actually quite simple. All you have to do is find a preposition in a sentence first. Once the preposition is found, you are almost there.

Ask ‘what‘ or ‘whom‘ to the preposition and see what answers it. The part that usually answers the question almost always sits next to the preposition.

Let’s identify the object of a preposition, if there is any, using the process we have just learned.

The sentence clearly has a preposition, which is ‘with‘. Now, since the preposition is found, let’s ask the question: playing with ‘what or whom’?

The noun phrase (my phone) answers the question ‘playing with what’, sits next to the preposition ‘with’, and completes the prepositional phrase (with my phone) by working as the object of the preposition ‘with‘.

Examples:

• Don’t put this on me. (on whom = me)
• As soon as they turned the light on, we jumped into the pool. (jumped into what = the pool)
• Monica has kept the money in her purse. (kept the money in what = the purse)
• We have learned everything from Ashish. (learned from whom = Ashish)

Object of a Preposition vs. Direct Object

Many English learners confuse the object of a preposition with a direct object because both are noun-like elements that receive action or connection. But they function very differently.

Here’s a breakdown to help you clearly spot the difference:

Feature	Object of a Preposition	Direct Object
Follows	A preposition like on, in, with, for, to, about	A verb (action or transitive verb)
Answers the question	“What?” or “Whom?” after a preposition	“What?” or “Whom?” after a verb
Can be a…	Noun, pronoun, gerund, noun clause	Noun, pronoun, gerund, noun clause
Usually appears	After the preposition	Immediately after the verb
Required by	a preposition to complete its meaning	a verb, if it’s transitive
Example questions	“She’s thinking about her trip.(Object of the preposition ‘about’)	“She’s planning her trip. (Direct object of the verb ‘plan’)

Examples:

1. She sat on the chair.

• Preposition: on
• Object of Preposition: the chair
• Explanation: “On what?” → the chair. It’s not receiving an action, just showing where she sat.

2. She bought a chair.

• Verb: bought
• Direct Object: a chair
• Explanation: “Bought what?” → a chair. The chair is the thing she bought (receiving the action).

The object of a preposition may come before its preposition

Usually, an object of a preposition comes right next to it. But it may also come before it. This happens in a dependent clause or a question.

In this sentence, the object of the preposition ‘about’ is the pronoun ‘this’. This sentence can also be written as the following: I was talking about this.

In this sentence, the word ‘what’ is the object of the preposition ‘into’.

More examples:

• What does he think of me?
• What is he into?
• Whom are you talking about?

The prepositions in the above sentences sit at the end, and their objects are italicized and underlined.

The object of a preposition has to be in the objective case

When an object of a preposition is a personal pronoun, it has to be in the objective case. A subjective case is used in place of a subject, and an objective case is used in place of an object.

• They were quite impressed with she. (incorrect ❌)
• They were quite impressed with her. (correct ✅)

• Alexa is writing a book about they. (incorrect ❌)
• Alexa is writing a book about them. (correct ✅)

Don’t confuse the object of a preposition with the subject

When a prepositional phrase works as a part of the subject of a sentence, learners often confuse the object of the preposition with the main subject.

• A class of students are waiting for you. (incorrect ❌)
• A class of students is waiting for you. (correct ✅)

In this example, the subject is a noun phrase (a class of students) that has a headword (class) and its modifiers (a, of students). The verb always follows the simple subject (the headword) of a sentence, but sometimes, learners often confuse the subject with the object of the preposition that is a part of the complete subject.

• The plan of the goons were tackled by the police. (incorrect ❌)
• The plan of the goons was tackled by the police. (correct ✅)

The subject (simple) of this sentence is ‘plan‘, which is singular. The complete subject is ‘the plan of the goons’. It has a simple subject (plan), a premodifier (the), and a postmodifier (of the goons).

The verb always follows the simple subject of a sentence. A simple subject is a one-word subject, and a complete subject is a combination of a simple subject and a word or words that modify the simple subject.

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