Chester sits in a pond, around a bunch of lily pads, next to a frog, under the blue sky, on a sunny day, with his friend, since 8:00 a.m., after breakfast. What a descriptive sentence! Sentences such as the one that describe Chester, are easy to write if you know how to use prepositional phrases. Prepositional phrases provide detail to writing by letting the reader know more about the subject of the sentence. A preposition is a word (or group of words) which shows how two words or ideas are related to each other. For example, prepositions show:

position – words like behind, between, on
direction – words like toward, around, through
relationship – words like since, like, on account of
time – words like after, during, before
common prepositions – words like to, of, for

Think of a prepositional phrase like a mathematical formula. Prepositions are usually followed by a noun or a pronoun called the object of the preposition.
Thus The preposition + the object of the preposition and all words in between = the prepositional phrase
For example, in the sentence above about Chester, the words "in a pond" make up a prepositional phrase. In is a preposition and pond is the noun that follows it. Also, the words "around a bunch of lily pads" make up a prepositional phrase. Around is a preposition and pads is the noun that follows. This phrase shows direction. All of the words beginning the phrases are prepositions, and all the prepositional phrases are separated by commas. The prepositional phrases help make sentences more interesting and full of detail.

To easily find prepositional phrases, try to write your own 'Chester sits' sentence. You may only use one subject, "Chester," and one verb, "sits." Do not add any additional subjects or verbs to your sentence. Start your sentence with Chester sits and then add prepositional phrases to your sentence. Each phrase must begin with a preposition, and each phrase must end with a noun or pronoun. You can add as many or as few as you like, and be as silly or serious as you would like. Make sure to separate your phrases with commas. Here are a few examples on how to might begin adding to your sentences:
Chester sits in a spaceship, next to a meteor, by himself...
Chester sits after supper, with an ice cream cone, in a booth, at McDonalds, next to his girlfriend...
Chester sits on a bench, in a courtyard...

Now try this fun activity. It will help to make your writing flow more smoothly by providing you with an easy way to not begin every sentence with the subject.

You can move around the prepositional phrases and subject and verb in your sentence. For example, instead of Chester sits in a pond, around a bunch of lily pads, next to a frog, under the blue sky, on a sunny day, with his friend, since 8:00 A.M., after breakfast. You might write:
After breakfast, since 8:00 A.M., on a sunny day, under a blue sky, Chester sits in a pond, around a bunch of lily pads, next to a frog, with his friend.

Prepositions not only modify verbs, but can also tell more about a person, place, or thing. For example,
...the man in the yellow hat
...the house at the end of the block
...the ball with the green stripe

Keep in mind that this is an activity to help explain how prepositions can be used in a sentence. An author should not actually load all the possible prepositional phrases in sentences as it will make the work cluttered and wordy.

Practice finding prepositional phrases in the following sentences. The number of phrases in each sentence is typed in parenthesis after the sentence.

Mary walked to the store with her cousin on a Saturday in July. (4)

During the night, Tom screamed with fright, after a nightmare, about monsters. (4)

Last Saturday, I met with my grandparents at a restaurant in Chicago by the river. (5)

I said, “I pledge allegiance to the flag, of the United States of America,” in English by myself in front of the class. (7)