(On the first part) (of the journey), I was looking (at all the life) Prepositional phrases tell us where, when and what. It would be BORRRIIINNNNG without this information

There were plants and birds and rocks and things There was sand and hills and rings There are no prepositional phrases here. Borrrrrinnng…….

The first thing I met was a fly (with a buzz) And the sky (with no clouds) The prepositional phrases here give us details about the fly and the sky. On its own, ‘the first thing I met was a fly And the sky’ would be…. borrrrrinnnng

The heat was hot and the ground was dry But the air was full (of sound) Here, but is not a preposition; it can be interchanged with ‘and’ (a conjunction). Of sound more fully describes the air, giving it detail. It is not…… borrrrinnng!!

I've been (through the desert) (on a horse) (with no name) The prepositional phases here tell us where and what These details keep it from being…. borrrrinnnng

It felt good to be out (of the rain) You’re probably thinking ‘to be out’ is a prepositional phrase, but is ‘out’ a noun? Of the rain tells us Where

la… la… la la la la… la la la la… la… la… la… la… la la la la… la la la la… la… la…

(After two days) (in the desert sun) my skin began to turn red ‘To turn red’ is not a prepositional phrase- red is an adjective.

(After three days) (in the desert fun) I was looking (at a river bed) These prepositional phrases tell us when, where and what. They give us great detail, and tell us much more about the sentence I was looking, which, on its own, is very….., here it comes, borrrinnng!

And the story it told (of a river) that flowed Made me sad, (to think) it was dead THINK, IN THIS CASE, IS ONE OF THOSE CONCEPTS OR IDEAS WE TALKED ABOUT , AND IS A NOUN HERE

You see, I've been (through the desert) (on a horse) (with no name)

It felt good to be out (of the rain)

(In the desert), you can remember your name 'Cause there ain't no one for to give you no pain Here, for is a redundant word, and give is a verb. No prepositional phrase here.

la… la… la la la la… la la la la… la… la… la… la… la la la la… la la la la… la… la…

(After nine days), I let the horse run free 'Cause the desert had turned (to sea ) The prepositional phrases here tell us When and What. The desert had turned can stand by itself, but it is very…. Borrrrrinnng…….

There were plants and birds and rocks and things There was sand and hills and rings There are no prepositional phrases here. Borrrrrinnng……. EXIT SLIPS!!!

The ocean is a desert with its life underground And a perfect disguise above

(Under the cities) lies a heart made (of ground) (But the humans) will give no love This is probably the trickiest lyric. Remember, in the end, song is poetry, and doesn’t always follow the conventions of writing. That tends to make what we have done difficult. When we take out all of the prepositional phrases here, we are left with Lies a heart made will give no love, which of course, makes no sense. But in particular, is difficult, because we do not know the writer’s intent; is but a conjunction, or does it mean except? In most sentences, you will be able to tell. For example, All of the children, but Billy, wished to have vanilla ice cream. Clearly, you can substitute ‘except’ in for ‘but’. A conjunction, such as ‘and’ will not work. That is when you will know that ‘but’ is a preposition.

I do hope that this little exercise helps you identify prepositional phrases. This will help you in identifying subject, verb and object and other parts of grammar as we go through the year. More importantly, I hope you have seen that using prepositions and prepositional phrases will Keep your writing interesting and keep it from becoming…… BORRRINNNNG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Based on an idea from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWrChdOE8hw