1. Can I use prepositions of place to vary the openings of my sentences?

2. A preposition is a word that joins a noun to the rest of a sentence. It explains where the noun is. The bag was on the table. The girl walked under the scaffolding. It sat among the bushes. The sentences would not work without the prepositions.

3. * The cat sat under the bush as it was raining. * The girl walked slowly across the playground. * Helen put the book on the table. * The postman posted the letter through the letterbox. * James was hiding behind the sofa.

4. * The cat sat under the bush as it was raining. * The girl walked slowly across the playground. * Helen put the book on the table. * The postman posted the letter through the letterbox. * James was hiding behind the sofa.

5. aboutbeneathintothroughout abovebesidenearto acrossbetweenoftoward againstbyonunder amongexceptontoup atforoutupon behindfromoverwith belowinthroughwithout

6. * Here is a sentence with a preposition: Charles left his bag behind the settee. * To create an impressive sentence, you could try opening the sentence with the preposition. Behind the settee, Charles left his bag.

7. Original sentence: A fat yellow cat lay sleeping on the narrow sill. How would it read if it started with the preposition? On the narrow sill, a fat yellow cat lay sleeping. * Prepositional phrases that begin sentences are usually followed by commas. However, short prepositional phrases need not be.