{{Short description|Word which is similar in form to a preposition but acts as an adverb}}A '''prepositional adverb''' is a word – mainly a particle – which is very similar in its form to a preposition but functions as an adverb. Prepositional adverbs occur, for example, in English,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Krapp |first=George Philip |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Elements_of_English_Grammar/Pm8PAAAAYAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22prepositional+adverb%22&pg=PA208&printsec=frontcover |title=The Elements of English Grammar |date=1908 |publisher=Scribner |pages=207 |language=en}}</ref> German<ref>{{Cite book |last=Durrell |first=Martin |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Hammer_s_German_Grammar_and_Usage/kJ38TCJ0M5AC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22prepositional+adverb%22&pg=PA55&printsec=frontcover |title=Hammer's German Grammar and Usage |date=2011 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-4441-2016-5 |pages=55 |language=en}}</ref> and Dutch. Unlike real prepositions, they occur mainly at the end of a phrase and not before nouns. They also modify the verb, which a preposition does not.
An example of a prepositional adverb in English is ''inside'' in ''He peeked inside''.
== Phrasal verb ==
A verb combined with a prepositional adverb is called a phrasal verb only if the verb's meaning is changed by the prepositional adverb. In English, there are many examples of this. For example, ''let'' can have many possible meanings depending on which prepositional adverb it is combined with (''let down'', ''let in'', ''let off'', ''let to'', etc.){{Citation needed|date=November 2025}}
== Prepositional adverbs in other languages ==
Although prepositional adverbs are largely associated with Germanic languages, those of other classes occasionally have corresponding features. For instance, Slavic languages such as Czech may prefix prepositions to verbs of motion (''jít'' to go → ''dojít'' to come towards, ''odejít'' to go away from). In Hungarian, the case endings may also be prefixed to verbs (''városba'' to the city, ''bemenni'' to go towards), much as in German.{{Citation needed|date=November 2025}}
== See also == * Pronominal adverb * Preposition and postposition * Prepositional pronoun * Phrasal verb
==References== {{reflist}}
{{lexical categories|state=collapsed}}
Category:Parts of speech Category:Adverbs
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