Is Away a Preposition? | Simple Part Of Speech Tests

You’ve seen “away” next to nouns and verbs, so it’s easy to wonder what box it belongs in. If you’ve ever typed is away a preposition? into a search bar, you were chasing a real pattern you’ve noticed in sentences.

In everyday English, “away” most often works as an adverb. It tells where, how far, or in what direction. It can work as an adjective too (“the away team”). A true preposition links to a noun phrase as its object, like “in the room” or “under the bridge.” “Away” doesn’t behave like that by itself.

This article gives you quick tests you can run on any sentence. Labels will match most school grammar terms and dictionaries, too.

What A Preposition Does In A Sentence

A preposition sets up a link between something in the sentence and a noun phrase that follows it. That noun phrase is the preposition’s object. The pair forms a prepositional phrase, which then works like an adjective or adverb in the sentence.

Try this check: if the word can be followed straight away by “the / a / my / him / them” to make a natural phrase, it may be a preposition. “In the car,” “near them,” and “with my friend” pass that test. “Away the car” doesn’t.

Pattern With “Away”	Part Of Speech	What It’s Doing
Go away.	Adverb	Tells direction: not here.
They ran away fast.	Adverb	Modifies the verb phrase.
Stay away from the edge.	Adverb	Works with a “from” phrase that names the source.
Ten miles away.	Adverb	Marks distance.
Put the toys away.	Adverb particle	Completes the verb “put.”
The away team scored.	Adjective	Describes the noun “team.”
Give away the secret.	Adverb particle	Forms a verb with “give.”
He is away on business.	Adverb	Shows absence from a place.
She’s away, again.	Adverb	Acts as a complement after “be.”

Is Away a Preposition? In Sentence Patterns

Let’s answer the headline question with behavior, not guesswork. When “away” shows up, it tends to do one of these jobs: it tells location or direction, it marks distance, or it acts like a particle that completes a verb. None of those is the core job of a preposition.

Test One: Can “Away” Take An Object By Itself?

A preposition takes an object right after it: “with them,” “at home,” “between us.” Try the same move with “away.” You can’t say “away them” or “away home” in standard English. When you see a noun after “away,” there’s almost always another word doing the preposition job, most often “from.”

Check the difference:

• Stay away from the window. (“from” links to the object “the window.”)
• Stay away. (No object; “away” tells where to stay.)

Test Two: Can You Front It Like A Preposition Phrase?

Prepositional phrases can often move as a block: “On the table, the notes lay in plain sight.” Try that with “away.” You can front an “away” phrase, yet the result behaves like an adverb phrase, not a preposition phrase.

• Away from the stove, the child stood quietly.
• Away, the child stood quietly. (This sounds literary, yet it still reads as an adverbial opener.)

The object “the stove” still belongs to “from.” That stays true even when the whole phrase moves.

Test Three: Swap In A Clear Preposition

If you replace the word with “in,” “on,” or “under,” does the sentence keep the same structure? With real prepositions, the swap often works. With “away,” the sentence usually breaks or changes shape.

• She’s in the office. → She’s away. (Structure changes; object drops.)
• He walked to the station. → He walked away. (Direction stays, but there’s no object.)

Test Four: Move It Like An Adverb Or Particle

Many adverbs move around more freely than prepositions. “Away” often slides in the sentence without breaking grammar, especially with verbs like “send,” “chase,” “shoo,” and “put.”

• They sent the guests away.
• They sent away the guests. (This can sound stiff, yet it’s a known pattern with some verbs.)

Try that with a preposition: “They sat on the bench” can’t become “They sat the bench on” in normal writing. Prepositions like “on” need their object in place.

What Dictionaries Label “Away” As

If you want a straight label from a reference work, check a dictionary entry. Cambridge lists “away” as an adverb and adjective. See the Cambridge Dictionary entry for away for the parts of speech it assigns.

Many dictionaries and style references treat “preposition” as a category that takes an object. Merriam-Webster’s definition points to that object link, with an object that can be a noun phrase or pronoun. The Merriam-Webster definition of preposition spells that out.

Away From: Why The Phrase Trips People Up

“Away from” looks like a single chunk, so learners often label “away” as a preposition. In standard grammar, “from” is the preposition and “away” is an adverb that pairs with it. The object comes after “from,” not after “away.”

Here’s a fast check: you can keep “from” and drop “away,” and the core link still exists.

• She lives (away) from campus.
• Keep your hands (away) from the paint.

You can’t do the reverse. “Stay away (from)” makes no sense without “from” when an object follows. That’s your clue about which word is carrying the object relationship.

Distance Phrases: “Two Blocks Away”

In “two blocks away,” “away” is an adverb that completes a distance phrase. The noun phrase “two blocks” is not an object of “away.” It acts as a measure phrase, the same way it does in “two blocks north” or “three years old.”

If you want a neat classroom label, you can call “two blocks” a measurement phrase. It answers “how far?” and “away” finishes the distance idea.

Verb + Away: Phrasal Verbs And Particles

English stacks small words after verbs to build meaning: “put away,” “give away,” “throw away,” “wash away.” In those, “away” is a particle (a type of adverb) that completes the verb. You can often move the object around it with a noun, while a pronoun must sit between the verb and the particle.

• Put away the dishes. / Put the dishes away.
• Put them away. (Not: Put away them.)

That movement pattern is common for verb particles, not for prepositions.

“Away” After “Be,” “Stay,” And “Remain”

After linking verbs, “away” can act like a complement that tells a state or location: “She is away.” “They stayed away.” The word still behaves as an adverb, since it points to where someone is, yet it works in a slot that many learners expect an adjective to fill.

This is one reason worksheets get messy. A student sees “be + word” and thinks “adjective.” That logic works in “She is tired,” yet it doesn’t fit every case. English keeps a small group of place adverbs that can follow “be,” like “here,” “there,” and “away.”

When “Away” Works As An Adjective

“Away” can describe a noun in sports or schedules: “the away team,” “an away game,” “away colors.” In that slot it acts like an adjective, just like “home” in “home team.”

A quick check: adjectives fit in front of nouns and can often pair with words like “next” or “last” in sports talk (“next away game”). Prepositions don’t sit there.

Common Mix-Ups And Clean Fixes

Most mistakes come from treating “away” like it needs an object, or treating “from” like it can be dropped. The fixes are short, and they make your sentence sound natural right away.

Mix-Up: Dropping “From” Before A Noun

Wrong: “Stay away the stove.”
Better: “Stay away from the stove.”

Mix-Up: Using “Away” Where A Preposition Is Needed

Wrong: “I’m away my desk.”
Better: “I’m away from my desk.”

Mix-Up: Treating “Away” As A Destination Word

Wrong: “She went away Paris.”
Better: “She went to Paris.”

If your sentence names a destination, “to” is the normal choice. “Away” tells that someone left the speaker’s base point, not the destination itself.

Mix-Up: Moving Pronouns In Phrasal Verbs

Wrong: “Put away it.”
Better: “Put it away.”

With “put away,” the pronoun sits between the verb and “away.” That rule saves a lot of small grammar slips.

Editing Tricks For Clean Grammar In Essays

If you’re editing student writing, “away” is a fast win. Mark each “away” and ask one question: is it telling direction, distance, absence, or a phrasal-verb meaning? Then check whether a noun follows right after it. If a noun does, you almost always need “from.”

These swaps can fix clunky lines without changing the message:

• If you mean “not here,” use “away” with no object: “He’s away.”
• If you name what it’s away from, add “from”: “He’s away from home.”
• If you mean a destination, use “to”: “He went to town.”
• If you mean removal, use a phrasal verb: “Throw away the wrapper.”

Want a fast edit pass? Circle “away.” Then circle the next word. If the next word is a noun or pronoun, your pen should hover over “from.” If the next word is punctuation or the sentence ends, “away” is likely doing its adverb job.

What You Want To Say	Word Choice That Fits	Sample Sentence
Absence (not here)	away	Dad is away today.
Absence + source	away from	Dad is away from home today.
Direction (leave)	go away	Please go away.
Distance	number + away	The shop is three streets away.
Removal / storage	put away	Put away your phone.
Reveal / hand out	give away	Don’t give away the answer.
Dispose	throw away	Throw away the empty cup.
Sports location	away (adjective)	They won an away match.

Quick Practice Set For Class Or Self-Study

These mini prompts train your eye without turning into busywork. Write one sentence for each line, then label “away” as adverb, adjective, or particle.

1. Tell someone to leave.
2. Describe a place that’s ten minutes by foot.
3. Write a sentence with “put away” and a pronoun object.
4. Use “away from” with a physical object.
5. Use “away” as an adjective in a sports sentence.

Answer Check You Can Use

If you wrote “Go away,” that’s adverb. If you wrote “The library is ten minutes away,” that’s adverb in a distance phrase. If you wrote “Put it away,” “away” is a particle. If you wrote “Stay away from the wet floor,” “away” is still adverb and “from” is the preposition. If you wrote “Our away game is Friday,” “away” is adjective.

One last check: if you’re still tempted to write is away a preposition? in your notes, run the object test. If there’s no object right after “away,” you’re in adverb or particle territory. If there is an object, “from” is doing the preposition work.