A prepositional phrase (preposition + object) usually appears before the verb. ‘Prepositional phrase + verb’ is the verbal phrase of the sentence.
In English, a prepositional phrase typically appears after the verb.
张：你爸爸在哪里工作？
Zhāng：Nǐ bà bà zài nǎ lǐ gōng zuò？
Zhang: Where does your father work?
(在哪里 is the prepositional phrase; 在哪里工作 is the verbal phrase.)
李：他现在没有工作；他在家写书。
Lǐ：Tā xiàn zài méi yǒu gōng zuò ；tā zài jiā xiě shū。
Li: He does not have a job now; he is writing a book at home.
(在家 is the prepositional phrase; 在家写书 is the verbal phrase.)
我去花店为我女朋友买了一束花。
Wǒ qù huā diàn wéi wǒ nǚ péng yǒu mǎi le yī shù huā。
I went to the fl ower shop to buy a bunch of fl owers for my girlfriend.
[1] Yip, P. C., Rimmington, D., Xiaoming, Z., & Henson, R. (2009). Basic Chinese: a grammar and workbook. Taylor & Francis.
[2] Teng, W. H. (2016). Yufa! A practical guide to Mandarin Chinese grammar. Taylor & Francis.
