There is no preposition in "catching fish is one".
In the sentence, "Catching fish is one of the oldest pastimes.":the preposition = of;the verb = is (a linking verb).There is no conjunction or adverb in the sentence.
The word like can be a verb, or a conjunction (meaning as, similar to), and more rarely a noun.It is arguably acting as a preposition in constructions such as "swims like a fish" (truncated clause like a fish swims).
In the the above sentence the preposition is the word OFas it shows a relationship between the pronoun ONE to the noun phrase THE OLDEST PASTIMES.A preposition is a word that shows the relationship of one word to another.
In this sentence, "catching fish" is a gerund: a verb that is doing the job of a noun. "Catching fish" is the subject of the verb "is".
The term "a catch of fish" is a noun phrase, a group of words based on a noun or pronoun, without a verb, that can function in a sentence as a subject, object of a verb or a preposition.EXAMPLESHis catch of fish was left in the kitchen sink. (subject of the sentence)He had a nice catch of fish. (direct object of the verb 'had')She had an insulated cooler for her catch of fish. (object of the preposition 'for')The noun 'fish' is the object of the preposition 'of'.The noun 'catch' is a singular, common, concrete noun.The noun 'fish' is an uncountable, common, concrete noun.
The term 'catching fish' is a noun phrase or a predicate.A noun phrase is a group of words based on a noun that functions as a noun in a sentence.A predicate is the verb and the words that follow the verb that are related to that verb.Examples:I enjoy making lures for catching fish. (the noun phrase is functioning as the object of the preposition 'for')Those boys are catching fish with a bucket. (predicate consisting of the verb 'are catching' and the direct object 'fish')
Thousands - noun of - preposition years - noun ago - adverb fish - noun were - verb (auxiliary) caught - verb (past participle) in - preposition nets - noun and - conjunction traps - noun
The nouns in the sentence are:fish, subject of the sentencesea, object of the preposition 'under'
No, then is not a preposition. It is a conjuction.Than is a preposition.
The conjunction in the sentence is "and", which is used to connect the action of catching fish in nets and traps.
flew is not a preposition. sorry but through is a preposition