Step-by-step explanation:
In the sentence "Maria fell over the cat," the phrase "over the cat" is a (A) Preposition phrase.
Prepositional phrases consist of a preposition (in this case, "over") followed by a noun phrase (in this case, "the cat"). They function as adverbial or adjectival phrases to provide additional information about location, time, manner, or other circumstances. In this sentence, the prepositional phrase "over the cat" modifies the verb "fell" and provides information about the direction or location of the fall.