Preposition

What is preposition?

A preposition is a word used to link nouns, pronouns, or phrases to other words within a sentence. Prepositions are usually short words, and they are normally placed directly in front of nouns. In some cases, you’ll find prepositions in front of gerund verbs.

There are two very important rules to remember when using prepositions. Because they are somewhat vague, learning about prepositions and using them correctly in sentences takes practice. Because 1:1 translation is often impossible when dealing with propositions, even the most advanced English students have some difficulty at first.

·         The first rule is that certain propositions must be used to make the relationships between words in a sentence clear. Most prepositions are interchangeable but only to a certain extent.

·         The second rule for using prepositions is that these words must be followed by nouns.

There are more than 100 prepositions in the English language. In addition, there are endless possibilities for creating  prepositional phrases.  In the following sections, you will find examples of prepositions, types of prepositions, a comprehensive list of prepositions, and some helpful preposition exercises.

As you read the examples and study the list, remember that prepositions usually convey concepts such as comparison, direction, place, purpose, source possession, and time.

Examples of Prepositions

In the following sentences, examples of prepositions have been italicized. As you read, consider how using different prepositions or even different types of prepositions in place of the examples might change the relationship between the rest of the words in the sentence.

I prefer to read in the library.

He climbed up the ladder to get into the attic.

Please sign your name on the dotted line after you read the contract.

Go down the stairs and through the door.

He swam across the pool.

Take your brother with you.

I.               Objects of Preposition

Preposition can has objects as below:

1.    Noun

-         Ex. He put the on the table.

2.    Pronoun

-         Ex. Between you and me I don’t think it true.

3.    Adverb

-         Till now (=the present time)

-         Before then( = that time)

-         From where ( = which place)

4.    Phrase

-         He will not come till after the war.

5.    Clause

-         I judge people by how they act.

II.          Prepositional Phrase

Prepositional phrase can be:

1.    Noun

-        

Object of preposition “to”

Ex: I am referring to before the world war.

2.    Adjective

-        

Expressed noun “box”

Ex. The box on the table is made of Mahogany

3.    Adverb.

-        

Expressed verb “put”

I put the box on the table

Types of Prepositions

There are three types of prepositions, including time prepositions, place prepositions, and direction prepositions.
Time prepositions are those such as before, after, during, and until; place prepositions are those indicating position, such as around, between, and against; and direction prepositions are those indicative of direction, such as across, up, and down. Each type of preposition is important.

Recognize an object of the preposition when you see one.

Prepositions often begin prepositional phrases. To complete the phrase, the preposition usually teams up with a noun, pronoun, or gerund, or the object of the preposition. Here are some examples:

At noon

At = preposition; noon = noun or the object of the preposition.

Behind them

Behind = preposition; them = pronoun or the object of the preposition.

Without sneezing

Without = preposition; sneezing = gerund or the object of the preposition.

The object of the preposition will often have modifiers that add description:

At the kitchen counters

At = preposition; the, kitchen = modifiers; counter = noun or the object of the preposition.

Between us only

Between = preposition; us = pronoun or the object of the preposition; only = modifier.

Without completely finishing

Without = preposition; completely = modifier; finishing = gerund or the object of the preposition.

Infrequently, a clause will be the object of the preposition, as in this example:

In class today, we talked about what Mr. Duncan expects in our next research essay.

About = preposition; what Mr. Duncan expects in our next research essay = noun clause or the object of the preposition.

Recognize a prepositional phrase when you see one.

At the minimum, a prepositional phrase will begin with a preposition and end with a noun, pronoun, gerund, or clause, the "object" of the preposition.

The object of the preposition will often have one or more modifiers to describe it. These are the patterns for a prepositional phrase:

Preposition + Noun, Pronoun, Gerund, or Clause

Preposition + Modifier(s) + Noun, Pronoun, Gerund, or Clause

Here are some examples of the most basic prepositional phrase:

At home

At = preposition; home = noun.

In time

In = preposition; time = noun.

From Richie

From = preposition; Richie = noun.

With me

With = preposition; me = pronoun.

By singing

By = preposition; singing = gerund.

About what we need

About = preposition; what we need = noun clause.

Most prepositional phrases are longer, like these:

From my grandmother

From = preposition; my = modifier; grandmother = noun.

Under the warm blanket

Under = preposition; the, warm = modifiers; blanket = noun.

In the weedy, overgrown garden

In = preposition; the, weedy, overgrown = modifiers; garden = noun.

Along the busy, six-lane highway

Along = preposition; the, busy, six-lane = modifiers; highway = noun.

Without excessively worrying

Without = preposition; excessively = modifier; worrying = gerund.

Understand what prepositional phrases do in a sentence.

A prepositional phrase will function as an adjective or adverb. As an adjective, the prepositional phrase will answer the question Which one?

Read these examples:

The book on the bathroom floor is swollen from shower steam.

Which book? The one on the bathroom floor!

The sweet potatoes in the vegetable bin are green with mold.

Which sweet potatoes? The ones forgotten in the vegetable bin!

The note from Beverly confessed that she had eaten the leftover pizza.

Which note? The one from Beverly!

As an adverb, a prepositional phrase will answer questions such as How? When? or Where?

Freddy is stiff from yesterday's long football practice.

How did Freddy get stiff? From yesterday's long football practice!

Before class, Josh begged his friends for a pencil.

When did Josh do his begging? Before class!

Feeling brave, we tried the Dragon Breath Burritos at Tito's Taco Palace.

Where did we eat the spicy food? At Tito's Taco Palace!

Remember that a prepositional phrase will never contain the subject of a sentence.

Sometimes a noun within the prepositional phrase seems the logical subject of adverb. Don't fall for that trick! You will never find a subject in a prepositional phrase. Look at this example:

Neither of these cookbooks contains the recipe for Manhattan-style squid eyeball stew.

Cookbooks do indeed contain recipes. In this sentence, however, cookbooks is part of the prepositional phrase of these cookbooks. Neither—whatever a neither is—is the subject for the verb contains.

Neither is singular, so you need the singular form of the verb, contains. If you incorrectly identified cookbooks as the subject, you might write contain, the plural form, and thus commit a subject-verb agreement error.

Some prepositions—such as along with and in addition to—indicate "more to come." They will make you think that you have a plural subject when in fact you don't. Don't fall for that trick either! Read this example:

Tommy, along with the other students, breathed a sigh of relief when Mrs. Markham announced that she was postponing the due date for the research essay.

Preposition Exercises

The following exercises will help you gain greater understanding about how prepositions work. Choose the best answer to complete each sentence.

1.    The bone was _______ the dog.

1.    About

2.    For

3.    After

4.    Considering

Answer: B. The bone was for the dog.

2.    We are going on vacation _______ August.

1.    On

2.    At

3.    In

4.    Since

Answer: C. We are going on vacation in August.

3.    Please put the vase ________ the table.

1.    In

2.    On

3.    For

4.    Over

Answer: B. Please put the vase on the table.

4.    I received a present ________ Janet.

1.    From

2.    Of

3.    By

4.    About

Answer: A. I received a present from Janet.

5.    School begins ________ Monday.

1.    In

2.    On

3.    From

4.    Since

Answer: B. School begins on Monday.

List of Prepositions

While there are only about 150 prepositions in the English language, these words are among the most important. Without them, the sentences we speak, read, and write would be difficult to understand. The following list of prepositions is not a complete one, however it is among the most comprehensive lists of prepositions available anywhere.

Aboard

About

Above

Absent

Across

After

Against

Along

Alongside

Amid

Among

Amongst

Anti

Around

As

At

Before

Behind

Below

Beneath

Beside

Besides

Between

Beyond

But

By

Circa

Concerning

Considering

Despite

Down

During

Except

Excepting

Excluding

Failing

Following

For

From

Given

In

Inside

Into

Like

Minus

Near

Of

Off

On

Onto

Opposite

Outside

Over

Past

Per

Plus

Regarding

Round

Save

Since

Than

Through

To

Toward

Towards

Under

Underneath

Unlike

Until

Up

Upon

Versus

Via

With

Within

Without

Worth