INTRODUCTION
A preposition is a word placed before a noun or a pronoun to show in what relation the person or thing denoted by it stands in regard to something else.
The word preposition means ‘that which is placed before’.
The noun or pronoun which is used with a preposition is called its Object. A preposition may have two or more objects as:
for eg., The road runs over hill and plain.
A preposition is often placed before its object, but sometimes follows it : for eg.,
i) Here is the watch that you asked for.
ii) What are you looking at?
The Preposition for, from, in, on are often omitted before nouns of place or time as:
i) for eg., We did it last week.
ii) I cannot walk a yard.
KINDS OF PREPOSITION
1. Simple Preposition :
At, by, for, from, in, of, off, on, out, through, till, to, up, with.
2. Compound Prepositions :
which are generally formed by prefixing a preposition to a Noun, an Adjective or an Adverb.
About, Above, Across, Along, Amidst, Among, Before, Behind, Beside, Between, Inside, Outside, Underneath, Within, Without.
3. Phrase Preposition :
which is a group of words used with the force of a single preposition
for eg., According to, in accordance with, in place of, along with, in course of, owing to, with a view to, in order to, for the sake of.
4. Preposition of Place :
About, across, among, before, between below, behind, from, through, near, on, over, under, upon, within, round, without, beside into.
5. Preposition of Time :
After, at, in, on, during, since, through, throughout, towards, from, during, into, behind.
At – is used to indicate a definite point of time:
for eg., He came at 8 o’clock, I shall tell him the fact at the right time.
In – is used to indicate year, century, morning, evening, time period (in years, hours, days, months) seasons etc as:
for eg., I get up early in the morning. It shall be completed in four hours/months.
On – is used in expressing days and dates, as
for eg., My school shall reopen on Monday, India was declared independent on 15th August 1947.
From and To – from is used to indicate the beginning of an action, and to indicate the time when the action ends.
for eg., The Diwali vacation is From 15th October to 22nd October 2005.
6. Preposition of Agency, instrumentality
Sell goods at auction, sent the parcel by post, heard this through a friend, cut it with
7. Preposition of manner
Fought with courage, worked with earnestness, won with ease
8. Preposition of cause, reason, purpose
Labored for the good of humanity, did it for our good, does it from perversity, concealed it through shame, lost his purse through negligence, shivers with fever, took medicine for cold.
9. Preposition of Possession
The mosque of Omar, a man of means, the boy with red hair
10. Preposition of measure, standard, rate, value : as
He charges interest at nine per cent, Stories like these must be taken at what they are worth.
Cloth is sold by the yard. It was one by the tower-clock.
11. Preposition of contrast, concession : as,
For one enemy he has a hundred friends. For one enemy he has a hundred friends.
With (in spite of) all his faults I admire him.
12. Preposition of Inference, motive, source or origin : as
From what I know of him, I hesitate to trust him. He did it from gratitude. Light emanates from the sun. This is a quotation from Milton.
Note :- It will be seen that the same preposition, according to the way in which it is used, would have its place under several heads.
PREPOSITIONS THAT REQUIRE SPECIAL NOTICE
The following prepositions require special notice :
1. We can use in or at with the names cities, towns or villages. We can use in when we are talking about a place as an area, we use at when we see it as a point.
for eg., We stayed in Mumbai for five days. How long have you lived in this village?
2. We use at to talk about group activities and shops/workplaces for eg., Did you see Shobha at the party?
There weren’t many people at the meeting.
3. We use in with the names of streets and at when we give the house-number. for eg., He lives in Church Street
He lives at 45 Church Street.
4. We use on when we think of a place as a surface for eg., The dog is lying on the floor
Put this picture on the wall.
5. Till is used of time and to of place for eg., He slept till eight o’clock He walked to the end of the street
6. With often denotes the instrument and by the agent for eg., He killed two birds with one shot
He was stabbed by a lunatic with a dagger.
7. Since is used before a noun or phrase denoting some point of time and is preceded by a verb in the perfect tenses, as
for eg., I have eaten nothing since yesterday. He has been ill since Monday last.
8. In before a noun denoting a period of time, means at the end of, within means
before the end of, as
for eg., I shall return in an hour, I shall return within an hour.
9. Beside means at (or by) the side of, while besides means in addition to, as: for eg., Besides his children, there were present his nephew and niece. Besides being fined, he was sentenced to a term of imprisonment.
Prepositions of Place
Where is it?
SOME SPECIAL PREPOSITIONS
Special Preposition :
than – This word is usually a Conjunction, but is sometimes used as a Preposition, for eg., I cannot accept less than forty rupees for this article.
but – As a rule but is a conjunction, when used as a preposition, but means ‘except’, ‘with the exception of’:
for eg., None but the brave deserves the fair. She returned all the gifts but one.
a – In some sentences, a is a weakened form of the preposition on, for eg., Her wages are ten rupees a day
I meet him once a week
Prepositions of Time | ||
Picture It Clip Art | Preposition | Example |
| at (a time) | “I got to work at 8.00 this morning.” |
| on (a day) | “I’ll see you on Tuesday.” |
|
on (a date) |
“I have an appointment on the 31st.” |
|
in (a month) |
“My birthday is in June” |
|
in (a year) |
“I was born in 1959” |
|
in (the morning) |
“I get up in the morning.” |
SUMMARY
So Friends ! We saw words that show the relation between two words. Prepositions can be summarized as :
· The basic types of prepositions are simple, compound (Prefixing a noun, adjective or adverb) and phrase prepositions.
· The other types are closefisted as prepositions of time, place, reason, measure etc as their meaning indicates.
· Some words like than and but which are actually conjunctions, may serve the purpose of prepositions.
· Last but not the least, using the correct preposition is very important. It makes the sentence sound grammatically perfect.
Picture It Clip Art | Preposition | Example |
|
in (the afternoon) |
“I have lunch in the afternoon.” |
|
in (the evening) |
“I go home in the evening.” |
|
at (night) |
“I go to bed at night.” |
|
in |
“It usually snows in |
QUESTIONS FOR SELF - STUDY
1. Enlist the different types of prepositions.
2. Define preposition.
3. In what cases is preposition in used?
Fill in the blanks with suitable prepositions:
1. What is that me?
2. He has not yet recovered his illness.
3. The village was destroyed fire.
4. The exercise was written me a Camlin pen.
5. They drove Mumbai Pune.
6. I have not seen him Wednesday last.
7. We suffered
8. You, boys must settle it yourselves.
9. The moon does not shine its own light.
10. He died his country.
SUGGESTED READINGS
1. High School English Grammar and Composition by P. C. Wren, H. Martin (Edited by N.D.V. Prasada Rao)
2. Speaking English Effectively by Mohan Krishna and Singh N.
Prepositions of Movement ...
