What is a Preposition

A preposition is a word that shows the relation of a verb to a noun or a pronoun.

A.   Kinds of Prepositions-

There are mainly two kinds of prepositions in English.

1.      Simple prepositions. They are:-

about, above, across, after, against, along, among, at, before, below, behind, beside, between, beyond, down, except, by,  for,  from, in, into, of, off,  on, over, round,
to, towards, under, until, up, underneath, upon,  with etc.

2.       Prepositional phrases

These are words compounded with prepositions

Examples:- In front of, by the side of, at the top of etc.

B.    Meaning and use of Prepositions

Now let us discuss what are the meanings and use of some common prepositions we use in our daily life.

  1. On.
    it means 'top' touching it.
    Examples:
    On the table
    On the hose
  2. Over/above
    It means 'top' covering, not touching it.
    Examples:
    Over the head
    Above the head
    Over the roof
    Above the roof
  3. Under/below/beneath
    It means lower than the position 
    Examples:
    The stool is under the table
    The fan is below the ceiling
    There is a cow
    beneath the tree
  4. In
    It means inside. 
    Examples: 
    Water is
    in the bottle
    Boys are in the class.
  5. Into
    It means going inside,
    it shows entrance or movement 
    Examples:
    He went into the shop
    He poured the tea into the cup
  6. Upon
    It means 'high on' 
    Examples:
    The school is upon a hill 
    The bird is
    upon the tree
  7. Prepositions referring to time and dates
    a) At
    Examples:
    at a time, at 6 O' clock, at night, at Easter, at Xmas.etc
    b) In
    We can see that it is used for a period of time, for seasons, year, month, part of a day, etc.
    Examples:
    In winter, in August,  in the morning, in 2009, in twenty minutes, in two days etc.
    c) on and in - time 
    On time
    It means exactly at the time fixed
    Examples:
    The train left on time
    In time 
    means not late
    Examples:
    We were in time in the meeting
    d) On
    It is used before date and time
    Examples:
    On fifth of June
    On Wednesday etc.
    e) By
    It means not later than. It is used with future time and future.
    Examples: 
    He will be here
    by 4 p.m
    The teacher will be here
    by 12 p.m
    Bring the book
    by the next Friday
    f) For
    and since
    For- refers to a period of time
    Examples:
    He has been my teacher
    for the last two years
    We have stayed here for ten years
    Since- refers to a point of time in the past
    Examples:
    He has been here since 10 a.m
    We have stayed here since 1983
    g) From and Till
    From- denotes the starting point
    and Since- denotes the finishing point
    Examples:
    The office is from ten in the morning till five in the evening
  8. Prepositions referring to place
    a) At
    It refers to the exact place; a small place.
    Examples:
    At the bus stop
    At the junction
    At school
    b) In
    It refers to a larger area.
    Examples:
    In India
    In America
    In Africa
  9. Prepositions referring to movements
    a) Direction towards a place- at, for, against, to, towards
    Examples:
    He looked at the crowd.
    He left for home
    I threw the ball against the wall
    He went to the post office
    She walked towards the child.
    b) Direction from a place- from, off, out of.
    Examples:
    The bird flew from the tree
    He took the book off the shelf
    She gave money out of her purse.
    c) from a place to a place-by, on
    Examples:
    We travelled by bus
    I go to school on foot
    He went on horse back
  10. Referring or describing people
    a) In
    It is used to refer the dress
    Examples:
    She is in red clothing
    A man in black suit
    b) With
    1) It refers to something carried by a person
    Examples:
    They are with their books
    The lady is with a hand bag
    2) It also refers to physical features
    Examples:
    A man with gray hair
    The boy with a limp
    c) Of
    It refers to character, qualities or condition
    Examples:
    A man of common sense
    A girl of fifteen

Now we have covered all the prepositions in English and explained well about its usages with examples. Please read it once again to familiarise with each usages and their meanings.

 

 


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