Prepositions

A preposition is a linking word. It links nouns, pronouns and phrases to other words in the sentence. The word or phrase that the preposition introduces is called the object of the preposition. A preposition usually indicates the temporal, spatial or logical relationship of its object to the rest of the sentence. The preposition is always placed before a noun or a pronoun.

Note

In each of these sentences, a preposition locates the noun bag in space or in time.

• The bag is on the sofa.
• The bag is under the cushion.
• The bag is beside the book.
• I lost my bag during the interval.
• We looked for the bag till the show began.
• We got the bag at 9 o'clock.

Kinds of Prepositions

Simple and compound prepositions:

Prepositions can be classified based on their form.

Some simple prepositions are: at, for, from, to, up, with, through, till, by

Some compound prepositions are: beneath, along, across, about, between, beyond, inside, outside, below

Example:

Simple Prepositions

• I will come home at 5 O'clock.
• This birthday gift is for you.
• I waited till 10 O'clock.
• John walked to the market.
• Henry climbed up the stairs.
• They travelled by train.
• Meera was with Hari.
• The bullet went through the door.
• Example: Compound Prepositions

• The dog ran across the road.
• Mary sat between Jane and June.
• The house is beyond the hill.
• The ball is hit Elizabeth below her knee.
• There were toys lying about the room.

Phrase prepositions

Phrase prepositions are groups of words used with the force of a single preposition.

Preposition	Meaning
In place of	with a view to
along with	on account of
because of	for the sake of
In case of	With a view to
In front of	With reference to
In order to	With regard to
In agreement with	Instead of
In favour of	for
In the event of	In a certain circumstance

Words and prepositions

Certain verbs always take only particular prepositions.

Certain nouns always take only particular prepositions.

adjectives

Certain always take only particular prepositions.

Verb + preposition	Noun + Preposition	Adjective + Preposition
prohibit from	assurance of	angry at
hope for	danger of	angry with
mix with	Enmity towards	disgusted with
attend to	Remedy for	accomplished in
depend upon	Knowledge of	honest in
agree to / with	Passion for	negligent of
laugh at	Reputation for	Grateful for/to
scowl at	Result of	Proud of
feed on	Empathy for	Anxious about
exclude from	Faith in	Careful with

Use of some prepositions

At, by, Before

• The flight stops at London.
• I met him at seven O'clock
• The car was going at 6 O'clock
• He is at fault
• Donald sold his bike at a loss
  
  
• We will reach his house by 9 O'clock
• My sister traveled by air
• The project was done by David
• I learnt the poem by heart.
  
  
• The bride stood by the door
• The came by the police station
  
  
• I completed my work before dinner
• The problem was before them and they did not know how to solve it.

Beyond, against, for

• She lives beyond the post office.
• The book was beyond me and Norah also found it difficult to understand.
• They fought against the foreign rule.
• The subjects had nothing against the king.
• The police warned the crowd against pick-pockets.
• The stranger stopped at the house for shelter.
• It is time for office.

Beside, besides, between

Beside

means - at the side of some one or something

Besides

means - in addition to

• Joan is sitting beside Tom
• The stranger came and stood beside me.
• Besides Jack, there are others who are interested in getting the job.
• Michael knows nothing besides work.
• Mary stood between Helen and Norah
• The wall between the two houses broke down
• Rex is the tallest amongst his friends

Observe the use of prepositions in these sentences.

Observe the use of prepositions in these sentences.

Example 1

in

Billy the bear lived Bridge-Wood. Beside his house were thick bushes. Amongst the bushes lived his dear friend Mr. White the rabbit. On Sunday, Mr. White the rabbit did not come for play with Billy.

for

Billy the bear looked his friend everywhere. He walked up the hill, raced through the woods, waded into the stream and even looked under boulders. Mr. White the rabbit was nowhere.

In order to

find him, Billy called a meeting and all the animals came tramping. On account of this there was a loud noise "Thump, Thump." Soon a very sleepy voice said, "Why are you shouting in front of my house? Let me sleep".

Mr. White was all the while fast asleep under the bush!!

Example 2

• There is a demand for foreign good in China
• The doctor must attend to the patient patiently.
• My mother is extremely proud of her children.
• It has been raining since yesterday
• Sarah is interested in painting.
• The children laughed at the clown in the circus
• We must not have enmity towards anyone.
• Yoga helps us to cope with the stress of modern life.

Example 3

Once there lived a man in a small town in Africa. He lived with his wife and children. He was very poor and worked for a rich merchant. The merchant was very bad to him. The merchant gave him a low salary. But the man was happy and had no complaints against the merchant.