Definition
Preposition can be defined as “A word governing, and usually preceding, a noun or pronoun and expressing a relation to another word or element in the clause, as in ‘the man on the platform’, ‘she arrived after dinner’, ‘what did you do it for ?”
Explanation
A preposition is one of the important parts of speech in English grammar. It is very essential while making a sentence as it provides additional and necessary details. Prepositions in English are words giving information to the readers such as where something takes place when something takes place, why something takes place, general descriptive information, etc. Prepositions work in groups of words (also called prepositional phrases) and do not stand alone.
List/Words
Some preposition words are like about, till, out, above, against, below, beneath, beside, besides, between, through, up, upon, within, during, except, for, from, in, off, on, onto, opposite, near, of, behind, inside, into, outside, around, before, among, to, along, at, toward, under, underneath, across, like, until, with, beyond, by, down, since, without, after, etc.
For example:
- My class teacher laughed. (this is a correct sentence, however does not provide much detail about the situation without a preposition word)
- My class teacher laughed at the joke. (in this sentence, preposition word is used properly which gives us much detail about the situation)
- It is a box for (Preposition word ‘for’ is showing the relationship between box and rice)
- I saw a cat under the table. (Preposition word ‘under’ is showing the relationship between cat and table)
Types of Preposition
There are various types of prepositions described below with proper definition and examples:
- Simple Preposition
- Compound Preposition
- Phrase Preposition
- Participle Preposition
- Double Preposition
- Other Preposition (preposition of place, preposition of time, preposition of direction)
Simple prepositions are used in the simple sentences. Some of the simple prepositions are in, on, at, to, from, with, by, about, over, under, off, of, for, etc.
For example:
- I am not going over the bridge.
- She is waiting in the park.
- Dad is going to the market.
Compound prepositions are used to join two nouns, pronouns or phrases. Some of the compound prepositions are about, across, among, beside, before, above, along, inside, between, around, behind, below, beneath, etc.
For example:
- My city is located between two mountains.
- I will finish the lunch before her.
- I want to know about him.
Prepositional phrases are groups of words having prepositions indicating relationships among various elements in the sentence. Some of the phrase prepositions are according to, an account of, in spite of, in front of, for the sake of, in order to, by means of, with reference to, in addition to, due to, etc.
For example:
- I returned home due to condolence in the college.
- According to me, there were three mango trees in the garden.
- I work hard in order to maintain my position in the class.
A participle preposition is a participle (like an, ed, or ing verb) which acts as a preposition such as assuming, considering, barring, given, concerning, notwithstanding, pending, during, regarding, respected, provided, etc.
For example:
- I get sick during summer season.
- I would like to speech regarding healthy food.
- My project work is still pending.
- I think I can pass the exam easily considering my hard work.
Double prepositions are words having two prepositions (joined together to make a whole new one) such as into, onto, outside of, out of, within, from behind, because of, etc.
For example:
- We need to solve three questions out of
- We won the game just because of
- I need to complete my project within four days.
Following are other types of prepositions:
Preposition of Place
Prepositions of place are used to show the place where something is located such as at, in, on, while, during, near, over, under, between, behind, etc.
For example:
- Dog is on the floor.
- My home is near to the office.
- My home is behind the metro station.
- Mom is in the room.
Preposition of Time:
Prepositions of time are used to indicate time of an action or time relationship between nouns in the sentence. Such as at, to, in, etc.
For example:
I go to school daily at nine o’clock.
My result gets declared in March.
Preposition of Direction
Prepositions of direction are used to indicate direction of someone or something in the sentence such as over, under, to, on, into, in, onto, right, left, etc.
For example:
- It’s time to go to
- The train is going into the tunnel.
- We are going over the bridge.
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