Preposition

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PREPOSITIONS


§  A preposition is a word which precedes a noun (or a pronoun) to show the noun's (or the pronoun's) relationship to another word in the sentence.
§  The word preposition comes from the idea of being positioned before. It is not true to say that a preposition always precedes a noun or a pronoun, but it does most of the time.

The following are all prepositions:
above, about, across, against, along, among, around, at, before, behind, below, beneath, beside, between, beyond, by, down, during, except, for, from, in, inside, into, like, near, of, off, on, since, to, toward, through, under, until, up, upon, with and within.
Examples:
§  The book is on the table.
§  The book is leaning against the table.
§  The book is beside the table.
§  She held the book over the table.
§  She read the book during class.
Preposition Rule
There is one very simple rule about prepositions. And, unlike most rules, this rule has no exceptions.
Rule: A preposition is followed by a "noun". It is never followed by a verb.
By "noun" we include:
§  noun (dog, money, love)
§  proper noun (name) (Bangkok, Mary)
§  pronoun (you, him, us)
§  noun group (my first job)
§  gerund (swimming)
A preposition cannot be followed by a verb. If we want to follow a preposition by a verb, we must use the "-ing" form which is really a gerund or verb in noun form.
Here are some examples:
subject + verb
preposition
"noun"
note
The food is
on
the table.
noun
She lives
in
Japan.
proper noun
Tara is looking
for
you.
pronoun
The letter is
under
your blue book.
noun group
Pascal is used
to
English people.
She isn't used
to
working.
gerund
I ate
before
coming.
                                  
Types of prepositions:

1. Preposition of place
Prepositions of place describe the position of a person or thing in relation to another person or thing.
Now look at these example sentences based:
§  There is a cup on the table.
§  The helicopter hovered above the house.
§  The police placed a sheet over the body.
§  He stood in front of the door and rang the bell.
§  Ram sat beside Tara.
§  A small stream runs below that bridge.
§  He put the key under the doormat.
§  He put his hands behind his back.

PREPOSITIONS OF PLACE: AT, IN, ON
In general, we use:
§  at for a POINT
§  in for an ENCLOSED SPACE
§  on for a SURFACE
Look at these examples:
§  Jane is waiting for you at the bus stop.
§  The shop is at the end of the street.
§  My plane stopped at Dubai and Hanoi and arrived in Bangkok two hours late.
§  When will you arrive at the office?
§  Do you work in an office?
§  I have a meeting in New York.
§  Do you live in Japan?
§  Jupiter is in the Solar System.
§  The author's name is on the cover of the book.
§  There are no prices on this menu.
§  You are standing on my foot.
§  There was a "no smoking" sign on the wall.
§  I live on the 7th floor at 21 Oxford Street in London.
Notice the use of the prepositions of place at, in and on in these standard expressions:
at
in
on
at home
in a car
on a bus
at work
in a taxi
on a train
at school
in a helicopter
on a plane
at university
in a boat
on a ship
at college
in a lift (elevator)
on a bicycle, on a motorbike
at the top
in the newspaper
on a horse, on an elephant
at the bottom
in the sky
on the radio, on television
at the side
in a row
on the left, on the right
at reception
in Oxford Street
on the way

2. PREPOSITIONS OF TIME: AT, IN, ON
We use:
§  at for a PRECISE TIME
§  in for MONTHS, YEARS, CENTURIES and LONG PERIODS
§  on for DAYS and DATES
Look at these examples:
§  I have a meeting at 9am.
§  The shop closes at midnight.
§  Jane went home at lunchtime.
§  In England, it often snows in December.
§  Do you think we will go to Jupiter in the future?
§  There should be a lot of progress in the next century.
§  Do you work on Mondays?
§  Her birthday is on 20 November.
§  Where will you be on New Year's Day?
Notice the use of the preposition of time at in the following standard expressions:
Expression
Example
at night
The stars shine at night.
at the weekend*
I don't usually work at the weekend.
at Christmas*/Easter
I stay with my family at Christmas.
at the same time
We finished the test at the same time.
at present
He's not home at present. Try later.
·         *Note that in some varieties of English people say "on the weekend" and "on Christmas".
·         Notice the use of the prepositions of time in and on in these common expressions:
in
on
in the morning
on Tuesday morning
in the mornings
on Saturday mornings
in the afternoon(s)
on Sunday afternoon(s)
in the evening(s)
on Monday evening(s)

3. Preposition of Direction & Movement:
These prepositions show direction of movement to somewhere (into, onto, to, etc).
§  A fly got into his soup while he was eating it.
§  I must have put the pumpkin onto someone else’s trolley in the supermarket.
§  The teacher has gone to the lab again.
 These prepositions show direction of movement from somewhere (away from, from, off, etc).
§  He warned them to keep away from his daughter.
§  Two tigers in the circus have escaped from their cage.
§  The strong wind blew the wig off his head.

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