A Preposition is a word placed before a noun or a pronoun to show in what relation the person or thing denoted by it stand in regard to something else.
As,
There is someone in the room.
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preposition
She is fond of honey.
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preposition
The horse jumped off the wall.
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preposition
Kinds of Preposition
Preposition are of different kinds.
(1) Simple Preposition
Simple Preposition include at, by, for, from, in, on, of, off, to, through, up, with, out, till etc.
Of these, at, by, with, in and on are used after verbs indicating rest in a place.
As,
Moni is at Darjeeling.
I sat by John.
I was in the garden.
The keys were with me.
The book was on the table.
To, from, of, through and up are used after verbs indicating motion.
As,
I went to London.
Tom came from his house.
You came of a high family.
We went through the field.
Jack and Jill went up the hill.
Let us start for school.
(2) Compound Prepositions
Compound Prepositions include above, across, along, amidst, around, about, among, amongst, before, behind, below, beneath, beside, between, beyond, into, inside, outside, undereath, within, without etc.
Compound Prepositions are generally formed by prefixing preposition to a Noun, Adjective or an Adverb.
As,
above = on + by + up
across = on + cross
into = in + to
(3) Participial Prepositions
Participial Prepositions include barring, concerning, considering, during, expecting, judging, notwithstanding, regarding, respecting etc., are the present participles of verbs. These participles have acquired the character of prepositions, no longer needing the prop of a noun to cling to.
As,
Barring accident, the mail will arrive in time.
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expecting,
apart from.
Concerning yesterday's murder, many persons were arrested.
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about
Considering the quality, the price is too high.
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taking into account
Notwithstanding the resistance offered by him, he was arrested.
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in spite of
Touching this matter, I have not as yet made up my mind.
↓
with regard to
(4) Double Preposition
Double Prepositions include from behind, from beyond, from within etc., where, often two prepositions are used with the same object.
As,
The mischief was done from behind the screen.
The news came from beyond the Atlantic.
Somebody shouted from within the room.
(5) Disguised Prepositions
Disguised Prepositions include ahunting, ashore (a = on), o'clock (o' = of), once a week, two rupees a day (a = on)
As,
We jumped overboard at 3 o' clock and swam ashore.
(6) Detached Prepositions
Detached Prepositions are those which are far removed from their objects.
As,
Whom did you speak to?
(7) Phrasal Prepositions
Phrasal Prepositions or Phrase Prepositions are the groups of words which are used with the force of a single preposition.
As,
Jack succeeded by means of hard labour.
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by
James failed on account of his negligence.
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for
The object to a Preposition may also be a Descriptive adverb, an Adverbial phrase or a Noun clause.
(a) Adverbs as objects to a Preposition
John is by far the best boy of his class.
He will have reached home by then.
Much might happen between now and then.
He left at once to come back before now.
From here to there is a long distance.
(b) Adverbial phrases as objects to a Preposition
The ship suddenly came to view from beyond the horizon.
He did not reach till long after midnight.
(c) Noun clauses as objects to a Preposition
He informed me of what had happened there.
It depends on whether you can go or not.
A list of Phrasal Preposition
according to | agreeably to |
along with | away from |
because of | by dint of |
by means of | by reason of |
by virtue of | by way of |
conformably to | for the sake of |
in accordance with | in addition to |
in (on) behalf of | in case of |
in comparison to | incompliance with |
in consequence with | in consequence of |
in course of | in favour of |
in front of | in lieu of |
in order to | in place of |
in reference to | in regard to |
in spite of | instead of |
in the event of | on account of |
owing to | with a view to |
with an eye to | with regard to |
with reference to |
Several words are used sometimes as Adverbs and sometimes as Prepositions. A word is a preposition, when it governs a noun or pronoun and it is an adverb, when it does not.
As,
Adverb : | Go and run about. | |
Preposition : | Don't loiter about the street. | |
Adverb : | He could not do before. | |
Preposition : | I came the day before yesterday. | |
Adverb : | Has he come in? | |
Preposition : | Is he in his room? | |
Adverb : | The wheel came off. | |
Preposition : | The driver jumped off the cabin. | |
Adverb : | Let us move on. | |
Preposition : | The pen lies on the table. | |
Adverb : | His brother arrived soon after. | |
Preposition : | After a month he returned. | |
Adverb : | Take his parcel over to the post-office. | |
Preposition : | The king rules over a vast empire. | |
Adverb : | I have not seen him since. | |
Preposition : | I have not slept since day before yesterday. |
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1. What is the purpose of a preposition? | ![]() |
2. Can a sentence have more than one preposition? | ![]() |
3. How do prepositions help in constructing meaningful sentences? | ![]() |
4. What are some commonly used prepositions in the English language? | ![]() |
5. Can prepositions change the meaning of a sentence? | ![]() |
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