Detailed Notes: Prepositions | English Grammar Advanced - Class 10 PDF Download

Prepositions

A preposition is a word or group of words, such as  at, in, out of,  that is placed before a noun, pronoun, or gerund to show its relationship with another word in a sentence.

For example:

• They came here  at  5 p.m.
• He was born  in  1980.
• She went  out of  the room.

Prepositions can indicate various relationships, including  time, place, position, direction,  and  means  .

Prepositions of Time

(i) At:  We use  at  to specify when something happens, such as with clock times, parts of the year, times of day, and festivals. For example:

• The train left  at  8 o’clock.
• She used to go to the temple  at  Dussehra and Diwali.
• He came here  at  the weekend.
• She married  at  the age of twenty.
• I called on my friend  at  night.
• We rested  at  noon/dawn/dusk.

 (ii) In:  We use  in  to indicate the period of time during which something occurs, such as with centuries, years, seasons, months, and times of day like  morning, evening,  and  afternoon  . For example:

• She was born  in  1990.
• They visited this place  in  summer.
• The theft took place during the day.
• My father went to the U.S.A.  in  October.
• It all happened  in  three minutes/hours/days/years.

 (iii) On:  We use  on  with days, dates, birthdays, anniversaries, etc. For example:

• We went to see a movie  on  Tuesday.
• He was born  on  October 3, 1980.
• We congratulated him  on  his birthday.
• We gave them a gift  on  their 20th marriage anniversary.

Note: We use  on  with  morning, afternoon, and evening when these terms are specified, such as on Sunday morning.

• They reached here on a hot afternoon.
• People did not come out of their houses on a night like this.
• We went for fishing on a pleasant morning.

(iv) During: During  can be used to replace  in  when referring to times of the day, months, seasons, years, decades, and centuries. It indicates that something happens throughout a specific period of time.
For example:

• Many people lost their lives  during  the war.
• We work  during  the day and sleep  during  the night.
• We try to reach people  during  October.
• Many taxes were introduced  during  the nineties.
• She often called me  during  the week.
•  During  the journey, I grew to respect her.

(v) By: By  is used to indicate the latest time by which an action will be completed.
For example:

• He will finish this work  by  5 o’clock.
• By that time, the moon will have risen.
• You must come to see me  by  8 a.m.
• Applications must be submitted  by  10th May.

By  refers to a specific moment in time, while  during  refers to a span of time.
For example:

• We rested  during  the day and travelled at night.
•  By  mid-afternoon, about 5,000 people had visited the exhibition.

(vi) For: For is used with time periods to indicate how long something lasts. It is mainly used with the Perfect Tense but can also be used with other tenses.
For example:

• They have lived here for five years.
• It rained non-stop for twelve hours.
• We stayed there for fifteen days.
• They have been working for two hours.
• She will not be here for another three hours.

(vii) Since: Since  is used to show that an action started at a specific point in the past and continues to the present. It is usually used with the Perfect Tense.
For example:

• He has lived here  since  1980. Everything has changed  since  last summer.
• It has not rained  since  the end of June.
• He had been writing novels  since  he was thirty years old.

(viii) From: From  is used to indicate the starting point of an action, whether in the past or future. It is always used with “to” or “until/till.”
For example:

• They lived here  from  1980  until/till 1990.
• We worked  from  morning  to  evening.
• She lived with them  from  the age of twenty.
• He lives in his office from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• She is interested in the period  from  1950 to 1960.

(ix) Till/Until:
Till and Until are used to indicate that something happens or is done up to a certain point in time and then stops.
For example:

• He is expected to be here until/till the end of the week.
• I was employed by the company until 1980.
• You will have to wait until my return.

(x) Before and After: The preposition before and after are used to relate events to a particular time. Before means earlier than and after means later than something.
For example:

• I get up before six.
• She returned before Monday.
• They came here after 8 o’clock.
• We went to Paris four years after our marriage.

Prepositions of Place

(i) At: At  is used to indicate an exact point, such as houses, stations, small villages, and towns.
For example:

• They lived at Gohana, a small town in Haryana.
• He was born at his village, Shilmar.
• The Prime Minister lives at 10 Downing Street.
• She works at the Town Hall.
• The plane landed at London airport.
• The train stopped at New Delhi Railway Station.

(ii) In: In is generally used when the reference is not to any specific place or to the names of large cities, countries, continents, etc.
For example:

• Many people in India live in villages.
• They used to live in Bengaluru.
• The Indians live in India.
• They lived in Europe for ten years.

(iii) On: On is used to indicate a particular area of land or place where something is.
For example:

• He spent a few days on an island.
• He worked on a farm for some time.
• They built their house on a beautiful piece of land.
• There is a school on the outskirts of the city.
• The hotel is located on the banks of a river.

 Prepositions of Direction 

(i) From: From is used with the starting point or point of departure from a place or the point of origin.
For example:

• They came  from  China.
• We started  from  Chennai.
• The train  from  Kolkata has arrived.
• She comes  from  the office at 6 p.m.
• He fell  from  the fifth floor of the hotel.

(ii) Off: Off means from the surface of and also down from.
For example:

• He took the hat  off  the table.
• The boy fell  off  the tree/roof.
• The ball rolled  off  the floor.
• Keep  off  the grass.
• Take this packet  off  the shelf.

(iii) Out of: Out of means from the interior of something.
For example:

• He went out of the room.
• The bird flew out of the cage.
• She jumped out of the shelf.
• I saw him coming out of the library.

Direction Towards 

(i) For: For is used to show direction only when the verb indicates the beginning of a movement.
For example:

• She left  for  Japan early in the morning.
• We set off  for  New York.
• They left  for  home late at night.

(ii) Against: Against means to have contact or pressure.
For example:

• The child threw the ball  against  the wall.
• The crowd pressed  against  the door.
• He put the ladder  against  the wall.
• She stood, with her back  against  the wall.
• He hit his head  against  the branch.

(iii) To: To is used for destination or the end-point.
For example:

• He went from Delhi  to  Ambala.
• She came  to  India as a tourist.
• The train started from Kolkata and came  to  Delhi.
• He was on his way  to  the station.
• We went from London  to  New York.

(iv) Towards: Towards is used to indicate the direction of something.
For example:

• They went  towards  the airport.
• He was speeding  towards  the town.
• The train was coming  towards  the station.
• I saw him hurrying  towards  me.
• He stood with his back  towards  me.
• She marked  towards  the river.
• He ran  towards  the door.

Prepositions of Position

(i) Under: Under is used to indicate a position that is below or beneath something. It means vertically below.
For example:

• The dog was under the table.    
• He looked under the bed.
• They took shelter under the trees.
• The water flows under the bridge.

(ii) Underneath: Underneath has the same meaning as under. It means a position below something.
For example:

• She found a lot of dust  underneath  the carpet.
• The coin rolled  underneath  the table.
• He hid the gun  underneath  the bed.
• He left the key  underneath  the mat.

Note: ‘Underneath’ generally implies covered by something so that the object covered is not seen.

(iii) Below and Beneath: Below means in a position lower than something.
For example:

• They could see the village below them. 
• The lake is 500 feet below the sea level.
• He had a wound below the left shoulder.
• You should write below this line.

(iv) Beneath also means a lower position than something.
For example:

• They found the body beneath a pile of grass.
• The boat sank beneath the waves.

Note: Beneath has the sense of directly under something.

(v) Over: Over is used to indicate a position vertically above something or somebody or partly or completely covering the surface of something.
For example:

• She hung the calendar over the fireplace.
• There were books all over the table.
• They held a large umbrella over her.  
• There was a lamp (hanging) over the table.

(vi) Above: Above is used to indicate a position higher than something.
For example:

• There were clouds above us.
• The water came above our knees.
• The pilot was flying above the clouds.  
• The birds were flying high above the trees.
• We lived in the room above the shop.

Note: Above has the sense of something being directly over something else.

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Prepositions of Travel and Movement

(i) Across: Across is used to indicate movement from one side of a space, area, line to the other side.
For example:

• I walked across the road.
• The cat ran across the lawn.
• They flew across the Pacific.
• He walked across the street.

(ii) Along: Along is used to indicate movement from one end to or towards the other end of something. The place is seen as a line.
For example:

• We walked along the street.
• She went along the corridor.
• He hurried along the path towards me.

(iii) Into: Into is used to indicate movement inside a place seen as a volume. The opposite of into is out of. It is used for entering a place, building, vehicle, etc.
For example:

• The boys came into the hall. 
• She ran into the house.
• He got into a bus/a train/a plane/a car.  
• The athletes marched into the stadium.

(iv) Onto: Onto is used to indicate movement into a position on an object or surface.
For example:

• He climbed onto the roof.  
• The cat jumped onto the table.
• A tree fell onto a car.
• He stepped out of the train onto the platform.

(v) Through: Through is used to indicate movement from one end of an opening, or a passage to the other. The place is seen as a volume.
For example:

• The train passed through a tunnel. 
• The water flows through this pipe.
• They were riding through a forest.  
• The ball went flying through the window.

(vi) Up and Down: Up is used to indicate movement to a higher position and down to a lower position.
For example:

• We climbed up the hill.    
• The girl ran up the stairs.
• I set off up the road.       
• She was walking down the street.
• She fell down the stairs.      
• The stone rolled down the hill.

(vii) On/In/By (Travel): We may use on, in or by while using a public or private vehicle. On is used when the vehicle is seen as a surface, in is used when it is seen as a volume. By is used to indicate the means of travel.
For example:

• We travelled on the horseback/foot/a cycle/a bus/a plane.
• They travelled by bus/car/train/cycle/sea/plane/air.
• We travelled in a bus/a car/a train/a ship/a plane.

Between and Among

Between is used with two persons or things. Among is used with more than two people or things.
For example:

• Between you and me, she is very stupid.
• She divided the apples between the two children.
• C comes between B and D.
• Samesh sat between Mahesh and Ramesh.
• He lives in a house among the trees.
• She divided the money among her four sons.
• Satish works among the poor.

But if each individual person is mentioned, between is used even if there are more than two:

• The money was divided up between Mohan, Sohan and Rohan.

If the people are mentioned as a single group, among is used:

• I shared out the food among the family.
• The girl quickly disappeared among the crowd.

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By and Beside

By means close to someone or something. Beside means by the side of someone or something. Both imply nearness.
For example:

• She was sitting by the door. 
• There is a glass just by your elbow.
• The telephone is by the window. 
• She was sitting beside her mother.
• He always kept a dictionary beside him. Who is standing beside Kumar?