Prepositions class 8 | English Olympiad for Class 8 PDF Download

Preposition

A preposition is a word placed before a noun or pronoun to show its relation with some other word in the sentence.

• He works hard in the hope of standing first.
• We met at night.
• The book is on the table.
• We stay at home during the holidays.
• I will be there by ten O'clock.
• It has rained for three hours.
• He pointed to the tree.

In the above sentences, the italicised words in. at. on. by. for and to are preposi¬tions. The nouns that come after them are called their objects. Thus, ‘hope’ is the object of ‘in’ ; home is the object of at: holidays is the object of ‘during’. ‘Ten is the object of ‘by’; hours is the object of for’ and tree is the object of to.

The Prepositions generally serve three important purposes:

1. Indication of Time
2. Indication of Place
3. As a part of the Verb

Indicating Time

Time is indicated mainly by at. on, in. during, by. and for.

• At
  (i) At is used for a point in time:
  We shall meet at 6 O’clock.
  He came at midnight.
  Similarly, at dawn, at sunset, at the end, at the beginning etc.
  (ii) At is used before festivals:
  We have a holiday at Diwali.
  Similarly, at Holi, at Christmas, at New year etc. 
• On
  (i) On is used for a particular day, 
  whether it is a date (e.g. 5 June, Feb. 14th), a
  day (e.g. Monday, or a special da
  (ii) On is used for a particular part of such days as described above.
  I will come on the night of 10th July.
  We will meet on Friday afternoon. 
• In
  (i) In is used before a period of time : in the winter, in July, in the year 2005, in the morning, in the evening.
  I first met him in 2005.
  Cricket is played in India in winter.
  (ii) In is also used to show the total length of time taken to complete an activity or operation.
  This train will get you from Delhi to Chandigarh in four hours. 
• During
  When an action or a situation continues for sometime, during is used before that specified period.
  We enjoyed ourselves during the vacation.
  People work during the day. 
• By
  (i) By is used to denote the ultimate point by which something was or is to be completed.
  I have to complete the work by Monday.
  The applications should reach by 14 February.
  (ii) By is used with day and night where it means during.
  He travelled by day and slept by night. 
• For
  For is used before a time phrase to denote that so much time has passed during which an action or a situation continued.
  I have not seen him for two years.
  We waited for an hour but he didn’t turn up.
  Important Points:
  (i) The prepositions at, on and in are not used if the noun giving time has an adjective with it.
  He met me last Sunday.
  We will come again next Diwali.
  We go for a walk every morning.
  I will be twenty next June.
  (ii) Yesterday, today and tomorrow do not take a preposition.
  I will come again tomorrow.
  You met me yesterday.
  He is arriving today. 

Indicating Place

• Residence (Countries, towns etc.)
  (i) When the reference is general, use in
  Many people live in cities/villages/suburbs/deserts/countries/towns
  But
  He lives at the seaside.
  He lives on an island.
  Note: Village, suburb, desert, country and town are imagined as closed entities and hence the preposition in (i.e., inside).
  On the other hand seaside means near the sea and hence the preposition at ; Island is imagined as something open and so the preposition on. 
• Residence (Houses etc.)
  (i) For the general reference use in:
  I live in a small house.
  She lives in a bungalow.
  Do you live in a flat or in a mansion?
  (ii) For a house with a name or address use at:
  Mrs Gandhi lives at 10 Janpath.
  (iii) For the names of streets and roads use in:
  He lives in Mayur Vihar.
  I live in Sector-14.

• Place of Work
  (i) If it is a building, use in:
  His father works in a bank.
  But
  In case the place of work is not a building use on:
  Ram works on a farm.
  (ii) If the name of the place of work is given, use at:
  He works at the Public Library.
  (iii) For a particular department, use in:
  He is a teacher in the Department of English

As a part of the Verb

I wrote a letter.
Children like sweets.
In each of these sentences the verb takes an object. ‘Song’, ‘letter’ and ‘sweets’ are objects. A verb that takes an object is called a Transitive Verb. The object usually answers the question what? Or whom? 
Now look at the following sentences: 
Birds fly. 
The sun shines. 
These verbs do not require objects. They express the actions by themselves and make the sense complete. They are called Intransitive Verbs. Some Verbs can be used both Transitively and Intransitively.