Category : 8th Class
Definition: A preposition is a word which shows the relation between a noun or pronoun and some other word in a sentence.
List of some commonly used Prepositions
About | Until |
Across | Up |
Around | Upon |
Above | From |
After | In |
Against | into |
Along | Near |
Among | of |
At | Towards |
Away | On |
Before | Out |
Beside | Over |
Between | Since |
By | To |
Down | under |
For | with |
Without | Through |
Preposition of Time
A number of prepositions may be used to denote time; on Monday, before night, during the night, till tomorrow, after lunch, etc. In most cases, it is easy to know which preposition to use. The following prepositions however, need extra attention.
At, on, in
(A) 'At' usually denotes a definite point of time but can also be used for indefinite periods:
Definite points of time
(i) at 3 o'clock, at midnight
(ii) at the beginning of the class
(iii) at the end of the meeting
Indefinite periods of time
(i) at dawn, at night
(ii) at Christmas, at Diwali
(B) 'On' is used with days and dates:
(i) On Monday, on 15thAugust
(ii) On the Diwali day, on Christmas Eve
(iii) On the evening of the 6thApril
(C) 'In' is used with parts of the days, month, year, season:
(i) In the morning, in the afternoon, in the evening,
(ii) In summer, in winter
(iii) In March, in 1988
(D) 'In' is also used with the future tense to show the period in which an action will happen.
(i) In two hours, in a few minutes, in a fortnight
Carefully note the difference between 'in' and 'within':
In = at the end of
Within = before the end of
By
It denotes the latest time at which an action will be over:
From
It denotes the starting point of an action. It is almost always used with to or till/until:
Preposition of Position
At, in
'At' gives idea of an exact point; it is used with villages, small towns. 'ln' gives the idea of a larger area and is used while speaking of bigger towns, states, countries:
At Cedar Avenue, in New Delhi, in England
At the end, in the middle; also, in a factory, in a bank.
'At' conveys the idea of general neighborhood;
'In' conveys the idea of something contained.
Between, Among
'Between' is used with two persons or things, 'among' is used with more than two:
On, upon
'On' is used in speaking of things at rest; 'upon' is used with things in motion.
Above, over
Both 'above' and 'over' mean higher than. Sometimes we can use either of them.
But over can also mean covering, or vertically above.
Below, under
Both 'below' and 'under' mean lower than. Sometimes we can use either of them. But under also means vertically below. It also has the idea of contact.
To, from -- to, until
We use to when we want to point to an exact time before the stated hour. We use 'from - to' to point to a period between the time when an activity or event begins (from) and when it ends (to). When we use until, we are also dealing with a period of time but the focus is on when the activity or event ends.
At, between -- and
We use at to point to exact times. We use between -- and to point out that an action takes place after a stated time and before the second stated time.
For, Since
We use for to point out how long an activity, an event or a situation continues or lasts (minutes, hours, days, months, or years). We use since with an event or time in the past to point out that the activity, event or situation is going on from that time to now.
At, in, on, against
We use the prepositions at, in, on and against differently in these ways:
(A) At - to show the exact location of a person or thing, or a particular point.
(B) In - to point to an enclosed area or something which has volumes.
(C) On - to show that a person or thing is in a higher position than something and is touching or covering its surface.
(D) Against -to show someone or something is next to and touching the surface or something or being supported by it.
Before, after, on the left/right, to the left/ right
We use 'before' and 'after' to show which person or thing is closer to us and which is farther from us. We use 'to the left' and 'to the right' to show on which side of a person or thing another person or thing is.
NOTE: If we are standing in front of the public library and facing the road, we would describe the position ofthe railway station and the post office in this way:
(i) The railway station is on my right.
(ii) The post office is on my left.
Across, along
We use the prepositions 'across', 'along' and 'opposite' in the following ways:
(A) Across - to point to the other side of a line or space. Serena lives across the road from me.
(B) Along: to point to someone or something located beside or at a particular point or something which has a long thin shape, for example a road or a river. James lives along Park Street.
We use preposition of direction (or movement) with active verbs such as walk, climb, jump, etc. We usually use prepositions of position with the verb 'to be' and verbs such as live, sit, stand, etc. Some prepositions of position can also behave as prepositions of direction when used with active verbs.
Into, off, onto, out of
We use the prepositions 'into' and' out of' for things with volume, and 'onto' and 'off' for surfaces.
Into:
(A) To show someone or something outside defined space entering it.
(B) To show something being placed inside something else.
Out of:
To show someone or something inside a defined space leaving it.
On to:
To show someone or something getting on a surface or object.
Off:
To show someone or something moving away from a surface or object, or something being removed from where it is.
Past, Through
The preposition 'past' points to someone or something moving up to a point and then proceeding farther than it. The preposition 'through' points to someone or something moving from one end to the other of a hole or an opening.
Round
When we want to describe movement in a circular manner, or show that someone or something is moving about within the boundaries of a given space, we use the Preposition 'round'.
Preposition of direction: to, towards, into, at, for, against.
(A) 'To' has the sense of destination, 'towards' of direction.
(B) 'Into' denotes movement towards the interior of something.
(C) 'At' has the idea of hitting.
(D) 'For' suggests the beginning of a movement.
(E) 'Against' shows pressure or contact.
Prepositions of direction from: from, off, out of
(A) 'From' is used with the point of departure.
(B) 'Off' shows separation. It is used in the sense of from the surface of, down from.
(C) 'Out' of is the opposite of into. It means from the interior of.
Other prepositions showing movement are:
Through | Over | Along | Across |
Round | Up | Down | We ride on horseback |
Car | We travel by | By bus | By train |
By air | By boat | By sea | We walk on foot |
We go on a bicycle.
Correct Use of certain Prepositions
By, with
'By' is used to express the agent or doer of an action; 'with' relates to the instrument with which the action is done.
After, in
'After' is used to denote some period of time in the past; 'in' is used to show some period of time in the future:
Beside, Besides
Beside means by the side of; besides means in addition to:
NOTE: The verbs like command, request, invite, advise, ask, beg normally do not take the, preposition 'to' after them.
On Time, in Time
On time = at the arranged time; not before, not after In time = not late, with a comfortable margin:
Adjectives and Participles followed by Prepositions.
Below are some important Verbs followed by Prepositions?
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