Prepositions http://www.smart-words.org/linking-words/prepositions.
html
repositions
Preposition
DEFINITION
A preposition is usually a short word placed before a substantive (or a pronoun) and indicating the relation of that substantive to other parts of
the sentence (mostly verbs).
EXAMPLE
"I was reading a book in the living-room."
The preposition “in” specifies, where exactly “I was reading a book”. It is placed directly before the noun “living-room” (not counting a
sometimes optional article like “the”).
CATEGORIES
Prepositions, as a class of words, can be divided in five categories.
1. Preposition of time (temporal) e.g. in, on, at, etc.
2. Preposition of place (spatial) e.g. in, on, at, etc.
3. Preposition for direction e.g. to, towards, into, through etc.
4. Preposition for device, instrument or machines e.g. on, by, with, etc. and various semantic roles e.g. of, for,
etc.
This classification is not disjunct: a lot of preposition fall in more than one group, e.g. “in” can be used for “in the car” (spatial) or for “in five
years” (temporal).
There is some overlap with » transitions words, » conjunctions and » linking words in general. Keep in mind, that the main purpose of a
preposition is the determination of the relationship in time or place. Thus, contrary to other “small words”, they are not an element of style,
but absolutely mandatory.
To find the correct preposition is difficult, even for advanced ESL speakers, since a 1:1 translation from your mother tongue is usually wrong. To
make matters worse, no real rules exist, when to use which preposition. So the only way is, to memorize them. As always, reading books or
watching movies helps a lot.
The following lists contain some of the most frequently used prepositions in English.
Prepositions – Time
English Explanation / Meaning Examples
on days (of the week) & dates on Sunday; on May 1st; on Christmas Eve; on my mark;
on the weekend (AmE.)
in months / seasons / year in summer / in July / in 2017
part of the day in the evening
after a period of time in an hour; in the future
at a specific point of time at 11:15 p.m.; at half past six
exceptions (question: "When ...?") at noon; at night; learned English at 42; at the weekend
(BrE.); at first glance
since from a specific point in time until now (past till now) since 1980; since yesterday
until (till) up to a certain point in time until Monday; I’ll wait to call my manager until I hear from
the client
for over a certain period of time for the first time in forever; for 3 years
ago from now to a specific point in the past (now till past) a second ago; a decade ago; a while ago
during throughout the course or duration of s.th. during summer; during the vacation; during the discussion
before previous to in time; earlier than before winter; before dawn; I have to talk to the client
before I call my manager
after Subsequent in time; at a later time than after midnight; after tomorrow
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Prepositions http://www.smart-words.org/linking-words/prepositions.html
English Explanation / Meaning Examples
to / past telling the time ten to two (1:50) / ten past two (2:10)
from / to a starting point / an end point from the beginning; from now to eternity
by not later than by 12 o'clock; by next week
Prepositions – Place
English Explanation / Meaning Examples
in position or state inside sth. in London; in the book, in the mirror; in love
at in the area of ...; specific position at home; at the table; at my side
an event (or a place related to it) at the party; at the cinema; at school
on position above on the desk; on my shoulder
in contact with on the wall; on the water
a certain side (left, right) on the left side; on the bright side
the state or process of on leave; on fire; on the way
on the phone; on TV; on the menu
means of conveyance on trains; on the bus; on a plane
off from a place or position off the table; off the wall; went off to Canada; got off the
bus; turned off the TV
by, beside at the side of; close to, next to by the door; beside the car; stand by me
under in a lower position; beneath the surface under the table; under water
over in or at a position above put sth. over a shirt; walk over sth.; over my dead body
over 100 years; over ten miles
more than
below in or to a lower place; beneath below the surface; below 20°; below the clouds
above higher than sth. else; overhead above the door; the clouds above; the problems cited
above
up from a lower towards a higher point up the hill; up there is a …
down a descending direction rolled down the hill; walking down the street
Prepositions – Direction / Movement
English Explanation / Meaning Examples
across on, at, to or from the other side across the street; lines across the paper
through from one end or side to another through the tunnel; a tour through France
to in a direction toward a person or thing go to bed; move on to; face to face; to the entrance
back to health; all the way to; to die for
toward a (given) state
into movement to the inside or interior of went into the kitchen; crashed into a tree
to the condition, state, or form of breaking into pieces; go into banking
out of movement from the inside to the outside drag myself out of bed; out of nowhere
no longer in the condition, state, or form of
out of town; out of order; out of fashion
onto movement to the top jumped onto the table
towards movement in the direction of; or closer to towards the house; toward the future; toward peace
from a starting point; movement away from walked home from the station; traveled from NY to LA
a note from the teacher; know right from wrong
a source, a cause; a distinction
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Prepositions http://www.smart-words.org/linking-words/prepositions.html
Other important Prepositions
English Explanation / Meaning Examples
of originating from, composed of, associated with, men of the north; a cup of coffee; the hand of God; that
belonging to friend of yours
by in the name of; through the agency or action of a book by Mark Twain; by myself; played by the rules;
killed by a bullet; one by one they left; by car, by bus
about estimation of quantity about ten people; about five minutes; about two miles
a book about English
on the subject of the chorus is about to sing
ready to do sth.
for indicates the object, aim or purpose happy for you; for sale; eager for fame; for one thing, …;
for heaven's sake
with in the presence or use of with a friend; with cheese; with confidence; with a lot of …;
will be with you shortly; from Russia with love
LIST OF PREPOSITIONS
Please feel free to download this concise list of prepositions as a 3 page cheat sheet » List of Prepositions — the PDF contains all the
prepositions listed on this page.
PREPOSITIONS — IN & ON & AT
Short overview of the 3 prepositions in & on & at and their use from more general to more specific describtions of Time & Place.
GRAMMAR
A preposition is a word that creates a relationship between words to indicate relative positions in space or time.
The doctrine that a preposition may not be used to end a sentence was promulgated by 18th-century Latin-obsessed grammarians introverts.
The rule has since become one of the most venerated maxims of schoolroom grammatical lore. Alas, unjustified so.
Examples
In fact, English syntax allows and sometimes requires final placement of the preposition.
1. That depends on what you believe in.
2. What did you step on?
3. Elias had no-one to play with.
4. Five excited puppies are almost too many to put up with.
5. A good medium raw steak should not be so hard to come by.
6. Ending a sentence with a preposition is nothing to be afraid of.
ABBREVIATIONS
Although there are no commonly accepted abbreviations for some of the basic terms used on this page, most grammarians (and dictionaries)
employ some of these abbreviations.
BrE, BE - British English
AmE, AE - American English
sth. - Something
sb. - Somebody
etc. - et cetera (other unspecified things or persons)
e.g. - Exempli gratia (For example)
pron. - pronunciation
sp. - spelling
gram. - grammar
etym. - etymology
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Prepositions http://www.smart-words.org/linking-words/prepositions.html
n. - noun
v. - verb
obj. - object
adj. - adjective
adv. - adverb
pr. - pronoun
prep. - preposition
conj. - conjunction
art. - article
interj. - interjection
abbr. - abbreviation
aux. - auxiliary
pref. - prefix
suff. - suffix
tr. - transitive
intr. - intransitive
sing. - singular
pl. - plural
def. - definite
indef. - indefinite
Examples of Prepositions
Some special examples on how to use prepositions ;-)
Has not been heard from since
At your disposal
It's not true I had nothing on. I had the radio on. [Quote from Marilyn Monroe]
By all means
Once and for all
Drinks on the house
On and off
Sth. is important to me
above such foolishness
Mary has much to be angry about.
Very young children are incapable of abstract reasoning.
Go with the tried and trusted basics.
It is strictly between you & me.
Of, by, for - short for "... government of the people, for the people and by the people" - The Gettysburg Address
(November 19, 1863); a speech by U.S. President Abraham Lincoln (1809 – 1865) during the American Civil War
(1861 to 1865).
Child to parent:
What did you bring that book that I don't like to be read to out of up for?
An even longer version, via David Richerby (and yes, we know, "Down Under" is a proper noun ...):
What did you bring that book that I don't like to be read to out of about Down Under up for?
We will reach our judgments not on intentions or on promises but on deeds and on results. [Margaret Thatcher]
PHRASAL VERBS
Many prepositions are also used as phrasal verbs (or idiomatically). There are no specific rules these expressions must be memorized. Here
are some examples:
look up
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Prepositions http://www.smart-words.org/linking-words/prepositions.html
add up to sth.
call sth. off
applied to
depend on
identical to
opposed to
preoccupied with
prohibited from
recover from
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