WHAT IS PREPOSITION?
Prepositions make it possible to show
relationship between words. The relationship
shown may involve, for example, location,
direction, time, cause or possession.
A preposition relates the
noun or pronoun that
appears with it to another
word in the sentence.
aboard around but
about aside from by
above as of by means of
according to at concerning
across from atop considering
across barring despite
after because of down
against before during
ahead of behind except
along below
alongside beneath
amid beside
along with besides
among between
apart from beyond
for like outside
from near over
in nearby owing to
in addition to next to past
in back of of prior to
in front of off regarding
in place of on since
in regard to on account of
inside onto
in spite of on top of
instead of opposite
into out
in view of outside of
through unto
through out up
till upon
to with
together with within
toward without
under
underneath
until
See how the preposition relate the
italicized words below.
LOCATION: The brush fire burned atop the hill.
DIRECTION: The brush fire burned toward our
composite.
TIME: The fire burned for three days.
CAUSE: Smoke from the fire could be seen for
miles.
Examples of Prepositons
There are five different types of prepositions:
Simple prepositions
Double prepositions
Compound prepositions
Participle prepositions
Phrase prepositions
Simple Prepositions
Simple prepositions are words like at, for, in,
off, on, over, and under. These common
prepositions can be used to describe a
locotion, time or place.
Examples:
He sat on the chair.
There is some milk in the fridge.
She was hiding under the table.
Double Prepositions
Double prepositions are two simple
prepositions used together, often indicating
direction. Some examples are into, upon,
onto, out of, from within.
Examples:
The baby climbed onto the table.
It is up to us to find the answer.
The bird sat atop the oak tree.
Compound Prepositions
Compound prepositions (or complex
prepositions) consist of two or more words,
usually a simple preposion and another word,
to convey locotion. Some examples are in
addition to, on behalf of, and in the middle of.
Examples:
She sat across from Marie.
We were in the middle of the storm.
My car is parked in front of the mailbox.
Participle Prepositions
Participle prepositions have endings such as –
ed and –ing. Examples are words such as
considering, during, concerning, provided.
Examples:
She is interested in anything concerning
horses.
The dog kept the following him alone.
The teacher said no talking during class.
Phrase Prepositions
A prepositional phrase is a group of words
that includes a preposition and a noun or
pronoun. Noun may have one or more modifiers. A
prepositional phrase may also have more than one
noun. Examples inlcude phrases like on time, at
home, before class, and on the floor.
Examples:
I walked slighty ahead of her.
The shampoo bottle on the shelf was almost
empty.
Our new house is located near stores and schools.
In some question prepositional phrases are broken up.
Examples:
What were we talking about?
Where did this come from?
Preposition or Adverb?
Since prepositions and adverbs occasionally take the
same form, they may be difficult to tell apart. Words
that can function in either role included around,
before, behind, down, in, off, on, out, over, and up.
To determine the part of speech of these words,
see if an object accompanies the word. If so, the
word is used as a preposition.
Preposition: The child ran down the hill.
Adverb: The flag was down.
