What are Prepositions?

A preposition is a word (or a group of words) that is placed before a noun, pronoun or the -ing form of a
verb to show its connection to other parts of the sentence; contextually, this connection indicates
direction, method, source, time and location.

The Function of Prepositions

1. The preposition may join one noun to another.

Examples: Ajay was on his bike. (Ajay and bike are connected by on)

There is a pen in the book. (Pen and book are connected by in.)

2. It can join a noun to a verb.

Examples: Satish fell off the chair. (Fell and chair are connected by off)

The teacher is writing on the blackboard. (Writing is connected to blackboard by on.)

3. It can join a noun to an adjective.

Examples: She is happy about her results in the final exams. (Happy and results are connected by
about.)

4. It can be used before the -ing form of a verb.

Examples: I am proud of being the topper. (Proud and being the topper are connected by of)

Note: In English, prepositions are a 'closed group of words'. This means that no new words can get
added to this group, which is why, the same words have different meanings in different contexts! For
example, the preposition at can be used to denote both time and place.

Types of Prepositions
Prepositions can be classified based on the type of words they are, or according to their meanings.
Based on the type of words, there are three kinds of prepositions.

1. Simple prepositions: at, by, for, from, in, of, off, on, out, to, up, with

2. Compound prepositions: beside, among, inside, outside, before, behind, within, without

3. Prepositional phrases: by means of, in consequence of, owing to, on account of

Prepositions can be classified according to their meanings too. These are:

1. prepositions denoting position (also known as prepositions of place)
2. prepositions denoting travel and movement
3. prepositions denoting time and duration
Prepositions of Time
Prepositions denoting time are as follows:

between….and: Our computer class is between 7 a.m. and 9 a.m.

from...to: Our meeting on the new book launch is from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.

on: On Sunday, on the 15th of March, on time, on the weekend.

in: in 2012, in the month of March, in time.

at: at noon, at 2:30 p.m.

Prepositions of duration/period
Prepositions denoting duration are as follows:

during/while: He made these comments during/while one of his visits to our college.

throughout: Tomorrow being the final match of the World Cup, the Indians practiced throughout the
day.

for: He has been preparing for the project presentation for the last one week.

Prepositions Denoting Other Relationships

Prepositions can be used to convey other relationships such as showing the contents of something
(about), the means of something (by) or the connection/separation between things (of).

Examples: Can you tell me anything about birds?

The explosion may have been caused by a gas leak.

He is fond of reading.

Prepositions Denoting Position

in, at: At is used with houses, villages, small towns. In has the idea of a larger area and is used while
speaking of bigger towns, states and countries.

Examples: Sudha lives at Ameerpet in Hyderabad. I live in Delhi.

between, among: Between is used in the middle of the two persons or things.

Among is used with more than two persons or things.

Examples: The prize money was divided between the two winners.

The property was shared among the three sons.

on, upon: On is used for things at rest. Upon is used for things in motion.

Examples: He is sitting on the floor.

The dog sprang upon the table.

above, below: Above is used for higher than something

Example: The flight was flying high in the sky, above the clouds,

Below is used for lower than something

Example: His rank is below mine.

under, over: Under is used for vertically below another.

Example: I took shelter under the flyover while it was raining.

Over denotes something vertically above another.

Example: There is a separate cabin over the office.

Prepositions Denoting Travel and Movement

These prepositions denote a movement, which result in a person or thing reaching a particular position.
These are from, to, at, in, by, on, into, onto, off, out, out of.

Example: I commute daily from my home in Secunderabad to my school in Hyderabad.

arrive at/in, get to: These are all used in the sense of reaching a place.

Examples: My cousin arrived in Pune in September.

I arrived at the main auditorium in time.

Note: Home is not preceded by any preposition.

Examples: I went home by car.

I arrived home early.

Saritha returned home at 11 p.m.

above, over: Above and over mean higher than something.

Examples: He threw the ball above the cupboard.

The cat jumped over the wall.

under, below: Below and under mean lower than something

Examples: The water in the children’s swimming pool was below the level of my knees

He kept the mobile phone under the pillow.

beneath: Beneath has the same meaning as below.

Example: They are constructing a tunnel beneath the mountains.

into: Into denotes a sense of a person or thing getting enclosed by something else.

Examples: The boy fell into the well.

Rila jumped into the river.

The robbers broke into the jewellery shop.

Into is also used when one form is converted into another form.

Examples: Translate this article into English from Hindi.

Milk turns into curd. Water turns into ice.

Rules for Using Some Common Prepositions

1. beside, besides

Beside means next to; at the side of.

Example: I sit beside her in the class.

Besides means also, as well as, in addition to, furthermore and moreover.

Example: We study two other languages besides English.

2. by, with

By denotes an agent or a doer. With is used for things.

Examples: Ravana was killed by Rama.

He killed the snake with a stick.

3. for, since

For is used with period of time. Since marks the point of time.

Examples: The child has ben sleeping for three hours.

She has been teaching in this college since 1995.

4. to, towards

To has the sense of destination; towards indicates the sense of direction.

Examples: I am going to USA.

We walked towards the centre of town.

5. at

Examples: at home, at school, at college, at university, at the bridge, at the station, at the airport, at the
bus stop, at a party, at a lecture, at a concert, at a conference.
6. on

Examples: on television, on the radio, on the phone, on strike, on leave, on a diet, on a tour, on the
committee, on loan, on page 50.

7. above

Examples: The kites rose above the cloud.

The aeroplane is flying above the cloud.

There are above seventy students in the class.

Rupesh’s expenses are above his means.

Mount Everest is 8848 metres above the mean sea level.

List of Verbs + Prepositions

Some verbs occur naturally with certain prepositions. Here's a list of such verb and preposition
combinations.

1. search for: Students often search for information on websites.

2. explain to: Could you please explain the solution to this problem?

3. look for: I am looking for my car keys.

4. word for word: Translate this report word for word.

5. prefer to: Great people prefer death to dishonour.

6. different from: My views are different from my best friends, but we still manage to stay friends.

7. blind to: Some people are bind to the problems caused by pollution.

8. keep away: Keep away from those who try to belittle your ambitions.

9. died of: Many people died of diseases even after the earthquakes stopped in Nepal.

10. prevent from: Her parents prevented her from joining the army.

11. preside over: The Chief Minister will preside over the function.

12. press on: She pressed on with her enquires in the murder case despite her superior's orders.

13. aim at/aim for: My brother is aiming at/for passing the entrance exams for various colleges.

14. prohibit from: His brother prohibited him from going to the movies.

15. fond of: I am fond of ice cream.

16. part from: It is a painful experience to part from ones parents.

17. part with: A miser does not like to part with his money.
18. protect against: Unhygienic habits will not protect you against infections.

19. seek for: We all seek for satisfaction in life.

20. relieve of: She was relieved of the responsibility of arranging the fete.

21. confident of: He is confident of his success in the civil services examination.

22. recover from: My grandmother has recovered from her illness.

List of Words Not Followed by Prepositions (Common Errors)

The following adjectives and verbs are not followed by any preposition:

1. resembles (resembles... to/with is wrong): Ramesh and Suresh are twins, but they don’t really
resemble one another very much. (Resemble with one another is wrong)

2. order (order...for is wrong): You can order the books online. (order for the books online is wrong)

3. enter (enter...into is wrong): I entered the office room. (entered into the office room is wrong)

4. pass (pass... in is wrong): I passed the examination. (passed in the examination is wrong)

5. discuss (discuss...about is wrong): We have discussed the matter in the meeting

(discuss/define/describe are not followed by the preposition about)

6. told (told...to is wrong): My friends told me that he had finished his duty: (I will tell to my father is
wrong. I will tell my father is correct.)

7. sign (sign...on is wrong): The President has signed the bill. (Signed on is wrong)

8. investigate (investigate...into is wrong): The police are investigating the case. (investigating into the
case is wrong)

List of Prepositional Phrases

1. according to: He joined the course according to my instructions.

2 at the risk of: The sailor saved the child at the risk of his own life

3. because of: l could not attend the wedding because of my sister's illness.

4. by means of: He got to the 1st floor by means of a ladder.

5. by the side of: The daughter stood by the side of her father.

6. for the sake of: He filed a case in the court against his brother for the sake of their father’s property.
For the sake of our children let’s take care of our environment.

7. in case of: In case of emergency, please take the stairs.

8. in common with: What I had in common with her was our mutual love for detective fiction.

9. in course of: A boy becomes a man in course of time.

10. in defence of: What do you have to say in defence of your conduct?

11. in favour of: I am in favour of the proposal.

12. in front of: A stranger was seen standing in front of the office gate.

13. in the hope of: Ramesh went to the U.S.A in the hope of meeting his brother-in-law.

14. in honour of: The scholarship was instituted in honour of the late professor.

15. in order to: In order to pay homage to the departed leader, all the schools and colleges remained
closed.

16. with regard to: I have nothing to say in regard to this matter.

17. with respect to: In respect to work experience, she is my senior.

18. in spite of: In spite of hard work, he did not get selected for the promotion.

19. instead of: He should work instead of idling away his time.

20. on account of: I was late on account of an accident.

21. on behalf of: I wish to thank the Vice Chancellor on behalf of the staff members.

22. on point of: We were on the point of starting when a policeman arrived.

23. with reference to: The President mentioned nothing in his speech with reference to foreign policy.