PREPOSITIONS

A preposition is a word placed before a noun or a pronoun to show its relation to

some other word, to indicate place, position and time.
Examples – He is ruined for life.
Prepositions sometimes follow the words they govern, particularly, the relative
pronoun that is never governed by a preposition preceding it.
Examples:
i. This book I cannot part with.
ii. Where do you come from?
iii. He is the man that I spoke of.
Meanings and uses of certain prepositions:
1. About means:
a. Concerning – I know nothing about athletics.
b. Around – She wrapped the wool about her finger.
c. Close to, nearby – It is about 7o’clock.
She is about to die.
2. Against means:
a. Opposed to – The students complained against the teacher.
b. Closed to – Put the almirah against the wall.
c. Provision for – Health Insurance can provide against the loss of
income.
3. After means:
a. Behind in place or time – He came after me. He came after the
appointed time.
b. In search or pursuit of – They ran after the thief. He hankers after
riches.
c. In limitation of, in accordance with –He is a man after my liking.
He is named after his grandfather.
d. Not withstanding – After all, he is a clever boy.
4. At means:

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 a. Place – He lives at Bopra.
b. Time – He came at 6o’clock.
c. Value – The house is priced at Rs 5,00,000.
d. Degree – The train runs at a high speed.
e. Occupation – He is at work.
f. Direction – The dog ran at me.
g. Consequence – You will do it at your risk.
5. Before means:
a. In front of – Vijay stood before me.
b. Priority of time – He will come before this.
c. Priority of choice – I wish for death before dishonour.
6. Behind means:
a. At the back of – He sat behind me.
b. Lateness in time or place – You are behind time, you are behind the
class.
7. Beside means:
a. By the side of – He stood beside me.
b. Out of – He is beside himself with joy.
8. By means:
a. Nearness in place or time – Sit by me. He will come by noon.
b. Agency – The work was done by me.
c. According to – It is ten o’clock by my watch.
d. Manner – I caught him by the leg.
Pay me by installments.
e. Measure – Cloth is sold by the metre.
He is taller by four inches.
f. Appeal – I swear by God.
9. For means:
a. In the place of – He acted for my father.
b. In exchange for – I brought it for fifty rupees.

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 c. In favour of, on behalf of – I shall vote for you. I speak for my class.
d. On account of – He did it for me. I am sorry for you.
e. For the purpose of – She is not fit for the job. He gasped for breath.
f. In point of – He is intelligent for his age. He is brave for a boy.
g. In the direction of – He left for Delhi.
h. In spite of – For all his wealth, he is unhappy.
i. During – I have known Rahul for three years.
j. To the extent of – He can be trusted for the job.
10. From means:
a. Starting-point, origin, cause – He comes from home. He acted from
a wicked motive. He died from the injury.
b. Separation, distinction – I do not know him from his brother.
11. In means:
a. Place – He lives in Kolkata.
b. Time – He will come in an hour.
c. State – He is in danger. He died in poverty.
d. Point of reference – He is firm in his opinions.
12. Of means:
a. Proceeding from, origin, cause – He comes of a noble family. He
died of fever.
b. Possession – This is the house of Charles.
c. Material – This is a chain of gold.
d. Apposition – He lives in the city of Chennai.
e. About – I do not know anything of it.
f. Separation – He is devoid of intelligence.
13. On, upon means:
a. Contact – Kolkata stands on the Hooghly.
Sit on the bench.
b. Time – Come on Monday. He was born on that day.
c. Dependence, in accordance with – He acted upon my advice.

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 d. Just after, in consequence of – On hearing this, they all fled.
e. Because of – He congratulated me on my success.
f. Concerning – He has written a book on politics.
14. Over means:
a. Above – The sun looks over the earth.
b. More than – He is over fifty years old.
c. On the other side of – He lives over the road.
15. Since and For are prepositions of time
For indicates a period of time in the past, since indicates a specific point
of time in the past to the present and is preceded by a verb in some
perfect tense.
i. We lived in Delhi for ten long years.
ii. We have been living in Delhi since 1996.
iii. The city has been under curfew since the riots started.
iv. The country has been under military rule for sixteen years.
16. Through means:
a. Passing from one end of an opening or a passage to the other: He
passed through the wood.
b. From the beginning to the end of an activity or situation: He is too
old to sit through a long concert.
17. To means:
a. Direction towards – He has gone to Chennai.
b. Adaptation – He is a boy to my mind. It does not stand to reason.
c. Comparison – As three is to nine, so is four to twelve.
d. Purpose – I went to see him.
e. Result – Water has turned to ice. He was crushed to death. I learnt
to my surprise that he had gone away.
18. Under means:
a. Less than – The price is under ten rupees.
b. In subordination to – The volunteers are under me. The case is
under trial.
c. Below – He stood under the tree.
d. Represented by – He travelled under a disguise.
19. With means:
a. Accompanied by – I went there with my father.
b. Point of reference – He is popular with the people. He found fault
with me.

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 c. Instrument – He did it with his own hand.
d. In spite of – With all his faults, I respect him.
Distinction between:
a. By and With: By is put before the agent; as – The lady was
attacked by a thief. With is put before the instrument with which
anything is done, as – Do not rub with this eraser.
b. In and After: In is used in the sense of after the lapse of a period of
time; as – I shall come back in an hour (after the lapse of an hour)
After is used with a period of past time; as – I returned after an
hour.
c. In and Into: In denotes presence or existence within; as – I was in
the house.
Into denotes motion inward and change of condition; as – She went
into the house. Translate the passage into English.
d. Between and Among: Between is used with reference to two
persons or things; as – Divide the sweets between Rama and
Shyama.
Among is used with reference to more than two; as – The old lady
distributed rice among the beggars.
e. Since and From: Since denotes a point of time with reference to
past time and can never be used for present or future time; as – I
have been suffering from fever since Monday last.
From is used with reference to past, present and future time; as –
She was absent from Monday to Saturday. I shall go to school from
tomorrow.
f. In and At: In is used with reference to a large place, extensive
operations, indefinite space or time; as – My mother lives in
England. I was born in 1948.
At is used when speaking of small towns and villages and exact
time; as – He lives at Alopibagh in Allahabad. She returned at 3
p.m.
g. For and Since: For is used before a Noun denoting a period of
time; as – We have not seen him for five days.
Since is used before a Noun denoting a point of time; as – I have
been suffering from toothache since Tuesday last.

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