PREPOSITIONS

PREPOSITIONS
• Concept and Types
What is a Preposition?

A Preposition
Let us understand
is a word which precedes a Noun or athis
through
Pronoun to show a few examples.
its relation to
another word in a sentence.
 Thesheep
The
The sheepisisare
houses with thebeside
standing
along
standing lamb.
on the
the road.
roadside.
the signboard.
The sheep is standing on the road.

The sheep is with the lamb.

The houses are along the roadside.

The sheep is standing beside the signboard.

The words on, with, along and beside
help us understand the relation of the
nouns with the other words in the
sentence.
 Standard
Rate/Value/ Place/
Speed Position

Possession/ Relations
Direction/
Relation expressed by
Movement
Prepositions

Agency/
Time
Instrument
PREPOSITIONS
• Place/Position
The sheep is waiting at
in the door.
house.

Preposition
indicating
Place/Position

The sheep is standing under the tree.

The sheep ran from the blue house to the red house.
The sheep is climbing up thethe
down hill.hill.
The sheep is sitting on the bench.
There is a bridge across the river.

Varun swam across the river.

We were running along the sea shore / river bank.
 sleeping
The sheep is below theunder
bed. the blanket.
The sheep are standing around the stone.
The lamb is standing among the sheep.
The white sheep is standing between the green sheep.
The sheep is standing behind the rock.
The sheep is standing in front of the rock.
The gems lie below the sea level.
 Among Between
a) Among is used when there are b) Between is used when there are
more than two people/things. only two things.
Across Along
a) Across is used for a bridge and for b) Along is used for the river bed or
a person swimming. sea – shore. When there is a
parallel activity.
Under Below
a) Under is used when an object is in b) Below is used when the object is
direct contact. not is direct contact but is in a
vertically lower position.
Difference between In and At

In the world I live in Asia.

Difference between In and At

In Asia I live in India.

Difference between In and At

In India I live in Maharashtra.

Difference between In and At

In Maharashtra I live in Mumbai.

Difference between In and At

In Mumbai I live at Andheri.

For all specific location:
At

I am at the café.
bus stop.
theatre.
home.

Therefore we understand that all the

specific locations will use the preposition
‘at’ and the larger locations will use ‘in’.
PREPOSITIONS
• Direction/Movement
He came out of his cabin to greet him.
I wish I could go far away from this place.
I am going to school.
The boy jumped into the lake.
I am going towards my house.
He threw stones at the dog out of fear.
The boy swam across the river.
He took a tour round the world after his retirement.
He fell off his chair laughing.
PREPOSITION
• Time
I was busy during the weekend.
I was baking cookies until Riya walked in.
I will wait until 4 o’clock and then I will leave.
I have been waiting for you since morning.
We will reach the party only after sunset.
 morning.
I shall see you in the evening.
afternoon.
I shall see you in the summer
next few holidays.
days.
I shall see you at 6half
10pm.
am.[Specific
[Specific
past Time]
Time] Time]
nine. [Specific
 noon.
night.
I shall see you at dawn.

Therefore we will use at for

dawn, night and specific
locations.
I have been waiting for you since 5 o’clock.
I have been living in Mumbai for the past 20 years.

Before After
PREPOSITIONS
• Agency/Instrument
I went to school by bus \ train.
 I went to Goa by air \ land \ sea.

Goa
Learn this formula by heart.
She went for a movie with her neighbours.
I could see the planet through the telescope.
I met him at an exhibition.
The gift was given to the dog by his master.
One must learn to read with proper pronunciations.
PREPOSITIONS
• Possession/Relationship
Mix the flour with some milk.
This is the story of the millionaire.
The boy with the blue eyes is Carl.
The woman with long hair is my dance teacher.
I have no money with me today.
I live with my family.
He sacrificed himself for the sake of his people
He took that decision for his family.
He took the medicines for cold and cough.
The man sat down out of fatigue.
The animal died out of sufferings.
The book was lost through negligence only.
The boy was trembling with fear at the sight of a tiger.
PREPOSITIONS
• Standard Rate/Value/Speed
• Tricky Prepositions
Bank charges interest at 14 percent. (rate)
This cloth is sold by metre. (rate)
Rice is sold at rs.20 per kg. (value)
The train is running at 80 km per hour. (speed)

We have now understood the different

relations indicated by prepositions. Now let
us have a look at a few tricky prepositions .
 Tricky Prepositions
Beside=near , Besides= in addition to
There is a tree beside the bench.

She knows English besides French.

 Tricky Prepositions
‘Between’ the two , ‘Among’ more than two

He dances between two trees.

He dances among the trees.

 Tricky Prepositions
to= destination, towards=direction
She goes to school.

She goes towards school and sees a dog.

 Tricky Prepositions
in/inside= for enclosed space, in= for open space
He lives in this room.
He lives in/inside this room.

He lives in Mumbai.
There is a lot of pollution in the air.
 Tricky Prepositions
opposite= facing each other, in front of= same direction
She is standing opposite to the dog.

She is standing in front of the dog.

 Tricky Prepositions
along= parallel, across= from one side to another
They are walking along the seashore.
The old man swam across the river.
 Tricky Prepositions
about= a thing, against= a person

Tina complained against Rahul.

Varsha complained about the dirt in his room.
Exercise
1This shop doesn’t have the toys I was looking __. (up/for)

2The teacher divided the sweets ___ all the children. (between/among)

3Bruce did not fare well __ his examination. (in/at)

4The dog is grateful __ its owner. (to/for)

5My brother’s anniversary is __ 5th November. (on/in)

6The boy __ the store is quite young. (at/on)

7Mahatma Gandhi was born __ 2nd October. (on/in)

8Rupert is fond __ muffins. (of/off)

Exercise
1This shop doesn’t have the toys I was looking __. (up/for)

2The teacher divided the sweets ___ all the children. (between/among)

3Bruce did not fare well __ his examination. (in/at)

4The dog is grateful __ its owner. (to/for)

5My brother’s anniversary is __ 5th November. (on/in)

6The boy __ the store is quite young. (at/on)

7Mahatma Gandhi was born __ 2nd October. (on/in)

8Rupert is fond __ muffins. (of/off)

Exercise
9The dog jumped __ the sofa. (on/in)

10Humpty Dumpty sat __ a wall. (on/at)

11The police officer is __ the station. (at/on)

12The Sun will not rise __ 6 o’clock. (before/since)

13I know Jack ___ he was a little boy. (for/since)

14Priya’s house is ___ mine. (next to/after)

15The opponents sat ____ to each other. (opposite/behind)

16The scientist looked ____ the microscope. (through/in)

Exercise
9The dog jumped __ the sofa. (on/in)

10Humpty Dumpty sat __ a wall. (on/at)

11The police officer is __ the station. (at/on)

12The Sun will not rise __ 6 o’clock. (before/since)

13I know Jack ___ he was a little boy. (for/since)

14Priya’s house is ___ mine. (next to/after)

15The opponents sat ____ to each other. (opposite/behind)

16The scientist looked ____ the microscope. (through/in)

Exercise
17I met Suhani when I was __ college. (in/on)

18I will have completed my task __ Friday. (till/by)

19There’s a rift ___ these two kids. (between/among)

20The soldiers are ___ war. (in/at)

Exercise
17I met Suhani when I was __ college. (in/on)

18I will have completed my task __ Friday. (till/by)

19There’s a rift ___ these two kids. (between/among)

20The soldiers are ___ war. (in/at)

Exercise:
Exercise:
1. Distribute the sweets among
_______ forty children. (among, between)
2. Share the chocolates between
_________ both of you. (among, between)
near
3. There is a garden _________ my house. (near, above)
4. At
____ night, we will go for a movie. (at, in)
5. The class was silent as the teacher entered inside/in
_________
the class. (in,on)
Solved examples
• They could not elicit any information ________
from the prisoner.

• He grieved ______
over the tragedy.

• The brothers fought _____

over their father’s property.

• Ritwik has reconciled_____

to his state of penury. (Reconciled to – to adjust to a situation)

• Sandeep has reconciled_____

with his estranged brother.
(Reconciled with – to be on good terms with the person you fought with )

up with his bad behavior. (Put up - to adjust)

• It is difficult to put_____

• The meeting has been put___

off (Put off – to postpone)
• I have cut___
off all my ties with him. (cut off – to break a relationship)

• He is not cut___
out for this job. (cut out – ideally suited)

• The PM congratulated the team ____

on their success. (congratulated on – active voice)

• The team was congratulated _____

for their success. (congratulated for – passive voice)

to other races.
• Hitler had a foolish myth that the Aryans were superior _____

• The textile industry is threatened ____

into ruin. (threatened into - deteriorating)

to take action. (threatened to – when a person carries out the threat)

• He threatened ___

• He threatened him ____

with dire consequences.
(threatened with – when a person receives the threat)
• You are requested to pay___
in cash.

• You are requested to pay ____

by cheque.

• I sent him a message________

through email.

• An epidemic has broken_____

out
(broken out - happening of an incident or incidents in big proportion)
• The company is yet to break_____
even
(break even – a new company that starts getting returns equal to expenditure)