Prepositions and Their Usage

Prepositions are the words used to establish relationships between nouns and pronouns with other parts of the sentence. There are almost 150 prepositions known in English. We use prepositions to refer to a direction or point at a time. We will read about various kinds of prepositions based on their usage in this article.

Further, we will also see some preposition examples and solve some preposition exercises for better understanding. So let’s begin and see what prepositions are. 

Prepositions 

Prepositions help build relations between two words or groups of words in a sentence. They can work as adverbs sometimes. Sometimes they also work as conjunctions. They are a very important part of the English language. They are always followed by nouns or pronouns. Prepositions can be classified into two:

•  One-word prepositions – The preposition words used singly are called one-word prepositions. Some examples of one-word prepositions are: before, on, in, etc.

• Complex prepositions – The preposition words used in pairs are known as complex prepositions. Some examples of complex prepositions are: but for, in spite of, etc.

Types of Prepositions 

Prepositions are of different kinds. Some of these are listed below:

• Simple Preposition – They are the most common type of preposition. They are used for establishing relationships between nouns and other parts of a sentence. Some examples of simple prepositions: at, to, on, in, for, of, up, off, from, out, etc.
• Double Preposition – Prepositions used in pairs are referred to as double prepositions. Examples of double prepositions are: out of, inside of, in between, etc.
• Compound Preposition – Some examples of compound prepositions are: in addition to, on behalf of, in the middle of, etc.
• Participle Preposition – These prepositions carry endings of -ed or -ing. Some examples of participle prepositions are: considering, during, concerning, provided, given, etc.
• Phrasal Prepositions – The combination of two or more words that function as prepositions is called phrasal prepositions. The examples are: according to, as long as, in front of, with reference to, etc.

Some other types are also listed below:

• Disguised Preposition
• Detached Preposition
• Transitive Prepositions
• Intransitive Prepositions
• Complex Prepositions
• Prepositions of Time
• Prepositions of Place and Direction
• Prepositions of Agents or Things

Preposition examples

There are almost 150 prepositions known in English. Below is a list of a few preposition words.

• Aboard – I want to go abroad for higher studies.
• Above – The watch is kept above the paper.
• About – He was about to reach.
• After – I came after him. 
• Across – He came across the river to meet me. 
• Along – He bought apples along with him.
• Against – She is against the new protocols. 
• Behind – The cat is behind the door. 
• Among – He is the tallest among all. 
• Around – She must be hopping around. 
• Before – I reached before you. 
• Below – The slippers are below the bed.
• By – I will try to do this by evening.
• Between – The shop is between two offices. 
• But – I want to go, but it’s raining outside.
• Down – There are beautiful flowers down the hill. 
• Despite – I trust you, despite knowing the truth. 
• During – I was weak during the examinations. 
• Excluding – All will go, excluding you.
• Through – The bike went through the gate.
• Via – I will go to Delhi via train.

Preposition exercises

We have discussed prepositions and their types. We have also seen some preposition words. Here is a little exercise to brush up on the concepts of prepositions. In each sentence, you have to mark out the preposition. 

1.  I’m going out of the city.
2.  He came from London.
3.  We drove across the river.
4.  This article is about prepositions.
5.  Are you out of your mind?
6.  Can you go out today?
7.  She is at home.
8.  She was not running in the park today.
9.  The sun is above the clouds.
10.  She lives near her office.
11.  She drew the picture with a pencil.
12.  He swam in the river.
13.  I walked down the street.
14.  The bike went through the tunnel.
15.  I got a letter from my dad.
16.  I have liked that painting since 1880.
17.  She put the flowers by the bed.
18.  Rahul placed the glass on the table.
19.  Once upon a time, there were many roses in this garden.
20.  I was not able to get out of the trauma. 
21.  I trust you, despite knowing the truth. 
22.  He was about to reach.
23.  There is a rat below the bed.
24.  All will go, excluding you.
25.  He came across the river to meet me. 

He bought apples along with him

Conclusion 

Hence, prepositions are the words that tell about the position of an object. They serve a large part of the English vocabulary. They are widely used in sentence formation. They are also used in establishing relationships between nouns and pronouns with other parts of the sentence. There are different types of prepositions. In this article, we discussed all the concepts related to prepositions. We also listed all types of preposition words according to their usage. Further, we also practised a prepositions exercise.