THE PREPOSITION
A Preposition denotes the position that a person or thing occupies in relation to the other. It is' pre' (before) because it is put before the noun or which is its object or equivalent to its object.
EXAMPLE :
The book is on the table.
On in the above sentence is a preposition. It shows the relation of the book to the table.
Note : Generally, the use of preposition is made before the noun or the pronoun but sometimes it is used after the noun or the pronoun.
EXAMPLE :
What are you looking for ?
Preposition in Common Use: After, about, above, across, against, around, before, behind,below, beneath, between, beyond, by, for, from, in into, of, off, on, over, since, through, till, towards, under, underneath, up upon, with, within, with out, out beside, down, besides.
PREPOSITIONS ARE OF TWO KINDS
(1) Simple Prepositions: At, in on, by, with, of. off, from, to, out, over, under, since, through, up,
down, above, after, about, round, across, till against.
(2) Compound Prepositions: Into, upon, within, without, beneath, beside, before, below, among, against, underneath, between, behind, outside, besides.
Use of Some Important Prepositions
Among, Between
Among is used for more than two persons or things, Between is used only for two.
EXAMPLES :
(i) Distribute these sweets among the poor students of the class.
(ii) Distribute these books between Ram and Shyam.
Among, In
Among is used before collective plural nouns; In is used before collective singular nouns.
EXAMPLES :
(i) I found him standing among the crowd.
(ii) I saw him in the crowd.
Beside, Besides
Beside means by the side of, Besides means in addition to;
EXAMPLES :
(i) The daughter was sitting beside her mother,
(ii) Besides his relatives, he invites, his friends also,
In, Within
"In1 means at the expiry of a period of time in future, within means before the expiry of a
period of
time in any tense.
EXAMPLES :
(i) She will return in a week, (at the end of the week)
(ii) I shall finish my work within a week, (before the end of the week)
On, Upon
On is used for things at rest; Upon is used for things, in motion.
EXAMPLES :
(i) He is sitting on the floor
(ii) The dog sprang upon the table.
By, With
By denotes that agent or doer; With denotes the instrument with which anything is done.
EXAMPLES :
(i) Ravana was killed by Rama with an arrow.
(ii) The bird was killed by the hunter with an arrow.
(iii) He beat the dog with a stick
(iv) I shall reach here by five O'clock, (here by means till)
By, is used in future tense to express the time upto the last stage.
After, in
'After1 means at the end of a period of time in the past; 'In' means at the end of a period of time in future.
EXAMPLES :
(i) I shall return your book in a week.
(ii) He returned the book after a week. For,
From, Since
'For' is used before a noun denoting a period of time with all the tenses.
From is used before a noun or phrase denoting the starting point of a duration, it is used in all the tenses.
Since is used before a noun or phrase denoting some point of time and is always preceded by a progressive verb in the perfect tense orthird form of a verb. i.e. past perfect, present perfect From is generally followed by 'to' or 'till'.
Examples : Use of 'For'
(i) We have been playing cards for two hours
(ii) My elder brother has been ill for four days.
(iii) She has lived1 in Bombay for four years.
Use of ‘From’
(i) We play from 5 p.m. to 6 pm.
(ii) Will your school remain closed from tomorrow till the 15th of March of the
next month ?
(iii) She stayed with her uncle from the 15th of March to the 15th of May.
Use of'Since'
(i) I have been reading this book since morning
(ii) My father has been teaching in this school since 1972.
(iii) He has not heard from his uncle since Monday last.
Above, Over
'Above' means' higher from' Over is used in the following four senses.
(i) In the sense of 'above': At noon, the sun is over our heads.
(ii) In the sense of beyond': I cannot get over my disappointment.
(iii) In the sense of superiority : God over all blesses for ever more.
Use of 'Above
(i) We flew above the clouds,
(ii) What he did is above stealing.
(iii) For explanation, see the sentence above.
At, Towards
At denotes the idea of aim; towards denotes the idea of destination (movement in a
direction).
EXAMPLES :
(i) He threw the stone at the cat.
(ii) He went towards the house.
At, in, On
'At' is used as follows,
(i) At is used with small towns and villages
He was born at Sonepat. (Sonepat is a small town).
He lives at village Babul, (Babul is a village).
(ii) 'At' is used before a noun denoting a definite point of time.
He called on me at 9 p.m. yesterday
'In'is used as follows:
(A) 'In' is used with the names of big cities, provinces and countries.
(i) His father lives in England .
(ii) I live at Parfipat in Haryana.
(iii) His younger brother lives in Calcutta.
(B) 'In'is used before the names of months and years.
His elder sister was born in 1972 in the months of May.
'On' is used with dates and names of days.
(i) I joined college on the 26th of April.
(ii) He will leave for Calcutta on Wednesday next.
Note : (i) At can be used before a big city when one stays there for a short time en route to some
other place. While going to Bombay he will stay at Poona for three days.
(ii) In is also used in the following phrases: In the morning ; In the evening; In the afternoon; In
winter; In summer
(iii) 'In' also denotes a place inside anything.
He travelled in a crowded bus.
(iv) 'At' is used in the following phrases:
At night, At midnight, At noon, At day- break, At sun-set, At sunrise.
At home, At the station, At work, At play.
Below, Beneath
Below means of lower level in positions, dignity and expectation, ect; beneath means
under some surface. Consider the following examples:
(i) It is below my dignity to talk to her
(ii) They rested beneath the shade of a tree.
In, Into , To
'In' expresses Rest or Motion inside anything.
'Into' expresses Motion towards the inside of anything or change from one medium to
another.
‘To’ denotes motion from one place to another, (in direction of)
EXAMPLES :
(i) The boys are in the room.
(ii) Translate this passage from English into
Hindi. (iii) He goes to the temple every morning.
Till, By, Of, Off
Till means up to or not earlier than a particular time or place .
By means not after that.
Of shows cause, source, separation, quality, contents, possesssion, apposition, point of
reference,space in time etc.
Off shows at a near distance, and detached condition (removal of something from the other)
Consider the following examples :
I shall work till 5 a.m.
By this time tomorrow, I' II have finished my job.
Madhu died of cancer, (cause)
The nib of the pen is of gold (made of)
He presented me a bottle of whisky, (contents)
He was deprived of his purse, (separation)
Our principal is a man of principles (quality),
He lived in the house of principal, (possession)
Mohan, the son of Mr. Ramlal, got married, (apposition)
Hewasblind of one eye. (point of reference)
