A preposition is a word which shows relationships among other words in the sentence. The relationships include direction, place, time, cause, manner and amount. In the sentence ‘She went to the store’, ‘to’ is a preposition which shows direction. In the sentence ‘He came by bus’, ‘by’ is a preposition which shows manner. In the sentence ‘They will be here at three o'clock’, ‘at’ is a preposition which shows time and in the sentence ‘It is under the table’, ‘under’ is a preposition which shows place. Here are few rules you need to remember when using prepositions:
1) We usually place prepositions in front of the words that they relate to. For examples:
| I bought this jar at the bazaar. She is clever at cooking. She was hiding the camera from her brother. |
2) However, in a question, the preposition comes after the word that it governs. For examples:
| What are you looking for? Who is she smiling at? Who is this book written for? |
3) The preposition is usually placed at the end of an infinitive.
| Who are they going to stay with now? The water is not hot enough to boil the noodles in. He has no one to talk to now. |
4) In defining clauses, the preposition comes at the end.
| This is the vase I was telling you about. The painting he is pointing at costs 200 dollars. We are talking about the house we used to live in. |
Below are some common prepositions of time and place and examples of their use.
| Prepositions of time: · at two o'clock · on Wednesday · in an hour, in January; in 1992 · for a day |
| Prepositions of place: · at my house · in New York, in my hand · on the table · near the library · across the street · under the bed · between the books |
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