Competitive
English
(For all
competitive exams - Central & State Government jobs)
Prepositions
Make you Perfect
Part 1
The
name “preposition” (pre + position)
means “place before”.
Prepositions
usually come before another word, usually a noun or noun phrase:
• Noun
•
Pronoun
•
Noun phrase
•
Gerund (verb in -ing form)
If a preposition does
not come before another word, it is still closely linked to another word:
•
Who did you talk to?
•
To whom did you talk?
•
I talked to Jane.
Many prepositions can
also be adverbs:
•
They are in the kitchen. (Preposition)
•
Please come in. (adverb)
A few prepositions can
also be conjunctions:
•
Everyone came but Tara. (Preposition)
•
I asked her but she didn’t answer. (Conjunction)
It is not
possible to produce a definitive list of English prepositions. That means that
nobody can create a list of prepositions and say: “Here are all the
prepositions in the English language – no more and no fewer.” Why? Because
complex prepositions can theoretically be added to the language at any time.
This total
prepositions is comprehensive at the time of writing, and represents all the
prepositions currently found in a good English dictionary such as the Oxford,
Cambridge and Longman Dictionaries.
Simple
prepositions
At to till by on In
from into over upon Under with
down of near Off
Compound
prepositions
About across above below Before behind
beneath beside Between beyond inside outside Underneath within without Among around
Note:
amongst, amidst
are not in present English usage.
Phrase
prepositions:
According to away
from because of By dint of
by means of by
way of For the sake of in accordance with
in addition to On
behalf of in case of in
comparison to
In the consequence of in
course of in favour of In front of
in lieu of in
order to In place of with reference to
In this regard in
spite of on account of
Owing to instead
of in the event of
PREPOSITIONS OF PLACE
…. at, in, on
AT
IN
ON
|
POINT
ENCLOSED
SPACE SURFACE
|
at the corner in
the garden on
the wall
|
at the bus stop in London on the ceiling
|
at the door in
France on
the door
|
at the entrance in
my wallet on
the carpet
|
at the entrance in
a car on
a page
|
at the top of the page in a box on the cover
|
at the end of the road in
my pocket on
the floor
|
at the crossroads in
a building on
the menu
|
Examples:
ü Jane
is waiting for you at the bus stop.
ü The
shop is at the end of the street.
ü When
will you arrive at the office?
ü Do
you work in an office?
ü I
have a meeting in New York.
ü Do
you live in Japan?
ü
Jupiter is in the Solar System.
ü There
are no prices on this menu.
ü You
are standing on my foot.
ü There
was a "no smoking" sign on the wall.
ü I
live on the 7th floor at 21 Oxford Street in London.
ü The
author's name is on the cover of the book.
ü My
plane stopped at Dubai and Hanoi and arrived in Bangkok two hours late.
PREPOSITIONS OF TIME ….
at, in, on
at
in
on
|
PRECISE
MONTHS,
YEARS, DAYS
|
TIME CENTURIES
& LONG PERIODS & DATES
|
at 3 o'clock in
May on
Sunday
|
at 10.30am in
summer on
Tuesdays
|
at noon in
the summer on 6 March
|
at dinnertime in 1990 on 25 Dec. 2010
|
at bedtime in
the 1990s on
Christmas Day
|
at sunrise in
the next century on
Independence Day
|
at sunset in
the Ice Age on my birthday
|
at the moment in the past/future on New Year's
Eve
|
Notice the use of the prepositions
of place ……… at, in and on
STANDARD EXPRESSIONS
AT
IN ON
at home in a car on a bus
at work in a taxi on a train
at school in a helicopter
on a plane
at university in a boat on a ship
at college in a lift
(elevator) on a
bicycle, on a motorbike
at the top in the newspaper
on a horse, on an
elephant
at the bottom in the sky on the radio, on
television
at the side in a row on the left,
on the right
at reception in Oxford Street on the way
No comments:
Post a Comment