Mastering Prepositions: Complete Guide with Examples

2. Objectives • Identify prepositions. • Recognize prepositional phrases, objects of prepositions, and compound prepositions. • Differentiate between infinitive phrases and prepositional phrases. continued PP 14-1a

3. Objectives continued • Recognize the functions of prepositional phrases as adjectives and adverbs. • Determine inclusion, exclusion, and placement of prepositions. continued PP 14-1b

4. Objectives continued • Differentiate between commonly confused prepositions. • Use the correct idiomatic prepositional combinations. PP 14-1c

5. Use of Prepositions Use a preposition to connect the object of the preposition (noun or pronoun) to another word or set of words in a sentence. Our manager recognizes our strengths and compensates for our weaknesses. Top executives spend approximately 90 percent of their timewith others. The need for constant approvalat work can be counterproductive. PP 14-2

6. Common Prepositions PP 14-3

7. Compound Prepositions A compound preposition consists of a combination of words that is often considered as one preposition and connects the object of a preposition to another word or set of words. Examples according to in place of ahead of in regard to along with in spite of apart from instead of because of by means of in front of out of PP 14-4a

8. Compound Prepositions continued Examples I gave the company tour on behalf of my manager. In addition to Sara, we have five vice presidents in our company. Because of my positive attitude, Mary chose me as group leader. PP 14-4b

9. Infinitive Phrases/ Prepositional Phrases An infinitive phrase consists of the word to followed by a verb. A leader has to dramatize a vision for his or her organization. Employers need to build the trust of their employees. No verb appears in a prepositional phrase. Leaders set high goals and objectives for themselves. PP 14-5

10. Prepositions and Adverbs The words by,through, and in can be used as adverbs without objects. When these same words take objects, they are prepositions. Casual Fridays are in. (In is an adverb that answers the question Where? No object follows the word in.) Causal Friday attire is described in the company handbook. (In is a preposition. In this sentence, it takes the object handbook.) PP 14-6

11. Objects of Prepositions and Pronouns Use the objective case of a pronoun as the object of a preposition. Objective Case her him you me us them it whom We awarded the Web design project to them. Between you and me, I prefer working in the accounting department. PP 14-7

12. Adjective Functions Use a prepositional phrase as an adjective to modify a noun or a pronoun. Place the prepositional phrase after the word or words being modified or after a linking verb. Carol requested an office with a window. John Garcia from Newsweek will interview our president next week. PP 14-8

13. Adverb Functions Use a prepositional phrase as an adverb to modify a verb, an adjective, or another adverb. A leader assists in problem solving. A motivated employee completes all assignments with enthusiasm. PP 14-9

14. General Placement Avoid We did not know the appointments which he was scheduled for. Revised We did not know the appointments for which he was scheduled. Avoid ending a sentence with a preposition. Place a preposition before its object in the majority of sentences. PP 14-10a

15. General Placement Avoid Some of the technology jargon is difficult to relate to. Revised I find it difficult to relate to some of the technology jargon. continued Examples PP 14-10b

16. Inclusion of Necessary Prepositions Do not omit a preposition when it is needed. The cancelled flight prevented Lynn from going to the leadership seminar. Use separate prepositions when words cannot be related to one object by the same preposition. Doug has knowledge of and experience with various management techniques. PP 14-11

17. Omission of Unnecessary Prepositions Omit prepositions that do not add clarity to the meaning of a sentence. Our international headquarters are near the San Francisco airport. (Do not use near to the San Francisco airport.) Do not repeat a preposition in a sentence if phrases make sense by using the same preposition. Our president speaks at national and international leadership seminars. (The preposition at does not need to be repeated before national and international since the same preposition applies to both phrases.) PP 14-12

18. Beside/Besides Use beside as a preposition to mean “by the side of” or “not connected with something.” Darrell usually sits beside me during management staff meetings. Use besides as a preposition to mean “in addition to” or “other than.” Besides Sherry, the manager promoted Joyce and Bob. PP 14-13

19. Among/Between Use betweento refer to two persons, places, activities, ideas, things, or qualities. Our manager distributed the work between the two programmers. Use among to refer to more than two persons, places, activities, ideas, things, or qualities. I was among those who voted for Andy as the team leader. PP 14-14

20. Different From Use the word different followed by the preposition fromwhen from connects an object to another word or set of words in a sentence. The latest sales figures are differentfrom what I expected. Marion’s leadership style is quite differentfrom mine. PP 14-15

21. Like/As Use like to mean “similarly to” or “resembling.” Do not use a verb after the preposition like. Do not use like to join clauses. Stacy handles her responsibilities like a true leader. We are looking for a manager with leadership characteristics like Gordon’s. Use the conjunction as or as if to join clauses. Stacy acts as if she wants to be a leader. This schedule looks as if it were hastily developed. PP 14-16

22. Off/From Do not use off of in prepositional phrases. Roger was positive that Edward took the production results off his desk. (Do not use off of his desk.) Do not substitute off for from in certain phrases. Lorraine borrowed paper from Erica during the meeting. (Do not use off Erica as the prepositional phrase.) PP 14-17

23. In/Into Use in to indicate a “location or position within a place.” Please place your self-evaluation form in my mailbox. Use into to indicate “movement or direction from outside to inside” or a “change of condition or form.” Please step into my office to discuss your concerns. We divided the report into three sections. PP 14-18

24. To/Too/Two Use the preposition to to indicate “toward.” Please e-mail this message to all the other managers. Use to as an infinitive or as a part of an infinitive phrase. She plans to promote Gale next month. Use too as an adverb to indicate an “excessive amount” or “also.” The president made the hiring decision too quickly. Our company is moving to Minneapolis too. PP 14-19a

25. To/Too/Two continued Use two to indicate the number. We have two outstanding candidates for the R.B. Rutledge Leadership Award this year. The selection committee chose two candidates for the president to interview. PP 14-19b

26. Identification of Idiomatic Expressions An idiom refers to an expression that has evolved from general usage through the years but which has no established rule for this usage. Many idioms involve a verb and preposition combination. PP 14-20

27. Accompanied by/ Accompanied by or with Wesley is accompanied by an interpreter on his trips to Japan. Jan’s leadership award was accompanied with a check for $500. PP 14-20

28. Adapted from/Adapted to Our performance evaluation is adapted from a computer software program that Leon purchased. The new manager soon adapted to our company’s culture. PP 14-22

29. Agree in/Agree on/ Agree with Oscar agreed in principle with the plan for the new building. The staff agreed on the need to lengthen our customer service hours. The managers agreed with the employees about replacing the copy machine. PP 14-23

30. Angry at/Angry about/Angry with Bill is angry about our antiquated e-mail system. My manager was angry with Lucy for not regulating Internet usage in her department. PP 14-24

31. Argue about/Argue for/Argue with Several employees argued about the evaluation system. Our manager argued for decision-making software. Sometimes I argue with Richard. PP 14-25

32. Arrive at/Arrive by She will arrive at 6 p.m. They plan to arrive by train. Peggy plans to arrive in St. Louis by Monday. PP 14-26

33. Concur in/Concur with Most employees concurred in recommending that we reorganize our department. Do you concur with Zachary about the lack of leadership in our company? PP 14-27

34. Correspond by/Correspond to/ Correspond with We feel that correspondence by mail is too slow. The expense allocation corresponded to employee requests. Our president corresponds with a leadership consultant in Vail. PP 14-28

35. Enter in or on/Enter into Our receptionist enters every visitor’s name and address in a log book. The union and the managers enteredinto a binding arbitration agreement. PP 14-29

36. Live at/Live in/Live on We decided that those lawyers must live at their offices. Most federal workers live in the Washington, D.C. area. I could not live on the salary that they offered me during the interview. PP 14-30

37. Reconciled to/ Reconciled with We are finally reconciled to the fact that we will not receive a raise this year. Our accountant insists on the reconciliation of our returns with the sales. PP 14-31

38. Talk about/Talk for Lorraine did not want to talk about her salary. The manager talked for an hour about the reorganization plans. PP 14-32

39. Talk to/Talk with Have you talked to your coworkers about your concerns? Loretta and I talked with our manager about job sharing. PP 14-33

40. Wait at/Wait for/Wait on Please wait at the front door for a security clearance. We waited for our manager’s response to the scheduling problem. Waiting on a customer is always a first priority for us. PP 14-34

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