Prepositions

1. Prepositions Functional English

2. Preposition • The word ‘preposition’ is from the Latin word praepositionmeaning ‘placed before’ or ‘in front of’ • A preposition is a part of speech that shows a relationship between two things.

3. Classification of Preposition • By Grammatical Function • By Structure

4. By Structure • Simple • Compound • Simple prepositions consist of a single word, while compound prepositions consist of a group of words that act as one unit

5. By Semantic function • Preposition of place • Preposition of time • Preposition of agency/instrumentality • Preposition of cause • Preposition of direction • Preposition of measure • Preposition of manner • Preposition of Possession

6. Preposition of Place • Prepositions of place show where an object is located in relation to something else. • At • In • on

7. Conti…..

8. Preposition of Time Prepositions of time help us differentiate if something is at a point in time or for a length of time.

9. Preposition of Agency • Preposition of agent shows with what the action was done • Such prepositions are by, with etc. Following examples will help in better understanding. • Examples.         This book is written by Shakespeare.          The work was completed by him.         The room was decorated by her.         The tub is filled with water.

10. Preposition of Cause Used to connect the reason for a particular situation with the other part of sentence. The meeting was cancelled because of the rain.We didn't go on account of  the bad weather.He succeeded for many reasons.Unfortunately you won't succeed from hard work alone.The operation was successful only through the great skill of the surgeon.

11. Preposition of Direction/Movement • Such prepositions signify a particular direction. Here, you will also find some words of position and movement overlap such as, from, to, through, under, up, down, over, etc. • They ran out of the building after they heard the fire alarm. • He strode towards the Town Hall. • You will find him in his office now. • I saw him go into the Director's room now.

12. Preposition of Measure or Quantity • Shows the amount of something ( of ) for example: • For: We drove for twenty miles. • We bought it for ten cents. • by :We bought them by the kilo.

13. Preposition of Manner Indicate manner, how something is done. • on, by, with are considered to be the prepositions of manner. • For example: • I go to the doctor by car.

14. Preposition of Possession • used to show possession, belonging or origin • a friend of mine • the president of the United States • employees of the company • the colour of his hair

15. Place of Preposition • The placement of the prepositional phrase within the sentence may vary. • Examples: o My car is in front of the house. o The car in front of the house is mine. • Prepositional phrases may also be placed at the beginning of a sentence. In this case, the phrase must be followed by a comma. • Example: After the basketball game, we went to dinner.

16. Conti….. • Although a preposition is usually placed before its object, sometimes it is necessary to place it after its object. Examples: • He is selling it for ten dollars. (In this sentence, the preposition is before the object). • What price is he selling it for? (In this sentence, the preposition is after the object). • In the second sentence, the preposition was placed after the object in order to form a question.

17. Conti…. • A preposition is sometimes placed at the end of a sentence when its object is used as the subject of a sentence, although it is not standard to end a sentence with a preposition. • Example: Faith is what we live by.

18. Rules for using “At” • We use these prepositions in phrases saying when. See you at one o'clock. They arrived on Friday. We met in 1985. We use at with a particular time such as a clock time or meal time. at half past five at breakfast (time) at that time We also use at with holiday periods of two or three days. at Christmas at Thanksgiving at the weekend

19. Rules for using “On” • on indicates proximity and position above or outside: • PLACE: He sat on the fence.TIME: He was not thinking well on that occasion.REFERENCE: He asked my opinion on the matter.CONDITION: We’ll hire him on your recommendation.

20. Rules for using “In” • in mainly denotes “rest at”: • PLACE: He lives in the country. He lives in Chicago. (BUT, He lives at 2300 Wabash Ave.)TIME: I’ll be there in an hour.MANNER: The child ran down the steps in tears.REFERENCE: In my opinion we need a referendum. They are happy in their marriage

21. Prepositional phrases • Prepositional phrases start with a preposition and end with the object of a preposition.

22. Participle preposition • A participle is a word formed from a verb that can function as part of a verb phrase. • Or independently as an adjective. • For example:-

23. Conti…. • Participial Prepositions are those Participles that are used as Prepositions.  For example, barring, touching, concerning, pending, respecting, regarding, considering, during, etc. • Lying in front of fireplace, he dreamed of warm summer days. • Confused by the strange directions mentioned in the letter, she looked at the map.

24. Difference between Adverbs and preposition • words that look like prepositions and come after the verb are modifying the meaning of the verb, as in ‘look around’, ‘stand up’. These are adverbs and are easy to recognize as they do not ‘take an object’ – i.e. there is no noun or pronoun following. For prepositions taking objects. • on the box

25. Preposition vs. Conjunction • Conjunction joins clauses, phrases, or words in a sentence. For example, " The dog ate the burger AND the cake"Meanwhile, Prepositions link nouns, pronouns and phrases to other words in a sentence. For example, "The cat sat ON the table"" The dog was sitting BESIDE the couch"