PREPOSITIONS

Welcome to this lecture headed “PREPOSITIONS”. We will be discussing all about prepositions. Enjoy your lecture.

Prepositions are parts of speech that show relationships between nouns, pronouns and other words in a sentence. Most frequently, they come before a noun.

The good news is that they never alter their form, irrespective of the case, gender etc. of the word they are referring to.

Prepositions are grouped as simple or compound.

Simple prepositions are single word prepositions like across, after, at, before, between, by, during, from, in, into, of, on, to, under, with and without.

For instance:-

The book is on the table.

Compound prepositions are prepositions that are more than one word.

In between and because of  are prepositions with two words while in front of, on behalf of – are prepositions made up of three words.

For instance:-

The book is in between the wall and the bed.

The book is in front of the clock.

Prepositions describe a relationship between other words in a sentence. In itself, a word like “in” or “after” is pretty empty and difficult to define just words. For example, when you do try to define a preposition like “in” or “between” or “on,” you customarily use your hands to illustrate how something is situated in relationship to something else. Prepositions are practically always combined with other words in structures known as prepositional phrases. Prepositional phrases can be composed of a million various words, but they tend to be built the same: a preposition followed by a determiner and an adjective or two, followed by a pronoun or noun known as the object of the preposition. This whole phrase, in turn, takes on a modifying function and acts as an adjective or an adverb, locating something in time and space, modifying a noun, or stating when or where or under what conditions something happened.

Is it any wonder that prepositions produce such troubles for students for whom English is a second language?

For instance, we say we are at the hospital to visit a friend who is in the hospital. We lie in bed but on the couch. We watch a film at the theater but on television. For native English speakers, these little words offer little difficulty.

Prepositions of Time: at, on, and in

We make use of at to designate definite times.

The train is due at 12:15 p.m.

We use on to assign days and dates.

My brother is visiting on Monday.

We’re having a party on the Fifth of July.

We make use of in for non definite times during a day, a month, a season, or a year.

She likes to jump in the morning.

It’s too cold in winter to play in the field.

He started the job in 2011.

He’s going to quit in May.

Prepositions of Place: at, on, and in

We use at for specific addresses.

Mr. Joe lives at 20 Shagari ways Abuja.

We make use of on to designate names of streets, avenues, etc.

Her house is on Kaduna Road.

And we make use of in for the names of land-areas (towns, counties, states, countries, and continents).

She lives in Calabar.

Durham is in Cross River State.

Cross River State is the eastern part of the country.

Prepositions of Movement: to and No Preposition

We make use of “to” in order to express movement toward a place.

They were walking to work together.

She’s going to the dentist’s office this morning.

Toward and towards are as well useful prepositions to express movement. These are merely variant spellings of the same word; use anyone that sounds better to you.

We’re moving toward the house.

This is a hug step towards your academic achievement.

With the words home, downtown, uptown, inside, outside, downstairs, upstairs, we use no preposition.

Dad went upstairs

Mum went home.

We both went outside.

Prepositions of Time: for and since

We make use of for when we estimate time (seconds, minutes, hours, days, months, years).

They held their breath for ten minutes.

She’s studied there for five years.

The Italians and Romans have been quarreling for many centuries.

We use since with a particular date or time.

He’s worked here since 2010.

She’s been sitting in the waiting room since four-thirty.

Prepositions with Nouns, Adjectives, and Verbs

Prepositions are often times so firmly joined to other words that they have invariably become one word. This takes place in three groups: nouns, adjectives, and verbs.

Nouns and Prepositions

approval of

awareness of

belief in

concern for

confusion about

desire for

Adjectives and Prepositions

afraid of

angry at

aware of

capable of

careless about

familiar with

Verbs and Prepositions

give up

grow up

look for

look forward to

look up

make up

An amalgamation of verb and preposition is called a phrasal verb. The word that is linked to the verb is then known as a particle.

Idiomatic Expressions with Prepositions

agree to a proposal, with a person, on a price, in principle

argue about a matter, with a person, for or against a proposition

compare to to show likenesses, with to show differences (occasionally similarities)

correspond to a thing, with a person

differ from an unlike thing, with a person

live at an address, in a house or city, on a street, with other people

More prepositions of movement

She ran
	across	the road. (from one side to the other)
	away from	the policeman.
	back to	the shop.
	out of	the theatre.
	past	the opening.
	towards	the bus stop.

At and in can as well be used as prepositions of movement, but they’re used to show the purpose of the movement.

For instance:

I threw the rubbish in the bin.

Let’s have a meal at my place.

When used after a few verbs, the preposition at as well shows the target of an action:

The bowler was sent off for throwing the ball at the umpire, instead of to the batsman.

Prepositions of Place

Prepositions can be used to show where something is located.

The prepositions at, on, and in

We use at to show a particular place or position.

For instance:

Chike is at the door.

They are waiting at the train station.

I used to live at 20 Portharcourt Street.

We use on to show position on a horizontal or vertical surface.

For instance:

The cat sat on the bed.

The satellite dish is on the roof.

We as well make use of on to show position on streets, roads, etc.

For instance: 

I used to live on Portharcourt Street.

We use in to show that something is enclosed or surrounded.

For Instance:

The dog is in the garden.

She is in a taxi. 

Put it in the box.

We as well use in to show position within land-areas (towns, counties, states, countries, and continents).

For example:

I used to live in Northern Ireland.

More prepositions of place

Prepositions of Time

Prepositions can as well be used to show when something occurred.

The prepositions at, on, and in

We use at for particular times.

For instance:-

I open shop at 7.00 a.m. 

They don’t work at night.

We use on for particular days and dates.    

For instance: 

My birthday is on Monday.    

We’re having a party on 7th September.   

We also use on for some special days.   

For instance: 

On Christmas day.

We use in for non definite times during a day, a month, a season, or a year.   

For instance: 

In dry season it’s too hot to work.   

I started this business in 2000.

She woke up in the night.

More prepositions of time

Although prepositions are difficult to generalize with break up rules, there is one straightforward rule about them. And, unlike the majority of rules, this rule has no exceptions.

Rule: 

They are constantly followed by a “noun”, never followed by a verb.

By “noun” we include:

Noun (cat, money, love) 

Proper Noun (name) (Abuja, Mary) 

Pronoun (you, him, us)

Noun Group (my first house)

Gerund (swimming)

Subject + Verb	Preposition	“noun”
The pen is	on	the table.
He lives	in	England.
Joe is looking	for	you.
The newspaper is	under	your green book
Pascal is used	to	English people
She isn’t used	to	working.

If we want to follow with a verb, we ought to use the “-ing” form which is actually a gerund or verb in noun form.

Thanks for reaching to this point marking the end of this lecture.

Your Lecture Master:

Mst. Ugonwanne Joshua