◆ Lesson 5
Prepositions:
A "preposition" is a word usually coming in front of, a noun
or pronoun and expressing a relation to another word.
Example:
1. She left before breakfast.
2. What did you come for?
There are over 100 prepositions in the English language.
Yet, this is a very small number when you think of the thousands of other
words.
Prepositions are important words.
We use individual prepositions more frequently than other individual words.
In fact, the prepositions "of", "to" and "in" are among the 10 most
frequently used words in English.
Here is a list of 128 prepositions.
Many of these prepositions have more than one meaning.
Please refer to a dictionary for precise meanings and usage.
Aboard, about, above, according to, across, across from, after, against,
ahead of, along, alongside, along with, amid, amidst, among, amongst, anti,
apart from, around, as, as for, aside from, as to, astride, at, away from.
Bar, barring, because of, before, behind, below, beneath, beside, besides,
between, beyond, but, by, by means of.
Circa, close to, concerning, considering, contrary to.
Depending on, despite, down, due to, during.
Except, except for, excepting, excluding.
Following, for, forward of, from.
In, in between, including, in favor of, in front of, in lieu of, inside,
inside of, in spite of, instead of, into, irrespective of.
Like.
Minus.
Near, near to, next to, notwithstanding.
Of, off, on, on account of, on board, onto, on top of, opposite, opposite to,
other than, out of, outside, outside of, over, owing to.
Past, pending, per, plus, preparatory to, prior to.
Regarding, regardless of, round.
Save, save for, since.
Than, thanks to, through, throughout, till, to, together with, toward,
towards.
Under, underneath, unlike, until, up, up against, upon, up to, up until.
Versus, via, vis-a-vis.
With, within, without, worth.
There is one very simple rule about prepositions.
Unlike most rules, this rule has no exceptions.
The Rule Is:
A preposition is followed by a "noun".
It is never followed by a verb.
By a "noun" we include:
1. Noun - (fish, money, love).
2. Proper Noun (Name) - (Bangkok, Miko, Dachshund).
3. Pronoun - (you, him, us).
4. Noun Group - (my last job).
5. Gerund - (walking).
A preposition cannot be followed by a verb.
If we want to follow a preposition by a verb, we must use the "-ing" form,
which is really a gerund or verb in noun form.
Here are some examples:
| Subject + Verb |
Preposition |
Noun
|
| The food is |
on |
the table. |
| She lives |
in |
Japan. |
| Takashi is looking |
for |
you. |
| The letter is |
under |
your green book. |
| Aya is used |
to |
English people. |
| She isn't used |
to |
working. |
| I ate |
before |
coming. |
In the following sentences, why is the word "to" followed by a verb?
That should be impossible, according to the rule:
1. I would like to go now.
2. He used to smoke.
The answer is:
In these sentences, "to" is not a preposition.
It is part of the infinitive; ("to go", "to smoke").
Prepositions
of Place:
"at", "in", "on"
In general, we use:
"at" for a POINT.
"in" for an ENCLOSED SPACE.
"on" for a SURFACE.
| At |
In |
On |
| Point |
Enclosed Space |
Surface |
| at the corner |
in the garden |
on the wall |
| at the bus stop |
in Kobe |
on the ceiling |
| at the door |
in Greece |
on the table |
| 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 entrance |
in my wallet |
on the carpet |
| at the crossroads |
in a building |
on the menu |
| at the exit |
in a car |
on a page |
Some more examples:
1. Mary is waiting for you at the bus stop.
2. The shop is at the end of the road.
3. My plane stopped at Osaka and Hong Kong and arrived in Bali two hours
late.
4. When will you arrive at the office?
5. Do you work in a library?
6. I have a meeting in Chicago.
7. Do you live in Japan?
8. Venus is in the Solar System.
9. The author's name is on the cover of the book.
10. There are no prices on this menu.
11. You are standing on my foot.
12. There was a "no smoking" sign on the wall.
13. I live on the 8th floor at 302 Villa Street in Singapore.
Notice the use of the prepositions of place "at", "in"
and "on" in these 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 box |
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 a reception |
in the way |
on the way
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