Prepositions

In this chapter, we will be covering prepositions. 

What are prepositions?

Prepositions tell us the relationship between two things in a sentence.

Prepositions enable a speaker/writer to express the link between separate items. They can convey information about time, location, or direction or provide details.

For example:

• He arrived after lunch,
• The man in the mirror,
• We flew to Japan,
• I ran across the street

Normally, prepositions tell us about location and time or give us more information about verbs or adjectives as well. Generally, prepositions are linking items that help us tell the relationship between two things in a sentence.

Let’s now learn prepositions of time, space and direction/movement in detail.

Points to Remember

1. The word "Preposition" itself can help you remember what it does. If we break the word into 2 parts, we get - "Pre" and "Position". Usually, a preposition is located before a noun.
2. Take note that the use of some prepositions has to be learned.
   For Example:

• “I am in the car” and not “I am on the car”.
• But, you can say, "I am on the bus.” 

3. Important: Ending a sentence with a preposition is NOT a grammatical error
   For Example:
   Where did you come from?

Prepositions Of Time And Space

Read and understand the sentences to determine the following:

1. What is going on
2. Which preposition fits best

Practice Questions

Question 1:

Please do your best to come __________ time. It is rude to always be late.

1. at
2. in
3. on
4. for

Answer: 

3) on

Explanation:

The correct answer to this question is option (3) - “on”. In this case, “Please do your best to come on time” is also a reminder for you to come at a certain time as well. So, you need to be careful about how is it phrased using a preposition.

Question 2:

My cousin’s birthday is __________ September.

1. on
2. at
3. in
4. by

Answer: 

3) in

Explanation:

The correct answer to this question is option (3) - “in”. “On” is used when we are talking about a particular day of the month but not for the month. The correct preposition to use for months is “in”. 

Question 3:

It was __________ the thunderstorm that we also heard a loud banging noise coming from the basement.

Image Credit: unsplash - Tasos Mansour

1. with
2. on
3. during
4. before

Answer: 

3) during

Explanation:

The correct answer to this question is option (3) - "during". The hint in this question is the word "also", as we came to know that the 2 events "thunderstorm" and "the loud banging noise coming from the basement", were happening at the same time.

Prepositions of Direction/Movement

Remember the following points while attempting questions of direction/movement prepositions.

1. “To” is commonly used as a preposition: I flew from London to Africa.
2. The word “to” tells us the starting point is London, and the endpoint is Africa.
    

Practice Questions

Question 1:

She crept quietly __________ the corridor and entered the classroom when no one was looking.

1. into
2. over
3. for
4. along

Answer:

4) along

Explanation:

If we have a long stretch of a corridor or even a road that you walk right next to, we normally use the preposition "along". So, the correct answer to this question is option (4) - “along”.
 

Question 2:

The boy climbed __________ the box and crawled __________ the bench.

1. over ... over
2. over ... under
3. under ... over
4. under ... under

Answer:

2) over ... under

Explanation:

In the first case, the verb “climbed” indicates to us that he had to go up. Therefore, the correct preposition to use next to “climbed” is “over”. In the second case, the verb “crawled” or the action of crawling is close to the floor. Therefore, the correct preposition to use here is “under”. So, the correct answer to this question is option (2) - “over ... under”.

Test Your Concepts

Answer the following questions based on the concepts we’ve covered in this article. If you get stuck, revisit the relevant section to revise the concepts.

Question 1:

Sujhi and I were __________ the same queue for the lucky draw. What a coincidence!!

Image Credit: pixabay - Mohamed_hassan

1. at
2. for
3. on
4. in

Question 2:

__________ kissing us goodbye, Father left for work. My sister and I went back to sleep, smiling.

1. With
2. After
3. During
4. Before

Question 3:

__________ the hills and far away, Telitabiz come out to play.

1. Over
2. Under
3. Beneath
4. Inside

Question 4:

Hey, I think there is something __________ the water. It tastes funny!

1. on
2. over
3. under
4. in