Prepositions

Prepositions

A preposition is an important word used with a noun or noun equivalent to show its relation with some other word in the sentence.

* In – ‘In’ is generally used before the names of countries and large cities or before the name of the place in which one is at the time of speaking : in a country, in town

* At – ‘At’ is used when there is a small extent of space or time. When we refer to small towns or villages, we use ‘at’. ‘At’ means inside, just outside or just beside the building.

* In, into – ‘In’ denotes position of rest inside something; while ‘into’ denotes motion or direction towards the inside of something.

* On, At, In (for time)

On is used with the days of the week or month : on Sunday, on March 28

At is used with exact time : at five, at midnight

In is used with a period of time : in the evening, in 1970

Prepositions -II

* To, till (until) – These are both used for time : six to nine, till twelve

* To, At (Movement) –

To is used to express motion from one place to another.

At expresses place or position.

* For, Since, From (Time) –

For shows a period of time : for three months

Since is used with a point in time at which an action started and the action is then considered to continue to the time of speaking : since December

From can be used for place and time both. When denoting a point of time, it must be followed by ‘to’ or ’till’ : from morning till evening, from today

* Beside, Besides – Beside means ‘at’ or ‘by the side of ‘ , Besides means ‘in addition to’ :Beside river, besides roses, there were marigolds.

* Between, Among – Between is used for two persons or two things only.

Among is used for more than two

between the rocks

among the hill

Preposition-III

* For, During (Time)

For is used for a period of time definite in length. It shows that the action continues for the whole time or period : for two hours

During : Its action can either last the whole period or occur at sometime within the period.

* With, By – With relates to instrument :

He hit the ball with a rod.

By related to the agent or the does :

A snake was killed by him.

* In, After (Time)

In shows the close of some future period, while after relates to the past:

In the future, After I crossed the road.

* On, Upon :

On is generally used in speaking of things at rest, while upon is used to speak of things in motion.

* In, Within :

In denotes the close or end of some period, while within denotes some time short of the close.

* After – must be followed by a noun or a noun equivalent. He fell ill after the race.

Afterwards is an adverb that is used when there is no noun or noun equivalent.