Preposition : - Rules & Examples

 

Preposition : - Rules & Examples

 

RULES OF PREPOSITION

 

Here are the simple rules to remember uses of prepositions in English Grammar.

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Rule No 1.

A preposition cannot be followed by a verb. Verb placed immediately after preposition must be in gerund form.
Examples 

(a) He prevented me from drinking cold water.
(b) He insist on trying again.

Rule No 2.

When 'object' of the preposition is an Interrogative Pronoun What, Who, Whom, Which, Where etc., the preposition usually takes end or front position.
Examples 

(a) What are you thinking of ?
(b) Who were you talking to ?
It used to be thought as ungrammatical, to end a sentence with a preposition, but it is now well accepted.

Rule No 3.

When 'object' of the preposition is Relative Pronoun 'that', the preposition takes end position.
Examples 

(a) Here is the magazine that you asked for.
(b) This is the dish that she is fond of.

Rule No 4.

When 'object' of the preposition is infinitive (to + verb), the preposition is placed after infinitive.
Examples 

(a) This is a good hotel to stay at.
(b) I need a pencil to write with.

Rule No 5. In some sentences, preposition is attached with the verb (These verbs take appropriate preposition with them).
Examples 

(a) I hate being laughed at.
(b) This I insist on.

Rule No 6. In some cases the preposition comes in the beginning. These are usually interrogative sentences.
Examples 

(a) By which train did you come?
(b) For whom was instructions given?

USE OF SOME IMPORTANT PREPOSITIONS

 

(1) At/In/On

 

In reference of 'Time'

 

i. At is used for a precise time.
ii. In is used for months, years, centuries and long periods.
iii. On is used for days and dates.

In reference of 'Place'

 

i. At is used for a point.
ii. In is used for an enclosed space.
iii. On is used for a surface.

(2) At/In/To/Into

 

(A) At shows stationary position or existing state while In shows movement.
Examples 

i. She is at home.
ii. The train is in motion.

(B) at for small place, town etc. while In for big place, town, city, country etc.
Examples 

i. He lives at Alwar in Rajasthan.
ii. A temple is situated at Madurai in Chennai.

(C) at is used for Point of time, and In is used for Period of time.
Examples 

i. The train will arrive at six in the morning.
ii. He will meet you in the morning.

(D) In/Into In shows the existing state of things, while Into shows movement.
Examples 

i. He jumped into the river.
ii. There are three students in the class.

In can also be used as an adverb; Come in = Enter. Get in (into the train).

(E) to/Into to or Into is used as following
i. In the direction of Turn to the right.
ii. Destination I am going to Jaipur.
iii. Until From Monday to Friday; five minutes to ten
iv. Compared with They prefer hockey to soccer.
v. With indirect object Please give it to me.
vi. As part of infinitive I like to ski; he wants to help.
vii. In order to We went to the store to buy soap.
viii. To the inside of We stepped into the room.
ix. Change of condition The boy changed into a man.

(3) On/Onto

 

On can be used for both existing position and movement.
Example 

(a) He was sitting on his bag.
(b) Snow fell on the hills.

On can also be used as an adverb
Examples 

(a) Go on.
(b) Come on.

Onto is used when there is movement involving a change of level.
Examples 

(a) People climbed onto their roofs.
(b) He lifted her onto the table.

(4) With/By

 

With is used for instruments, and By is used for agents.
Examples 

(a) The snake was killed by him with a stick.
(b) The letter was written by Suresh with a pencil.

(5) Since/For/From

Since is often used with Present Perfect or Past Perfect Tense. Since is used for point of time and never for place, as; since 6 O' Clock /last night /last Monday/ since morning/evening/ Monday/January/2005 etc.
Examples 

(a) It has been raining since two O' Clock.
(b) He had been ill since Monday.

Since can also be used as an adverb
Examples (a) He left school in 1983. I haven't seen him since.
(b) It is two years since I last saw Tom.

(6) Beside/Besides

Beside and Besides have altogether different meanings.
Don't confuse beside with besides. beside = at the side of
Example

(a) He was sitting beside Partha. 

(b) besides = in addition to / as well as 

Example

He has a car besides a motor cycle. 

 

(7) Between/Among

Between is normally used for 'two things or persons, but it can also be used more, when we have a definite number in mind and there is a close relationship/ association within them.
Example

(a) He distributed his property between his two sons. 

Among is usually used for more than two persons or things when we have no definite number in mind.
Example

(a) He was happy to be among friends again. 

 

(8) Among/Amongst

Both have the same meaning. Either of them can be used if followed by 'the'. If followed by a word, beginning with a vowel 'amongst' be used. The use of amongst is usually found in literary writings.
Examples

(a) He distributed the toffees among/amongst the poor. 

(b) He distributed the toffies amongst us

 

 

Remember the Use of Preposition

Preposition	Uses	Example
Showing Time
At	exact times  meal times  parts of the day  age	at ​3pm  at ​dinner  at ​sundown  at ​age 21
By	a limit in time  in the sense of at the latest	by ​sundown  by ​the due date
In	seasons  months  years  durations     after a certain period of time	in​ the summer  in ​November  in​1992  in ​the same year  in ​an hour
On	days of the week  parts of the day where the day is named  dates	on ​Wednesday  on ​Friday night  on ​December 4th
Ago	a certain time in the past	2 years ago
After	a point in time that follows another point in time	after​ the game; after ​the surgery
Before	a point in time that precedes another point in time	before ​leaving; before  breakfast; before​ 2004
During	something that  happened/will happen in a specific period of time	during​ the night; during war
For	over a certain period in the past	for ​​2 years
Past	telling the time	ten past​ six (6:10)
Since	from a certain period of time	since​​ 1980; since ​the accident
Throughout	something that  happened/will happen  continuously in a specific period of time	throughout ​the year;  throughout ​the ordeal
To	telling time  from an earlier time to a later time	ten to ​six (5:50)  1pm to ​3pm
Until	up to a certain point in time  how long something is going to last	until t​he end; until ​sunrise
Up (to)	from an earlier point to a later point	up (to) n​ow
Showing Place
At	an object’s settled position or position after it has moved  meeting place or location point of direction  a target	at ​the airport; at t​he  ceremony  at​ home; at ​the desk  turning at​ the intersection  throwing the snowball at Lucy
By	close to  alongside of	by ​the school  by ​the window
In	in an enclosed space  in a geographic location in a print medium	in​ the garage; in​ an envelope in​ San Diego; in​Texas  in​ a book; in​ a magazine
On	for a certain side  for a river/lake  for a floor in a house  for public transport  for television, radio	on ​the left  London lies on ​the Thames on ​the floor  on ​a bus  on ​the air; on ​TV
About	around or outside of  at but not exactly on  related to	about  ​town  about ​five feet tall  about ​my father’s business
Above	suspended higher than  something else superior to	above ​the door  above ​me in rank
After	pursuit  a point further from an earlier point	chasing after ​the robbers  the corner after ​the big house
Against	leaning on  opposite to or facing	against ​the door  against ​the wall
Along	tracing the length of, without emphasis on the ends	along ​the hallway; along the river
Among	in the company of (three or more)  in a crowd  the end of a long list	among ​friends  among ​the masses  among ​other things
Around	location of something  explaining a period of time	drive around ​the block  around​ 3 o’clock
Before	in the front in terms of space	before​ the emperor; before God
Behind	on the back side of a point in space	behind​ the car; behind​ her smile
Below	something lower than or underneath something else	below​ the stairs; below expectations
From	in the sense of where from	a flower ​from the garden
Into	enter a room/building	go ​into ​the kitchen/house
Onto	movement to the top of  something	jump onto ​the table
Over	covered by something else “more than”  “getting to the other side” overcoming an obstacle	put a jacket over​ your shirt over​​ 16 years of age  walk over ​ the bridge  climb over​ the wall
Through	something with limits on top, bottom and the sides	drive through​ the tunnel
Towards	movement in the direction of something (but not directly to it)	go 5 steps towards​ the house
Other Important Prepositions
About	for topics, meaning what about	we were talking about​​ you
At	For age	she learned Russian at ​45
By	who made it  rise or fall of something  travelling (other than walking or horse riding)	a book by ​Mark Twain  prices have risen by​ 10 percent  by​​ car, by ​bus
From	who gave it	a present from​ Jane
In	entering a car/taxi	get in ​the car
Of	who/what did it belong to	a page of​ the book
	what does it show	the picture of  a ​place
Off	leaving a public transport vehicle	get of ​the train
On	walking or riding on  horseback  entering a public transport vehicle	on​ foot, on​ horseback  get on​​ the bus
Out of	leaving a car/taxi	get out ​of the taxi

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