How to explain prepositions

Prepositions - Grammar - Academic Guides at Walden University

Prepositions of Direction

To refer to a direction, use the prepositions "to," "in," "into," "on," and "onto."

• She drove to the store.
• Don’t ring the doorbell. Come right in(to) the house.
• Drive on(to) the grass and park the car there.

Prepositions of Time

To refer to one point in time, use the prepositions "in," "at," and "on."

Use "in" with parts of the day (not specific times), months, years, and seasons.

• He reads in the evening.
• The weather is cold in December.
• She was born in 1996.
• We rake leaves in the fall.

Use "at" with the time of day. Also use "at" with noon, night, and midnight.

• I go to work at 8:00.
• He eats lunch at noon.
• She often goes for a walk at night.
• They go to bed at midnight.

Use "on" with days.

• I work on Saturdays.
• He does laundry on Wednesdays.

To refer to extended time, use the prepositions "since," "for," "by," "during," "from…to," "from…until," "with," and "within."

• I have lived in Minneapolis since 2005. (I moved there in 2005 and still live there.)
• He will be in Toronto for 3 weeks. (He will spend 3 weeks in Toronto.)
• She will finish her homework by 6:00. (She will finish her homework sometime between now and 6:00. )
• He works part time during the summer. (For the period of time throughout the summer.)
• I will collect data from January to June. (Starting in January and ending in June.)
• They are in school from August until May. (Starting in August and ending in May.)
• She will graduate within 2 years. (Not longer than 2 years.)

Prepositions of Place

To refer to a place, use the prepositions "in" (the point itself), "at" (the general vicinity), "on" (the surface), and "inside" (something contained).

• They will meet in the lunchroom.
• She was waiting at the corner.
• He left his phone on the bed.
• Place the pen inside the drawer.

To refer to an object higher than a point, use the prepositions "over" and "above." To refer to an object lower than a point, use the prepositions "below," "beneath," "under," and "underneath."

• The bird flew over the house.
• The plates were on the shelf above the cups.
• Basements are dug below ground.
• There is hard wood beneath the carpet.
• The squirrel hid the nuts under a pile of leaves.
• The cat is hiding underneath the box.

 To refer to an object close to a point, use the prepositions "by," "near," "next to," "between," "among," and "opposite."

• The gas station is by the grocery store.
• The park is near her house.
• Park your bike next to the garage.
• There is a deer between the two trees.
• There is a purple flower among the weeds.
• The garage is opposite the house.

Prepositions of Location

To refer to a location, use the prepositions "in" (an area or volume), "at" (a point), and "on" (a surface).

• They live in the country. (an area)
• She will find him at the library. (a point)
• There is a lot of dirt on the window. (a surface)

Prepositions of Spatial Relationships

To refer to a spatial relationship, use the prepositions "above," "across," "against," "ahead of," "along," "among," "around," "behind," "below,"
"beneath," "beside," "between," "from," "in front of," "inside," "near," "off," "out of," "through," "toward," "under," and "within. "

• The post office is across the street from the grocery store.
• We will stop at many attractions along the way.
• The kids are hiding behind the tree.
• His shirt is off.
• Walk toward the garage and then turn left.
• Place a check mark within the box.

Tips for Teaching Prepositions | EnglishClub

The author of the ebook “English Prepositions List” summarizes some of the key points to understand when teaching prepositions and offers tips to make your teaching more effective

Prepositions form a small but important word class, being very frequently used. In fact, the prepositions to, of, in, for, on, with, at, by, from are all in the top 25 words in English. Helping students understand and correctly use prepositions contributes greatly to their fluency. In this article, Josef Essberger, author of English Prepositions List, summarizes some of the key points to understand when teaching prepositions and offers tips to make your teaching more effective.

What do prepositions do?

A clear understanding as to what prepositions are actually for is essential for the teacher, although it may not be necessary to go in detail into the grammar points below at all levels.

Function of a preposition

The function or “job” of a preposition is to express the relationship between two words in a sentence, specifically between a noun, verb or adjective and a noun or pronoun*:

• the woman beside John
• ran into the shop
• happy with you

A preposition is typically (not always) followed by a noun or pronoun (the “prepositional object”) and together they form a “prepositional phrase” (beside John, into the shop, with you).

*Strictly speaking this can be a noun (including proper noun), pronoun, noun group or gerund (verb in noun form):

• noun (dog, table, love) – They are in love.
• proper noun (Bangkok, Mary) – I went to Bangkok.
• pronoun (you, him, us) – She spoke to him.
• noun group (my first job) – I was poor before my first job.
• gerund (swimming) – She is passionate about swimming.

A prepositional phrase functions as an adjective or adverb to modify a noun, verb or adjective:

• the woman beside John (“beside John” functions as an adjective modifying the noun “woman”)
• He works before lunch. (“before lunch” functions as an adverb modifying the verb “works”)
• happy with it (“with it” functions as an adverb modifying the adjective “happy”)

Forms of prepositions

Prepositions have no particular form. The majority of prepositions are one-word prepositions, but some are two- or three-word phrases known as complex-prepositions:

• one-word prepositions (before, into, on)
• complex prepositions (according to, but for, in spite of, on account of)

“Complex prepositions” (on account of) should not be confused with “prepositional phrases” (on the table, on account of his age).

Types of prepositions

Many prepositions have more than one meaning. The meaning can be literal (in the box) or metaphorical (in love). The literal meanings fall into several categories, for example:

• place — under the bed
• time — on Sunday
• movement — towards the horizon
• manner — by train
• means — with a blunt instrument
• accompaniment — without a job
• possession — a friend of mine
• purpose — done for charity

Note that many prepositions belong to more than one category (eg on the table/on Monday, with her friend/with a screwdriver).

A pronoun following a preposition should be in object form

The noun or pronoun that follows a preposition forms a ‘prepositional object’.  If it is a pronoun, it should therefore be in the objective form (me, her, them), not subjective form (I, she, they):

• This is from my wife and me.
• That’s between him and her.
• Mary gave it to them.

Teach by “meaning” category

While you could in theory teach prepositions in alphabetical order, it is generally more helpful to teach them in categories based on meaning, for example:

• prepositions of place — in the box, behind you, over my head
• prepositions of time — on Monday, in 1948, during the day, at night
• prepositions of movement — past the door, through the fence, across the road

By limiting a lesson to prepositions of space, for example, learners can compare, contrast and comprehend the meanings directly (on/under, inside/outside). This works better than trying to teach the various meanings of individual prepositions (on the table, on Monday, on purpose, on time).

Say farewell to the “end of a sentence” myth

Some people claim that a preposition must always come before its object. Although a preposition usually precedes its object, it can sometimes come after its object. Take the very common “Where are you from?” and “I am from England.” The object of from is clearly Where and England. While one could theoretically say “From where are you?”, no-one actually does say that. Normal English usage is “Where are you from?”

There are four main cases where a preposition may naturally fall at the end of a sentence or clause:

• who, where, what questions — What are you interested in?
• relative clause — the plan (that) they are working on
• infinitive — Do you have someone to go with?
• passive — She hates being stared at.

The name “preposition” indicates that prepositions come before something:

• I put it in the box.

But even when a preposition does not come before its object, it is still closely linked to its object:

• Who(m) did you talk to?
• I talked to Jane.

Many prepositions can also be adverbs

It may help your more grammar-oriented students to recognize the difference between a preposition and an adverb. A preposition always has an object. An adverb does not have an object.

• They are in the kitchen. (preposition in has object the kitchen)
  Please come in. (adverb in has no object)
• There was a doorway before me.  (preposition before has object me)
  I had never seen it before. (adverb before has no object)
• I will call after work. (preposition after has object work)
  He called soon after. (adverb after has no object)

Good news. Prepositions are limited in number

Although prepositions may seem difficult to learn, the task is not insurmountable. There are only 150 prepositions and only about 70 of these are commonly used. What’s more, all single-word prepositions are “closed-class”, meaning they are unlikely to be added to. 

The infinitive particle “to” (to sing, to live) often befuddles English learners who may confuse it for the preposition “to” (to London, to me).

to as preposition

• I look forward to lunch
  I look forward to seeing you
  I look forward to see you
• They are committed to the project.
  They are committed to keeping the price down.
  They are committed to keep the price down.
• I am used to cars.
  I am used to driving.
  I am used to drive.

to as infinitive particle

• They used to live in Moscow.
• They love to sing.

Use simple illustrations

Help students understand prepositions of place and movement with simple illustrations.

Where appropriate, try to find contrasting pairs to make the meaning clearer.

Illustrations from English Prepositions List

Use preposition activities

Try to use fun activities in teaching your students and checking their understanding. You can find many preposition games and quizzes that can be used online or offline. The ebook English Prepositions List includes printable preposition quiz sheets (with answers) ideal for classroom use.

Be aware of first-language interference

Be aware that some languages may use a preposition where English does not. So, depending on a student’s first language, you may hear for example:

• Will you marry with me? (marry me)
• He entered to the room. (entered the room)
• I hate from that. (hate that)
• They discussed about the problem. (discussed the problem)
• I have paid for the bill. (paid the bill)

Or, conversely, some languages use no preposition where English requires one:

• She reminds me my childhood. (of my childhood)
• He is waiting the bus. (for the bus)
• She likes to listen music. (to music)

Explain the preposition rule

There is one very simple rule about prepositions. And, unlike most rules, this rule has no exceptions.**

Rule: A preposition is always followed by a “noun”. It is never followed by a verb. By “noun” we include:

• noun (dog, table, love) – This is food for dogs.
• proper noun (Bangkok, Mary) – I went to Bangkok.
• pronoun (you, him, us) – She spoke to him.
• noun group (my first job) – I was poor before my first job.
• gerund (swimming) – She is passionate about swimming.

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.

**You didn’t really believe that, did you? Actually, it’s more accurate to say “A preposition is always related to a noun. ” Normally the “noun” comes after the preposition, but occasionally it may come before it (What country do you come from?). But before or after, it is always a “noun”. And “always followed by a noun” is useful at lower levels.

Try this mini preposition quiz

The rule says “a preposition is always followed by a noun”. In the following sentences, why is the preposition “to” followed by a verb? That should be impossible, according to the rule above.

1. I would like to go now.
2. She used to smoke.

The answer is that in “I would like to go now” and “She used to smoke”, the word “to” is not a preposition. It is part of the infinitive (“to go”, “to smoke”). In 1 it is fairly obvious. In constructions like “used to do” it is less obvious.

Give contextual examples

When giving examples, and where possible, try to show prepositions in context by writing full sentences. This makes it far easier for your students to understand or deduce the meaning.

Have students use prepositions in sentences of their own

You can also test understanding by getting your students to use specific prepositions in their own original sentences. Only in this way can you know if they have fully grasped both the concept of prepositions in general and the meaning of particular prepositions.

Illustrations from English Prepositions List

See also:

How to Teach Prepositions of Position to Young Learners

is... What are prepositions in Russian?

The preposition is a single word that expresses the dependence of words on each other in combination and in a sentence.

The preposition as a part of speech begins to be studied in the 2nd and 3rd grades. To understand what a preposition is in Russian, let's define what it is used for in speech.

Consider word combinations:

• make a request;
• put in a backpack;
• ride a horse;
• step over the threshold.

Between words denoting an action or an object, there are short words consisting of one, two or more letters. These are suggestions. Prepositions are independent words that are written separately from the words next to them.

Prepositions connect words into a combination or sentence. They express the dependence of some words on others.

Compare:

• house with columns;
• house, columns.

In the first case, from the word "house" , you can ask a question with what? with columns . The preposition "with" shows that the noun "columns" depends on the word "house" .

In the second record there are separate words between which there are no relations. Each word exists on its own. They are not related to each other in meaning and grammatically, since there is no preposition between them.

Prepositions are indispensable in speech. Without them, it is impossible to express one's thoughts, to build a coherent statement.

We will verify this by considering the proposal:

The last yellow leaf flew off the tree to the ground.

• flew off (from what?) from a tree;
• flew (on what?) to the ground .

Prepositions help to form a sentence into a coherent statement filled with a certain meaning. Let's remove the prepositions and get a set of words:

the last yellow leaf flew off the tree to the ground.

Without pretexts, the proposal crumbled like a house of sand. It became difficult to understand what was going on.

Thus, let's give a definition of what a preposition is:

Definition

The preposition is a word that serves to link words in a phrase and sentence.

Meanings of prepositions

Prepositions do not designate an object like nouns (who? boy what? city ) or action, like verbs (what to do? laugh what to do? write ). However, each preposition has a specific meaning.

Prepositions "in", "on", "under", "above", "behind", "at", "before" indicate where to be.

• grows in the forest;
• sitting on a branch;
• digs underground;
• flies over the house;
• we are standing behind the house;
• answer at the blackboard;
• stop in front of the door.

Prepositions "to", "from", "to", "from", "to", "through" indicate where to move.

• go into the house;
• leave the classroom;
• carry to the door;
• run to the river;
• cross the bridge.

Prepositions “before”, “before”, “after”, “in” are temporary.

• work till evening;
• two minutes walk from here;
• agree after the meeting;
• get ready before the trip.

Difference of prepositions from prefixes

Many prepositions are very similar to the corresponding prepositions:

• touch the wall;
• run into the water;
• throw off the roof.

In these pairs of words, prefixes exist as part of verbs, giving them different meanings.

Let's watch:

run, run, run, run, run, run.

Remember

Verbs do not have prepositions. Only names are used with prepositions.

To understand whether it is a prefix or a preposition, let's perform the following check methods:

• whether it is possible to insert a question between the word and the preposition;
• look for a definition for the name and insert it between the preposition and the word.

Let's see how these tricks work:

• touch (what?) the wall, this wall;
• run (into what?) into the water, into the river water;
• throw (why?) from the roof, from the tiled roof.

An adjective or a pronoun can be inserted as a definition between a preposition and a word.

So, if you can insert a word that names a sign, or a question, this is a preposition. It is written separately from the word.

It is not possible to insert a word between the prefix and the root. The prefix is ​​written together with the word. The prefix in a word can be changed, but the preposition cannot.

Let's read a passage from a fairy tale and indicate the prepositions in it:

Outside the city, near the road, there was a dacha. In front of her is a small garden with a flower garden, and around it is a painted wooden fence. Not far from the dacha, at the very groove, a tiny daisy grew in soft green grass (Hans Christian Andersen).

List of prepositions

Here is a list of the most common prepositions in the Russian language:

Start learning

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It's hard to believe, but prepositions work wonders in English: if you accidentally mix it up, the meaning will change dramatically. For the interlocutor to understand you correctly, read this article.

Basic concepts: what is a preposition

The preposition is a part of speech that shows the relation of a pronoun or noun to other words in a sentence. This relationship can be spatial, temporal, causal, or express the direction of movement.

Analogue in Russian - case.

Since a preposition is a service part of speech, it cannot be used independently and change its wording.

It will take a lot of time and practice to memorize a large number of prepositions, so now we will concentrate on the main prepositions in English and understand how they are divided into groups. At any time, you can refer to the tablets and choose the appropriate preposition in meaning.

The difference between Russian and English prepositions in that they are fundamentally different, it is difficult to compare them. A common mistake of non-native speakers is the translation from English into the "Russian way", that is, literally.

It is necessary to learn to look at the English speech more voluminously, to form observation, then it will be easier to understand the inherent meaning and deftly formulate sentences. Here are examples of non-obvious translations:

• The red parrot is in the tree. - A red parrot in a tree (not inside).
• There are tired people in the picture. - Tired people in the photo (I really want to say on the picture).
• I'm at a music festival. — I'm at a music festival (again, not on ).
• I traveled to India. - I traveled around India (the preposition in is often mistakenly used).

English prepositions are divided into simple (simple), derivatives (derived), compound (compound) and compound or phrasal (composite/phrasal).

A simple form of is the majority of English prepositions:

• at - at, around, in, on;
• in - in, on, behind, through;
• about - about, around, at, by;
• against - against, face to, on;
• before - before, before, before.

Derivatives are formed from other parts of speech:

• concerning - regarding, relatively;
• including - including, including;
• depending
• granted - provided that.

Complex consist of several components:

• alongside - near, near, at;
• outside - outside, outside, except for;
• within - within, within, no further;
• wherewith - than, through which.

Compound or phrasal is a phrase when there is a word from another part of speech and one or two prepositions:

• because of
• instead of - instead;
• by virtue of - in force, on the basis;
• for the sake of
• with regard to - relatively, in relation to.

We have a great article on the topic - word order in an English sentence!

English proficiency test

This English proficiency test was compiled by the Skysmart online school tutors. They prepared interesting and relevant tasks on modern topics to make the test both useful and interesting

Types of English prepositions

There are five large groups of prepositions:

1. Prepositions of time.
2. Prepositions of place.
3. Prepositions of direction.
4. Prepositions of reason.
5. Movement (preposition of movement).

The lexical meaning of each group directly depends on what position the preposition occupies in the sentence, so there can often be two or even more interpretations. Let's take a look at each group.

How many English words do you already know?

Let's define your vocabulary - without complex questions and with the help of smart algorithms.

Prepositions of time

Prepositions of time show when and what time something happened, is happening or will happen. Test question: When?

Prepositions of reason

Prepositions of reason show why or why something happened. Test question: Why?

Rules for using prepositions

Prepositions can radically change the meaning of verbs, inflect nouns according to cases, move objects in space, indicate their location, and much more. The correct use of prepositions in English will help to avoid awkward pauses in the dialogue, make speech interesting and varied.

Let's look at the example of modal verbs, how the meaning of one word can change

• look for - look for;
• look upon - have an opinion;
• look after - take care;
• look over - forgive;
• look to - follow.

Rules for placing a preposition in a sentence

1. Before a noun or pronoun.

• Put the glass on the table. - Put the glass on the table.
• Give the book to Tom. Give this book to Tom.

2. At the end of interrogative sentences.

• Where do you live in? - Where do you live?
• Who are you waiting for? - Who are you waiting for?

3. At the end of a subordinate clause or passive construction.

• Apartment repair is what they wanted to begin with. They would like to start by renovating the apartment.
• You know who he is worried about. You know what he's worried about.

Prepositions can be part of set expressions that can be learned and used as needed.

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