Prepositions

A preposition is a word placed before a noun or a pronoun to show in what relation the person or thing denoted by its stands in regard to something else.

For example:

• He is fond of tea.
• There is a cow in the field.
• The cat jumped off the chair.

In sentence 1, The word ‘of’ shows the realtion between the atrribute expressed by the adjective fond and tea. The preposition joins a Noun to Adjective.

In sentence 2, The word ‘in’ shows the relation between two things -cow and field.

In sentence 3, Word ‘off’ shows the relation between the action expressed by the verb jumped and the chair. The preposition joins Noun to Verb.

Types of Prepositions:
Prepositions may be arranged in the following classes:
Simple Prepositions: At, by, for, from, in, of, off, on , out, through, till, to up, with
Compound Prepositions: Prepositions which are generally formed by prefixing a preposition to a Noun, an Adjective  or an Adverb (About, above, across, along, admidst, among, around, before, behind, below, beneath, beside, between, beyong, inside, outside, underneath, within, without)
Phrase Prepositions: These are group of words used with the force of a single preposition.

Exercises:
Exercise 1: Write at/on/in
…………….6 June
…………….Thursday
…………….Saturday night
…………….the evening
…………….11.45
…………….night
…………….half past two
…………….Christmas Day
…………….the end of the day
…………….Wednesday
…………….Christmas
…………….1987
…………….the morning
…………….the weekend
…………….September
…………….Friday morning
…………….24 September
…………….Winter

Exercise 2: Write at/om/in if necessary. Sometimes there is no preposition:

1. I’m leaving……….Friday.
2. I’m leaning………..next Friday. (No Preposition)
3. I always feel tired………..the evening.
4. Will you be at home…………this evening?
5. We went to France …………..last summer.
6. Laura was born ………………1975.
7. What are you doing…………the weekend?
8. I phone Robert………every Sunday.
9. Shall we play tennis…………next Sunday?
10. I can’t go to the party………..Sunday.
11. I’m going out. I’ll be back…….an hour.
12. I don’t often go out………night.

Exercise 3: Put in until/since/for:

1. Mr. and Mrs. Kelly have been married………1968.
2. I was tired this morning. I stayed in bed…….10′o clock.
3. We waited for Sue……half an hour but she didn’t come.
4. ‘Have you just arrived?’ No, I’ve been here……half past seven.’
5. ‘How long did you stay at the party last night?’………………midnight.
6. David and I are good friends. We have known each other…….ten years.
7. I’m tired. I’m going to lie down……………..a few minutes.
8. Don’t open the door of the train………the train stops.
9. This is my house. I’ve lived here…………I was seven years old.
10. Jack has gone away. He’ll be away……………..Wednesday.
11. Next week I’m going to Paris………………three days.
12. I usually finish work at 5:30, but sometimes I work……………six.