English Basics

Types of Preposition

Types of Preposition

A preposition is a word which expresses relationship of a noun or a pronoun to other words of the sentence.
e.g. ‘in, of, to, at, by, for, with, under, above, into, onto, upon, about, behind, beside, before, after, towards, inside, outside, below, around’ are commonly used examples of prepositions.

There are six types of prepositions:

  1. Prepositions for Time
  2. Prepositions for Place 
  3. Prepositions for Direction
  4. Prepositions for Agent
  5. Prepositions for Instruments
  6. Prepositional Phrases

1⇒ Preposition for Time (e.g. at, on, in)

These prepositions are used to refer to time in various aspects. e.g. at, on, in.

Prepositions Time Nature

In

1. Months or Years 
e.g. in March, in 2005
2. Particular time of a day or a month or an year
e.g. in evening, in morning, in the 3rd  week of April, in winter, in summer
3. A century or a specific time in past or future etc
e.g. in the 20th century, in early days, in the stone age, in future, in past,
On 1. A Day 
e.g. on Sunday
2. Dates
e.g. on 7th of February, on February 7
3. Particular days
e.g. on my birthday, on Independence Day

At

1. Time of a clock
e.g. at 3 O’clock, at 4:20 PM
2. Short & precise times 
e.g. at night, at sunset, at noon, at lunch time, at the moment, at bed time,

Examples:

  • She was born in 1986.
  • His father died in 2005 in a car accident.
  • I was very happy on the first day of my job.
  • We went to see glaciers in the summer.
  • The party will start at 8 PM.
  • They will come here on 15th February.
  • Everyone takes breakfast in the morning.

2⇒ Prepositions for Place  (e.g. on, at, in)

These prepositions are used for several of types of places. e.g. on, at, in.

  • “In” is mostly used for a place having some sort of (physical or virtual) boundary.
  • “On” is usually used for a surface
  • “At” is usually used for a specific place.
Prepositions Nature of the Places

In

Place having some (physical or virtual) boundary
Examples:.
In a hall
In a school
In the building
In the box
In the car
In a library
In a garden
In England
In a room
In a cupboard

On

Surfaces of things. 
Examples:
On the table
On the blackboard 
On the page
On a wall
On a roof
On the map

At

Specific Places:
Examples:
At bus stop
At the entrance
At front of the chair
At the bottom of glass
At the edge of roof

Examples:

  • They live in England.
  • They placed their books on a table.
  • I met him at the bus stop.
  • She waited for her kids at the gate of her home.
  • There is a cat under the table.
  • They were running on the road.

3⇒ Prepositions for Direction (e.g. into, to, through, towards)

These prepositions express the direction of something. e.g. into, to, through, towards

Examples:

  • They are going to classroom.
  • The snake was coming toward her.
  • He threw a ball into a river.

4⇒ Prepositions for Agent (e.g. by, with)

These prepositions are used to express a causal relationship between the noun (doer) and an action. e.g. by, with etc

Examples:

  • A nice book was written by John Keats.
  • A lot of noise was made by the kids.
  • The task was finished by him.
  • Some schools have been made by Government.
  • Have they gone to their college?

5⇒ Prepositions for Instrument, Devices, or Machines

Such prepositions are used for joining nouns (instruments, devices, machines etc) to other words in the sentence. e.g. on, by, with the help of, etc.

Examples:

  • He went to home by a car.
  • This lock cannot be opened with the key.
  • She watered the plants with the help of a water-pipe.
  • He broke the wall with a hammer.

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