Preposition with its types:

                  

Preposition 

Definition:

A preposition is a word or set of words used before pronoun, noun, or noun phrase to show time, direction, place, location, Position, Movement, or introduce an object. 

Propositions are usually short words and connect the people, time, locations, and objects of a sentence. The most frequently used words for prepositions are: of, with, on, at, for, and at. 

Explanation of prepositions is a complicated task, but they are a crucial part of our language and most of us use them in our language without even thinking about it.

Examples of prepositions:

• The bird is inside a cage.

• The jug is on the table.

• The plane is above the clouds.

• They are waiting outside the bank.

Types of prepositions:

There are six types of prepositions which are following:

1. Simple preposition:

A preposition consisting of a single word is called Simple or Single Preposition.

Examples are: in, to, for, at, after, over, till, up, from,  of, etc. 

• The coach is going to London 

• The letter is from Chicago.

2. Double preposition:

A preposition consisting of more than one word is called a double preposition.

Examples are: into, onto, within, etc.

• Alina is putting her luggage onto the Van.

• Sarah is diving into the water.

3. Compound preposition:

A preposition consisting of two or more words is called a Compound preposition.

Examples are: away from, next to, out of, on top of, in front of, etc.

• Irha is sitting next to Mirha.

• The cyclist is in front of the bus.

4. Participle preposition:

A preposition consisting of words that end in ‘ing’ is called a Participle preposition.

Examples are: concerning, considering, regarding, etc.

• Ali asked several questions concerning his future. 

5. Disguised preposition:

When another preposition replaces one preposition, it is called a disguised preposition.

Examples are: ‘by’ can be replaced by ‘into’, ‘be’, etc. 

6. Phrase preposition:

When a group of words is used in the place of a single proposition, it is called a Phrase preposition.

Examples are: according to, in front of, by way of, despite, instead of, in place of, owing to, by, in my opinion, etc.

• Ali is in front of the train.

• All sport is silly in my opinion.

Rules of preposition:

1. Preposition of Place including both Position and Movement:

The majority of prepositions are used to express either Position (where something is) or Movement (where it is going).

Example of the preposition of Position:        

• The phone was under the table.

Example of the preposition of Movement: 

• The ball rolled under the table.

In and on is used to express Position.

• Hamza was in the classroom.

• The tissue paper was on the desk.

Onto and into is used to express Movement.

• Hamza came into the classroom.

• The tissue paper drops onto the desk.

At is used to describe the Position, and to is used to express Movement. 

Example of Preposition of Position:   

• Hamza was at Ali’s house.

Example of the preposition of Movement:  

• Hamza went to Ali’s house.

Some exciting examples of the preposition of place:

• The table is in the Van for export.

• Next week, I am going to attend a marriage ceremony.

• David is going up the ladder.

• My friend lives in a flat above a shop.

• There is a garage next to the house.

• We walked around the lake.

• There is a status in front of the museum.

• Tom and Nick are walking away from the station.

2. Preposition of Time:

To express to one point of time, in, at, and on, prepositions are used.

In is used with year, month, season, part of a day, etc.

• I woke up in the night.

• I will be very busy in April. 

• I have got an appointment in the morning.

• I can easily change in ten minutes.

• I hope my son arrives there in time.

Other uses of in:

We can use in for the time it takes to complete something. 

• I did my task in ten minutes.

• Could you dance for thirty minutes a day?

 In is also used to show the future from the present.

• The lunchbox will be ready in a few minutes.

• The Mall will open in six weeks.

On is used with day, date, part of the day, etc.

• It happened on Monday night.

• Shall we meet on 15 April?

• Let’s meet on Monday afternoon.

At is used with clock time, mealtime, two or three days, etc.

• I can’t sleep at night.

• I am going away at Easter, so how about the week after?

• Will the bank be open at half-past nine?

• We are leaving at half-past, and you have not even changed.

In time or on time?

In time means ‘early enough’ or ‘before time.’

• Iroha arrived for the birthday party in time.

• Rimsha was about to close the door when just in time, she remembered her key at the last moment.

On-time means ‘right on time, ‘on schedule.’

• The plane took off on time.

• I hope the meeting starts on time.

• Rachel is never on time. She is always late.

To express to extended time, ‘for’, ‘since’, ‘ago’, ‘before’ prepositions are used.

For and since are used with present perfect to talk about something continuing up to the present.

We use for to express how long something has continued. 

• We have been waiting for sixty minutes.

• Tanveer has known about it for three days.

• Rimsha has been living here for two years now.

We use since to express when something began.

• We have been waiting since ten o’clock.

• Tanveer has known about it since Wednesday.

• Rimsha has been living here since 1190.

Ago is used to measure past time from the present.

• Ali passed his medical test eight months ago.

• Ali wrote to the company weeks ago.

• Have you seen Rabia? Yes, just a few minutes ago.

We put ago after the phrase of time.

Before is used with past perfect, e.g., had done.

• I brought a car in August. I have passed my driving test three months before.

• Hamza finally received a reply to the letter he had written weeks before.