Prepositions

The word preposition indicates positioning something before something else. And in English grammar-

A preposition is a word placed or positioned before a noun or a pronoun or noun equivalent to show the relationship between a noun or pronoun and other words in a sentence.

Pronoun এর কাজ হচ্ছে কোন Noun, Pronoun বা এদের সমতুল্য কোন শব্দ(গুচ্ছ) এর সংগে বাক্যের অন্য কোন শব্দের সম্পর্ক নির্ধারণ করা।

The following are the words used as preposition in English-
For, of, on, at, in, to, off, by, up, with, from, into, within, like, until, above, about, against, under, before, after, among, along, across, around, behind, bellow, beneath, beside, between, beyond, down, during, except, inside, near, since, toward, through and upon.

Role or function of preposition in a sentence:

A preposition sits before a noun or a pronoun to show noun’s or pronoun’s relationship to another word in the sentence. Preposition helps to construct a sentence.

Example:- He is looking for papers.
- Rifat lives in Dhaka.
- Place the book on the table.
- I will go there after breakfast.
- Look at the sky clearly.
- You should stand by him.

Prepositions are of five different kinds:

i. Simple Preposition such as in, at, by, of, for, on, over, under, up, to, from, out, about, under, with, etc.

- He goes to school.
- Maruf is about seven.
- These people are coming from abroad.

ii. Double Preposition such as into, onto, within, without, from, among, toward, behind, etc.

- He will be back within three days.
- We cannot do this job without you.
- She is different among the girls.

iii. Compound or Phrasal or Complex Prepositions are made of two or more words. Such as instead of, in front of, in between, out of, in behalf of, in place of, except for, throughout, underneath, on account of, according to, etc.

- Rahat is talking in behalf of his team.- Musfiq is playing in place of Rasel.
- They carried on rescue mission in spite of bad weather.
- Her GPA is 3.50 out of 4.00

iv. Participial Preposition.

Present or Past Participles can be used as Prepositions. Such as concerning, regarding, considering, pending, etc.

Example:- What does he know regarding this proposal?
- Considering the quality, the price is not high.

Following are the specific area to use prepositions.

i. Preposition of Place, Position and Direction (in, at, on, by, next, to, beside, )

In
At
On
By
Above
To
Towards
From
Into

In the room.
At the window. At the office.
On the table.
Sitting by the woman.
Above the sky.
Go to university.
Towards east.
Fled from home.
Jumped into the well.

ii. Preposition of time

At
After
Before
By
During
From
For
In
On
Since
Within
throughout

At 10 a.m., at dawn, at noon, at night, at an early age.
After 3 O’clock, after his arrival.
Before the 15th July.
By 4 p.m.
During five years. During the whole day/summer, during five years.
From 1st January.
For a week/month.
In June, in 2010, in the morning/evening/afternoon.
On Sunday.
Since he comes.
Within three days.
Throughout the year.

iii. Preposition of Reason or Purpose

For
Form
Of
Through
With

For the good of the people, died for the country.
Died from fatigue, suffering from fever/cold.
Died of cancer.
Lost his pen through negligence
Trembles with fear shivers with fever.

Prepositions

How can we use these little words correctly?

Prepositions are used in many different ways in English - perhaps that's why a lot of people have problems with them.

## First, they are used with time words:

on Monday
in the 20th century
at night

In, at, on and no preposition with time words:

Prepositions of time - here's a list of the time words that need 'on', 'in', 'at' and some that don't need any preposition. Be careful - many students of English use 'on' with months (it should be 'in'), or put a preposition before 'next' when we don't need one.

at	times: at 8pm, at midnight, at 6:30 holiday periods: at Christmas, at Easter at night at the weekend at lunchtime, at dinnertime, at breakfast time
on	days: on Monday, on my birthday, on Christmas Day days + morning / afternoon / evening / night: on Tuesday morning dates: on the 20th of June
in	years: in 1992, in 2006 months: in December, in June decades: in the sixties, in the 1790s centuries: in the 19th century seasons: in winter, in summer in the morning, in the afternoon, in the evening
no prep	next week, year, month etc last night, year etc this morning, month etc every day, night, years etc today, tomorrow, yesterday

## Second, they are used to show where something or someone is:

The plate is on the table.
Julie is in the garden.
The picture is on the wall.

Prepositions of place can be difficult - here's some help about using 'at', 'in' and 'on' when you're talking about where things are.

Basics:

If something is contained inside a box or a wide flat area, we use ‘in’:

in the newspaper	in a house
in a cup	in a drawer
in a bottle	in a bag
in bed	in a car
in London	in England
in a book	in a pub
in a field	in the sea
in my stomach	in a river

If something is on a line or a horizontal or vertical surface, we use ‘on’:

on the table	on the wall
on the floor	on the window
on my face	on a plate
on the page	on the sofa
on a chair	on a bag
on the river	on a t-shirt
on the ceiling	on a bottle
on a bike	on his foot

If something is at a point, (it could be a building) we use ‘at’:

at the airport	at the door
at the table	at the bus stop
at the cinema	at the top
at the bottom	at the pub
at the traffic lights	at the front
at the back	at school
at university	at the window
at the hospital	at the piano

Here are some more common ones that don't really fit:

on TV
on the bus
on a train
on a plane
on the radio
at home
at work

## Third, they are used after some adjectives:

She is good at tennis.
Scotland is famous for whisky
I'm worried about my new job.

Some adjectives need a preposition before their object. There doesn't seem to be a logical rule, I'm afraid! We just need to learn them.

Here are some of the most common ones:

famous for
France is famous for its food.
proud of
He is very proud of his new car.
interested in
Julie is very interested in sport.
pleased with
John is very pleased with his new suit.
bad at
They are very bad at maths.
good at
Einstein was very good at physics.
married to
My mother has been married to my father for 20 years.
excited about
I'm very excited about my holiday.
different from / to
Coffee is different from tea.
afraid of
I'm afraid of spiders.

## Fourth, they are used after some verbs:

I'm listening to music.
She is waiting for her friend.
He borrows money from his sister.

Some verbs need a preposition before an object or another verb. The preposition is only grammatical, so it doesn't change the meaning of the verb.

Here are some of the most common ones:

arrive at / in somewhere
We arrived at the airport.
We arrived in London.
belong to somebody
This book belongs to me.
borrow something from somebody
I borrowed a book from my classmate.
concentrate on something / doing something
I concentrated on studying at the weekend.
depend on something / somebody
It depends on the weather.
explain something to somebody
The teacher explained the exercise to the students.
listen to something / somebody
I listened to music.
pay somebody for something
I paid the waiter for the coffee.
wait for somebody / something
Wait for me!
worry about somebody / something
Don't worry about a thing!

## Fifth, they are used after some nouns:

She has trouble with remembering new vocabulary.

## Finally, they are used in certain phrases:

The bus arrived in the end.
She arrived just in time for the film.

Prepositions can be tricky. One problem is that there is often no logic at all! We use them in many phrases and expressions and unfortunately, we just need to learn these by heart. There aren't really any rules.

Prepositional Phrases

(I've called these 'preposition collocations' but sometimes people call them 'prepositional phrases' or 'preposition expressions'.)

1: At last = finally

After a long journey, at last we arrived at our hotel.
At last! I thought you'd never get here!

2: On foot = walking (NOT ~~by foot~~)

I usually go to work on foot.
Did you come by car or on foot?

3: By mistake = not meaning to

I dropped the glass by mistake. I'm really sorry.
She gave him the wrong book by mistake.

4: In advance = beforehand

We need to book the tickets for the cinema in advance, or we won't get a good seat.
She always buys her food for Christmas well in advance.

5: Out of reach = too high to touch (literally or metaphorically)

She tried to grab the kite as it flew away but it was already out of reach.
That job is out of reach. I don't have the right qualifications for it.

6: For instance = here is an example

John reads a lot. For instance, yesterday he read two books.
You should eat more vegetables. Why don't you have a salad at lunchtime, for instance?

7: In danger = in a dangerous situation

When the car started rolling we realised that we were in danger. Luckily we managed to stop.
The dog fell into the river and was in danger for several minutes.

8: Without fail = always / definitely

She visits her mother every week without fail.
I study for twenty minutes a day without fail.

9: By chance = without planning

I saw Julie at the station by chance.
She found the perfect book by chance in a second hand bookshop.

10: On purpose = intending to do something

She left without paying on purpose! It wasn't a mistake.
Did you take my bag on purpose? Why would you do that?

11: For a change = to do something different

Let's have Italian food for a change. We always eat British food.
I don't want to go to the cinema again. I want to go to the park for a change.

12: On time (for) = at the time that was arranged

She was on time for the meeting. It started at nine and she arrived at nine.
Why are you never on time? I'm so fed up with waiting for you.

13: To my surprise = I was surprised

I opened the door, and to my surprise, it was Lucy! I'd thought she was in Paris.
To his surprise, the baby stopped crying and smiled at him.

14: At once = immediately

You must do it at once! Don't wait even one minute.
She cleaned up at once when she realised that her mother was coming to visit.

15: In common (with) = something that's shared or the same

People from different countries have a lot in common. We all want to have good lives.
What does a cat have in common with a mouse? Well, they are both mammals.

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Parts of Speech: Preposition