prepositions

Prepositions

              A preposition is a word which shows relationships among other words in the sentence.  The relationships include direction, place, time, cause, manner and amount. 

 #  She went to the store.
      to is a preposition which shows direction.  

 #   He came by bus
      by is a  preposition which shows manner

 #  They will be here at three o'clock
      at is a preposition which shows time 

  #  It is under the table
      under is a preposition which shows place.

              A preposition always goes with a noun or pronoun which is called the object of the preposition.  The preposition is almost always before the noun or pronoun and that is why it is called a preposition.  

              The preposition and the object of the preposition together are called a prepositional phrase.  The following chart shows the prepositions, objects of the preposition, and prepositional phrases of the sentences above.

Preposition	Object of the Preposition	Prepositional Phrase
to	the store	to the store
by	bus	by bus
at	three o'clock	at three o'clock
under	the table	under the table

                Prepositional phrases are like idioms and are best learned through listening to and reading as much as possible.  

                Below are some common prepositions of time and place and examples of their use.

Prepositions of time: 

-at two o'clock 

-on Wednesday 

-in an hour, in January; in 1992 

-for a day

Prepositions of place: 

-at my house 

-in New York, in my hand 

-on the table 

-near the library 

-across the street 

-under the bed 

-between the books