B. S.

Nursing (Generic) Year II Semester IV

English IV

Unit III – Grammar and Structures

Complex Prepositions

A complex preposition is a word group (such as "along with" or "on account of") that functions
like an ordinary one-word preposition.

Complex prepositions can be divided into two groups:

 two-word prepositions (a word + a simple preposition), such as apart from. These are also
known as compound prepositions.
 three-word prepositions (a simple preposition + a noun + a simple preposition), such as by
means of . These are also known as phrasal prepositions.
 four-word prepositions

List of some two-word complex prepositions

1 according to 22 instead of
2 adjacent to 23 irrespective of
3 ahead of 24 next to
4 along with 25 opposite to
5 apart from 26 out of
6 as for 27 outside of
7 as of 28 owing to
8 as per 29 pertaining to
9 as regards 30 prior to
1 as to 31 regardless of
0
1 aside from 32 subsequent to
1
1 away from 33 thanks to
2
1 because of 34 together with
3
1 but for 35 up against
4
1 close to
5
1 contrary to
6
 1 due to
7
1 except for
8
1 far from
9
2 in between
0
2 inside of
1

List of some three-word and four-word prepositions

1 As a result of 25 In the process of

2 At the expense of 26 In reference to
3 By means of 27 In regard to
4 By virtue of 28 In relation to
5 By way of 29 In respect to
6 For the sake of 30 In return for
7 In accordance with 31 In search of
8 In addition to 32 In spite of
9 In back of 33 In terms of
1 In case of 34 In view of
0
1 In charge of 35 On account of
1
1 In comparison with / to 36 On behalf of
2
1 In common with 37 On the matter of
3
1 In connection with/to 38 On top of
4
1 In contact with 39 To the left of
5
1 In contrast with/to 40 To the right of
6
1 In exchange for 41 To the side of
7
1 In favour of 42 With reference to
8
1 In front of 43 With regard to
9
2 In lieu of 44 With respect to
0
2 In light of 45 With the exception of
1
2 In line with
2
2 In need of
3
2 In place of
4