Grammar Exercise 4

Prepositions
Prepositions
The technical definition of a preposition is “a word or group of words that is used with a noun,
pronoun, or noun phrase to show direction, location, or time, or to introduce an object.” Simply
put, prepositions are connector words. These connectors customarily tie a noun to an idea. An
example of this is in the sentence, “I went to the store.” “To” connects the location of “store” to
where the person went.

Often a preposition is a short word such as on, in, or to. This standard is not the only option; it can
also be a longer word, multiple words, or a short phrase. “In front of” is an example of a short
phrase. She parked her bike in front of the school.

Prepositions are common in the English language. There are about 150 used with the most
common being: above, across, against, along, among, around, at, before, behind, below, beneath,
beside, between, by, down, from, in, into, near, of, off, on, to, toward, under, upon, with and
within.

Types of Prepositions

Because there are so many prepositions, differentiating them helps to understand when and
how to use them properly. The word directly following a preposition is called its complement,
and how it relates to the preposition determines what type of preposition you are using.
Transitive Prepositions
A transitive preposition always uses a complement with a preposition. For example, the word
“amongst” is a transitive preposition. You cannot write “she lived amongst the wildflowers”
without the complement “the wildflowers.” Some traditional grammars believe transitive
prepositions are the only true prepositions.
Intransitive Prepositions
Intransitive prepositions do not need to use the complement to complete the thought. For
example, “outside” can be used in the following sentence without a complement, “she lived
outside.” You could add a complement to this, “She lived outside the city limits,” but it is
unnecessary when using it. Traditional grammars believe intransitive prepositions are actually
adverbs. The argument for intransitive prepositions parallels the use of transitive or intransitive
verbs. “He runs” versus “he runs a marathon.”
Conjunctive Preposition

1
This type of preposition uses a clause as the complement. Traditional grammar may categorize
these as subordinating conjunctions instead of conjunctive prepositions. One common example
of a conjunctive proposition is the word “because.”
Complex Preposition
When two or more words form a preposition, they are complex prepositions. This type of
preposition is also referred to as a compound preposition. Aside from being more than one word,
it functions essentially the same as any other preposition. “In light of” is an example of a complex
proposition. “In light of the recent traffic reports, the man drove a different way to work.” Other
examples are in addition to, on behalf of, in the middle of, or across from.
Complex prepositions are mostly found at the beginning and the middle of a sentence, but rarely
at the end. To find the correct complex preposition to use, focus on the relationship between the
beginning and the end of the sentence. When you have determined this relationship, you can
identify the proper complex preposition much easier.
Phrase propositions
Sometimes called prepositional phrases, phrase prepositions contain the preposition, the object,
and the optional object’s modifier (extra details about the object such as “smooth” to describe a
table). Some examples of these are “at home, with a little help, according to their wishes.”

A Few Rules
Prepositions of Direction
To refer to a direction, use the prepositions "to," "in," "into," "on," and "onto ."

● She drove to the store.

● Don’t ring the doorbell. Come right in(to) the house.
● Drive on(to) the grass and park the car there.

Exercise:

Supply the correct preposition of direction.

1. I walked onto the barangay hall to get vaccinated.

2. My mother tiptoed into the room where I was having my online class.
3. Before it got dark, we headed back to the city in my friend’s van.
4. Should I let your visitors in our house during this time?
5. The baby’s on fours onto the floor.

Prepositions of Time
To refer to one point in time, use the prepositions "in," "at," and "on."

Use "in" with parts of the day (not specific times), months, years, and seasons.

● He reads in the evening.

2
 ● The weather is cold in December.
● She was born in 1996.
● We rake leaves in the fall.

Use "at" with the time of day. Also use "at" with noon, night, and midnight.

● I go to work at 8:00.
● He eats lunch at noon.
● She often goes for a walk at night.
● They go to bed at midnight.

Use "on" with days.

● I work on Saturdays.
● He does laundry on Wednesdays.

To refer to extended time, use the prepositions "since," "for," "by," "during," "from…to," "from…
until," "with," and "within."

● I have lived in Minneapolis since 2005. (I moved there in 2005 and still live there.)
● He will be in Toronto for 3 weeks. (He will spend 3 weeks in Toronto.)
● She will finish her homework by 6:00. (She will finish her homework sometime between
now and 6:00.)
● He works part time during the summer. (For the period of time throughout the summer.)
● I will collect data from January to June. (Starting in January and ending in June.)
● They are in school from August until May. (Starting in August and ending in May.)
● She will graduate within 2 years. (Not longer than 2 years.)

Exercise:

Supply the correct preposition of time.

1. These days, it always rains at the afternoon.

2. I will have to turn in all my assignments on Wednesday at 5:00 o’clock in the afternoon.
3. To help me manage my school work, my parents have limited my internet and gadget use
until my summer classes are over.
4. During ECQ, what can you do?
5. Successful people are said to wake up at exactly the same time every morning.

3
Prepositions of Place
To refer to a place, use the prepositions "in" (the point itself), "at" (the general vicinity), "on" (the
surface), and "inside" (something contained).

● They will meet in the lunchroom.

● She was waiting at the corner.
● He left his phone on the bed.
● Place the pen inside the drawer.

To refer to an object higher than a point, use the prepositions "over" and "above." To refer to an
object lower than a point, use the prepositions "below," "beneath," "under," and "underneath."

● The bird flew over the house.

● The plates were on the shelf above the cups.
● Basements are dug below ground.
● There is hard wood beneath the carpet.
● The squirrel hid the nuts under a pile of leaves.
● The cat is hiding underneath the box.

To refer to an object close to a point, use the prepositions "by," "near," "next to," "between,"
"among," and "opposite."

● The gas station is by the grocery store.

● The park is near her house.
● Park your bike next to the garage.
● There is a deer between the two trees.
● There is a purple flower among the weeds.
● The garage is opposite the house.

Exercise:

Supply the correct preposition of place.

1. My school is near a coffee shop.

2. The protest against another lockdown is happening at the provincial capitol.
3. I was at the hospital when you called.
4. He got held up at the airport because beneath his clothes are taped boxes of drugs.
5. I get paranoid when standing next to a person who suddenly coughs.

4
Prepositions of Location
To refer to a location, use the prepositions "in" (an area or volume), "at" (a point), and "on" (a
surface).

● They live in the country. (an area)

● She will find him at the library. (a point)
● There is a lot of dirt on the window. (a surface)

Exercise:

Supply the correct preposition of location.

1. I wish to be in a city with an efficient local government.

2. In the last 5 years the number of people exercising at the park has steadily increased.
3. It was not my dog in the kennel last night.
4. We walked on the walls of Intramuros so many times.
5. Where is the party at?

Prepositions of Spatial Relationships

To refer to a spatial relationship, use the prepositions "above," "across," "against," "ahead of,"
"along," "among," "around," "behind," "below," "beneath," "beside," "between," "from," "in front of,"
"inside," "near," "off," "out of," "through," "toward," "under," and "within."

● The post office is across the street from the grocery store.
● We will stop at many attractions along the way.
● The kids are hiding behind the tree.
● His shirt is off.
● Walk toward the garage and then turn left.
● Place a check mark within the box.

Exercise:

Supply the correct preposition of spatial relationships.

1. I could not recognize the person waving across me.

2. The best place to watch the pyrolympics is near the coast and on a boat.
3. The extraction team barely made it against danger.
4. The advance party is just an hour ahead of me.
5. Trolls are behind a lot of political sabotages.

5
Prepositions Following Verbs and Adjectives
Some verbs and adjectives are followed by a certain preposition. Sometimes verbs and
adjectives can be followed by different prepositions, giving the phrase different meanings.

About: worry, complain, read

● He worries about the future.

● She complained about the homework.
● I read about the flooding in the city.

At: arrive (a building or event), smile, look

● He arrived at the airport 2 hours early.

● The children smiled at her.
● She looked at him.

From: differ, suffer

● The results differ from my original idea.

● She suffers from dementia.

For: account, allow, search

● Be sure to account for any discrepancies.

● I returned the transcripts to the interviewees to allow for revisions to be made.
● They are searching for the missing dog.

In: occur, result, succeed

● The same problem occurred in three out of four cases.

● My recruitment strategies resulted in finding 10 participants.
● She will succeed in completing her degree.

Of: approve, consist, smell

6
 ● I approve of the idea.
● The recipe consists of three basic ingredients.
● The basement smells of mildew.

On: concentrate, depend, insist

● He is concentrating on his work.

● They depend on each other.
● I must insist on following this rule.

To: belong, contribute, lead, refer

● Bears belong to the family of mammals.

● I hope to contribute to the previous research.
● My results will lead to future research on the topic.
● Please refer to my previous explanation.

With: (dis)agree, argue, deal

● I (dis)agree with you.

● She argued with him.
● They will deal with the situation.

Exercise:

Supply the correct preposition and verbs or adjectives.

Example: Let us learn to deal with a difficult situation.

1. Encircle the item that does not belong to the category.

2. To disagree with you doesn’t necessarily mean I do not like you. We just have different
opinions.
3. She succeeded in the topic in great length.
4. Unexpressed discontents can lead to bottled up emotions.
5. Overexposure to fashion influencers can result in unhealthy self-concept.

Although verb + preposition combinations appear similar to phrasal verbs, the verb and the
particle (in this case, the preposition) in these combinations cannot be separated like phrasal
verbs.

7
Ending a Sentence with a Preposition
At one time, schools taught students that a sentence should never end with a preposition.
This rule is associated with Latin grammar, and while many aspects of Latin have made their
way into English, there are times when following this particular grammar rule creates unclear
or awkward sentence structures. Since the purpose of writing is to clearly communicate your
ideas, it is acceptable to end a sentence with a preposition if the alternative would create
confusion or is too overly formal.

Example: The car had not been paid for. (Ends with a preposition but is acceptable)

Unclear Revision: Paid for the car had not been. (Unclear sentence.)

Example: I would like to know where she comes from. (Ends with a preposition but is
acceptable)

Overly Grammatical Revision: I would like to know where she comes from. (Grammatical
but overly formal. Nobody actually speaks like this.)

However, in academic writing, you may decide that it is worth revising your sentences to
avoid ending with a preposition in order to maintain a more formal scholarly voice.

Example: My research will focus on the community the students lived in.

Revision: My research will focus on the community in which the students lived.

Example: I like the people I am working with.

Revision: I like the people with whom I am working.

Exercise:

Supply the correct preposition at the end of the sentence/question.

1. A nagging friend is someone I can live with.

2. Every centavo has been accounted for.
3. “Living within my means” is a principle I live by.
4. You do not have to live my life to understand where I am coming from.
5. Challenges in life are what I am made of.

8
Extended Exercise

Instructions:

Underline the correct preposition.

1. We may play football. It depends (on/of/from) the weather.

2. We want to see a big increase (of/in/with) productivity.
3. His wife is suffering (of/with/from) hepatitis.
4. I hate the thought (to/of/with) going back to work.
5. Who is responsible (of/for/with) shopping this week?
6. You remind me (of/off/with) a boy I was at school with.
7. The noise prevented me (to sleep/from sleep/from sleeping).
8. She insisted (to/on/for) paying for the drinks.
9. I am having difficulty (in/with/of) my visa processing.
10. He tried to open the tin (with/by/of) a knife.

References:

Everything You Need To Know About Prepositions. (2020, August 15). ITEP.
https://www.itepexam.com/everything-you-need-to-know-about-prepositions/

Lai, P. (n.d.). Grammar: Prepositions. Academic Guides - Walden University. Retrieved July 24,
2021, from https://academicguides.waldenu.edu/writingcenter/grammar/prepositions

Prepositions Quiz. (2017, April 25). English Grammar.

https://www.englishgrammar.org/prepositions-quiz-4/