DEFINITIN: Preposition is a word that is used to place before noun or pronoun to show the relationship between them.
There are many prepositions in English. They are:
| In, Into, Out of, On, Onto, Onto of, At, Off, Inside, Outside, Above, Below, Over, Under, Underneath, In front of, Behind, Opposite, Between, Near, Next to, Beside, By, Along, Across, Through, Up, Down, Past, Around... |
We divide prepositions into three important kinds.
1) Preposition of Place
2) Preposition of Movement
3) Preposition of Time
1) Preposition of Place
There are many kinds of preposition of place like In, At and On...
Example
- I like swimming in the sea.
- She meets me at the station.
- He puts the picture on the wall.
2) Preposition of Movement
There are many kinds of preposition of movement like Into, Out of, Onto, Off...
Example
- I fall into the river.
- He comes out of the room.
- A cat jumps onto the table.
- A woman jumps off the bridge.
3) Preposition of Time
There are three kinds of preposition of time. They are At, In and On.
Ø We use At with (Clock, Meal, Religious, Festival...)
Example
- We have breakfast at 6 o’clock.
- At breakfast they talk a lot.
- All my friends come to meet each other at my birthday.
Ø We use In with (Season, Month, Year, Century, Part of the day...)
Example
- It rains a lot in rainy season.
- They will come back in June.
- Bopha gets married in 2007.
Ø We use On with (Day, Date...)
Example
- I fly to the
- She makes an appointment with me on the 2nd of May.
NOTE: We do not use In, On and At before these words (Next, Last, Every, Today, Tomorrow, Still, Each, Some, Any and One).
There are some prepositions that are the same meaning but the usage is different.
Ä Those prepositions are Above, Below, Over, Under, On time, In time, At the end, In the end...
Ø We use “Over and Under” for thing that is higher or lower than another thing and it is direct vertical.
Example:
- The mirror is over the sink.
- The sink is under the mirror.
Ø We use “Above and Below” for thing that is higher or lower than another thing but it is not direct vertical relationship.
Example:
- The mirror is above the toilet.
- The toilet is below the mirror.
Ø We use “On time” to mean ‘at exactly the right time’.
Example: The bus leaves at 6:00 every day, so the bus leaves on time.
Ø We use “In time” to mean ‘early enough’.
Example: I study English at 7:00 and everyday arrive at school at 6:40, so I come to study in time.
Ø We use “At the end” mean ‘at the point where something stops’.
Example: At the end of the film I felt very happy.
Ø We use “In the end” to mean ‘finally or after some time’.
Example: I don’t know where to go today, but in the end I decided to stay at home.
