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Preposition

A preposition is a word which expresses relationship of a noun or a pronoun to other words of the sentence.

A preposition is used before a noun or pronoun to show the relationship of the same noun or pronoun to other words of the sentence.

e.g. ‘in, of, to, at, by, for, with, under, above, into, onto, upon, about, behind, beside, before, after, towards, inside, outside, below, around’ are commonly used examples of prepositions.

Examples:

Words of the sentence (i.e. subject, verb)	Preposition	Noun or Pronoun
He was sitting	on	a table.
She is going	to	college.
There is a cat	under	the bed.
They are dancing	in	the room.
He was drawing a picture	on	a wall.
His family lives	in	America.
She was knocking	at	the door.
She is throwing stones	into	a river.
The students were discussing	about	the exam.
The meeting was held	on	25th December.
They will come here	in	July.
The party will start	at	8 P.M
He goes to factory	by	bus.
The lock cannot be opened	with	the key.
This book has been written	by	John Keats.
The guests were invited	by	her.

In the above examples, all the prepositions express relationship of a noun or a pronoun ot the other words of the sentence.

Different preposition are used for time, place, direction, agent, device and so on. Some of the examples are follows:

• Preposition for time e.g. in, on, at, etc.
• Preposition for place e.g. in, on, at, etc
• Preposition for direction e.g. to, towards, into, through etc.
• Preposition for agent e.g. by
• Preposition for device, instrument or machines. e.g. on, by, with, etc.

   What is a Prepositional Phrase?

A preposition phrase, in a sentence, is a group of words consisting of a preposition and a noun.

It is a group of a preposition, a noun and other linked word within a sentence. The noun in a prepositional phrase is called object of the preposition.

e.g. on a table, on a paper, in a room, at the door, into a river.

In the following examples, the underlined words are prepositional phrases.

He was sitting on a table.
She is writing on a paper.
Kids were dancing in a room.
He is throwing ball into the river.
Someone is knocking at the door.

   What is Dependent Preposition?

Some prepositions are always used after a specific verb in a sentence to complement the sense of the verb. Such a preposition is called a dependent preposition.

Example: She was waiting for her mother.

The preposition ‘for’ is a dependent preposition for the verb ‘wait’.

Read the following examples to understand.

She is suffering from high fever.
The patient died of cancer.
He provided me with some information about the topic.
I agree with you.
I agree to your proposal.
He had to prepare for the exam.

Note. The group of verb and preposition, within a sentence, is called prepositional verb. e.g. suffering from, provide with, agree with.

Types of Preposition

A preposition is a word which expresses relationship of a noun or a pronoun to other words of the sentence.
e.g. ‘in, of, to, at, by, for, with, under, above, into, onto, upon, about, behind, beside, before, after, towards, inside, outside, below, around’ are commonly used examples of prepositions.

There are six types of prepositions:

1. Prepositions for Time
2. Prepositions for Place
3. Prepositions for Direction
4. Prepositions for Agent
5. Prepositions for Instruments
6. Prepositional Phrases

   Preposition for Time (e.g. at, on, in)

These prepositions are used to refer to time in various aspects. e.g. at, on, in.

Prepositions	Time Nature
In	1. Months or Years  e.g. in March, in 2005 2. Particular time of a day or a month or an year e.g. in evening, in morning, in the 3rd week of April, in winter, in summer 3. A century or a specific time in past or future etc e.g. in the 20th century, in early days, in the stone age, in future, in past,
On	1. A Day  e.g. on Sunday 2. Dates e.g. on 7th of February, on February 7 3. Particular days e.g. on my birthday, on Independence Day
At	1. Time of a clock e.g. at 3 O’clock, at 4:20 PM 2. Short & precise times  e.g. at night, at sunset, at noon, at lunch time, at the moment, at bed time,

Examples:
She was born in 1986.
His father died in 2005 in a car accident.
I was very happy on the first day of my job.
We went to see glaciers in the summer.
The party will start at 8 PM.
They will come here on 15th February.
Everyone takes breakfast in the morning.

   Prepositions for Place (e.g. on, at, in)

These prepositions are used for several of types of places. e.g. on, at, in.

• “In” is mostly used for a place having some sort of (physical or virtual) boundary.
• “On” is usually used for a surface
• “At” is usually used for a specific place.

Prepositions	Nature of the Places
In	Place having some (physical or virtual) boundary Examples:. In a hall In a school In the building In the box In the car In a library In a garden In England In a room In a cupboard
On	Surfaces of things.  Examples: On the table On the blackboard  On the page On a wall On a roof On the map
At	Specific Places: Examples: At bus stop At the entrance At front of the chair At the bottom of glass At the edge of roof

Examples:

They live in England.
They placed their books on a table.
I met him at the bus stop.
She waited for her kids at the gate of her home.
There is a cat under the table.
They were running on the road.

   Prepositions for Direction (e.g. into, to, through, towards)

These prepositions express the direction of something. e.g. into, to, through, towards

Examples:

They are going to classroom.
The snake was coming toward her.
He threw a ball into a river.

   Prepositions for Agent (e.g. by, with)

These prepositions are used to express a causal relationship between the noun (doer) and an action. e.g. by, with etc

Examples:

A nice book was written by John Keats.
A lot of noise was made by the kids.
The task was finished by him.
Some schools have been made by Government.

   Prepositions for Instrument, Devices, or Machines

Such prepositions are used for joining nouns (instruments, devices, machines etc) to other words in the sentence. e.g. on, by, with the help of, etc.

Examples:

He went to home by a car.
This lock cannot be opened with the key.
She watered the plants with the help of a water-pipe.
He broke the wall with a hammer.

Prepositional Verb

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A preposition verb is a combination of a verb and a preposition. It is simply a verb followed by a preposition.

Some verbs require specific prepositions to be used after them in a sentence. The combination of such a verb and its required preposition is called a prepositional verb.

Prepositional Verb = Verb + Preposition

Examples:

She is waiting for him.
He is knocking at the door.
She is listening to music.
The kids are laughing at a joker.
We believe in God.
She is suffering from fever.
I agree with you.
I agree to your proposal.

Some commonly used prepositional verbs are as follows:

e.g. Laugh at, knock at, listen to, consist of, beg for, look at, wait for, agree with, agree too, believe in, suffers from, remind of, worry about, approve of, charge with,

Using correct preposition in a prepositional-verb is very important. A sentence, having a wrong preposition, is grammatically not correct.

Example:

He is knocking on the door. (WRONG)
He is knocking at the door. (CORRECT)

Note. Prepositional verbs must have an object in the sentence. The object comes directly after the preposition of the prepositional-verb.

Examples:

She is suffering from fever.
Don’t laugh at poor.
She is looking at the black-board.
The dog is barking at a stranger.

Phrasal Verb

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A phrasal verb is a combination of a verb and one or two particles. The particles can be either prepositions or adverbs or both. A phrasal verb has a meaning which is different from the meaning of its original verb.

A phrasal verb consists of a verb and words such as ‘up, on, in, over, out, with, off, down, about, away, after’. A Phrasal verb consists of either two words or three words.

e.g. bring up, give up, look after, put off, turn down, pass away, set off, call off, break into, get up, deal in, step down, sort out, hold on, bring about, looking forward to, look down upon, put up with.

Examples:

Phrasal verb has a meaning that is different to its original verb. Meaning of each phrasal verb is given in front of each sentence.

She was brought up by her aunt.   (bring up: to raise a child)
The patient passed away.    (pass away: to die)
He is trying to give up smoking.   (give up: to quit)
They discussed to sort out the problem.   (sort out: to resolve)
She looks after her child.   (look after: to take care)
She turned down his proposal.   (turn down: to reject)
They sat off for Paris.   (set off: to start journey)
The game was called off due to bad weather.   (call off: to cancel)
He gets up early in the morning.   (get up: to rise from bed)
What brought about change in your attitude?   (bring about: to cause)
Never look down upon poor people. (look down upon: to consider inferior)
We will not put up with his annoying behavior.   (put up with: to accept unpleasant things)
I am looking forward to the weekend.   (look forward to: to wait with pleasure)
The servant carried out the orders of his owner.   (carry out: to accept to fulfill)

There are also some phrasal verbs whose meanings may be closer to the literal meaning of its individual words. e.g. switch on, care for, call back, stay away, pick up, clean up, sit down, throw away.

Phrasal Verbs have following types:

1. Transitive and Intransitive phrasal verb
2. Separable and non-separable phrasal verb

A transitive phrasal verb requires an object in the sentence. Without an abject, a sentence having phrasal verb cannot make a complete sense.

Examples:

She looks after the child.
Please switch on the light.
They will sort out the problem.
He threw away the ball.

An intransitive phrasal verb does not require an object in the sentence. It can make a complete sense without having an object for it in the sentence.

Examples:

The patient passed away.
When do you get up?
The children are growing up.
The thief ran away.

A separable phrasal verb is phrasal verb whose words (verbs and preposition) can be separated to be used in different places in sentence. They can be used as a joined-phrase as well as in separated form.

Examples:

Turn on the light.
Turn the light on.
I will pick up you from the bus-stop.
I will pick you up from the bus-stop.
You should write down the number on the paper.
You should write the number down on the paper.

A non-separable phrasal verb is phrasal verb whose words (verbs and preposition) cannot be separated to be used in different places in sentence. They always remain together.

Examples:

She looks after her children.
The patient passed away.
The thief ran away.
He is trying to give up smoking.

Note. All intransitive phrasal phrases are inseparable. But some transitive phrasal phrases are separable and some of them are inseparable.

Types of Phrasal Verb

Phrasal verb is combination of a verb and one or two particles. These particles are either prepositions or adverbs or both. A phrasal verb has a meaning that is different from the meaning of its original verb.

A phrasal verb has a verb and words such as ‘on, up, in, out, over, off, with, down, away, about, after’. A Phrasal verb may consist of two words or three words.

e.g. give up, bring up, look after, turn down, pass away, call off, set off, break into, get up, sort out, looking forward to, put up with, look down upon.

Read the following example with meaning for each phrasal verb:

He was brought up by his aunt. (bring up: to raise a child)
The old man passed away. (pass away: to die)
We sat off for London. (set off: to start journey)
She is trying to give up smoking. (give up: to quit)
Never look down upon poor people. (look down upon: to consider inferior)

There are four types of phrasal verbs:

1. Transitive Phrasal Verb
2. Intransitive Phrasal Verb
3. Separable Phrasal Verb
4. Inseparable Phrasal Verb

   Transitive Phrasal Verbs

Phrasal verbs which require an object in sentence, are called transitive phrasal verbs. Without an object, a sentence having a phrasal verb cannot make a complete sense.

The following sentences having the object (as underlined) express a complete meaning. Without these objects, the sentences cannot express a complete meaning or sense.

Examples:

She looks after the child.
They carried on their work
The flood brought about a huge disaster.
They have called off the meeting.
Please switch on the light.
He is trying to give up smoking.
She turned down his proposal.

   Intransitive Phrasal Verbs

Phrasal verbs which do not require an object in the sentence, are called intransitive phrasal verbs. Without an object, a sentence having a phrasal verb can make a complete sense.

The following sentences do not have an object in them, but still the sentences expresses complete meaning.

Examples:

The patient passed away.
When do you get up?
The thief ran away.
The kid is growing up.
The car broke down.

   Separable Phrasal Verbs

These are the phrasal verbs whose words can be separated for using in different places in a sentence. Its verb and preposition can be separated. Such phrasal verbs can be used as in joined-form as well as in separated-form.

Example:

Please turn on the light.
Please turn the light on.
I will pick up you from the bus-stop.
I will pick you up from the bus-stop.
The people requested to cut down the prices.
The people requested to cut the prices down.

Note. Some of the transitive verbs are separable and some of them are inseparable.

   Non-separable Phrasal Verbs

These are the phrasal verbs whose words cannot be separated for using it in different places in a sentence. Its verb and preposition cannot be separated. They remain together.

She looks after her children.
The patient passed away.
The flood brought about a huge disaster.
You should stay away from bad friends.
The thief ran away.
He is trying to give up smoking.
They carried on their work.

Note. All the intransitive verbs are inseparable.

Prepositional Verb and Phrasal Verb – Difference

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A prepositional verb is a combination of a verb and a preposition. e.g. laugh at, look at, listen to, knock at, agree to, agree with.

A phrasal verb is a combination of a verb and a preposition or an adverb or both. e.g. bring up, give up, pass away, look after, look down upon, looking forward to

   Difference 1. Meaning of the original verb

A phrasal verb has a meaning that is different from the meaning of its original verb.

Read the following examples with meaning for each phrasal verb.

The patient passed away. (pass away: to die)
He was brought up by his aunt. (bring up: to raise a child)
He is trying to give up smoking. (give up: to quit)
She turned down his proposal. (turn down: to reject)

On the other hand, a prepositional verb has a meaning which similar to the meaning of its original verb.

They are laughing at the joker.
She is listening to music.
They are looking at the stranger.

   Difference 2. Separable and Non-separable Nature

Most of phrasal verbs are separable. Its verb and preposition can be separated to be used in different places in a sentence. They can be used as in joined-form as well as in separated-form.

The people requested to cut down the prices.
The people requested to cut the prices down.
She turned down his request.
She turned his request down.

On the other hand, all the prepositional verbs are non-separable. Its verb and preposition cannot be separated.

The kids are laughing at joker.
Someone is knocking at the door.
The dog is barking at a stranger.

   Difference 3. Place and Requirement of an object for the verb

All the prepositional verbs require an object in the sentence. Without an object, the sentence having a prepositional phrase cannot express complete meaning. The object comes right after the preposition of prepositional phrase in sentence. The place of object cannot be changed in sentence.

They are laughing at joker.
She is listening to music.
Someone is knocking at the door.
The dog is barking at a stranger.

On the other hand, some of the phrasal verbs do not require an object, and some of them require an object to express complete meaning.

The patient passed away. (no object)
When do you get up? (no object)
The thief ran away. (no object)
The kid is growing up. (no object)

Some of the phrasal verbs require object in sentence. The place of object can be changed in sentences.

The people requested to cut down the prices.
The people requested to cut the prices down.
She turned down his request.
She turned his request down.

Note. Phrasal verbs requiring an object in sentence, are called transitive phrasal verb. Phrasal verbs which do not require object in sentence, are called intransitive phrasal verb.

As all the prepositional phrases require object, hence all prepositional phrases are transitive.

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