Prepositions in English Grammar

Prepositions are short words, which are used to link noun, pronouns and phrases to other words in a sentence. The word or phrase that is introduced by a preposition is recognized as the object of the preposition. In other words, prepositions are the words that show relationships between other words in the sentence. A relationship can be a place, time, direction, amount or manner. For instance, John will be here at 6 o’clock. (Here, ‘at’ is a preposition that indicates the time.)

A preposition generally comes before the noun or pronoun. The preposition and the object of the preposition collectively called as a prepositional phrase. In English grammar, prepositions are used in different ways, which is discussed below:

1.    Prepositions are used with time words.

For example:

•    On Wednesday

•    At 9 o clock

2.    Preposition words are used to indicate where something or someone is.

For example:

•    The painting is hanging on the wall.

•    Sara is in the library.

3.    These words are used after many adjectives.

For example:

•    I am worried about my career.

•    She is good at cooking.

4.    Prepositions are also used after some verbs.

For example:

•    She borrows a pen from her friend.

•    He walked into the room.

5.    These are words are used after some nouns.

For example:

•    He has a good relationship with his brother.

•    She has difficulty with understanding math subject.

6.    Prepositions are also used in certain phrases.

For example:

•    Like a beautiful swan.

•    Near the ocean.

List of preposition words

•    Above

•    Around

•    Across

•    After

•    Behind

•    Below

•    But

•    Closed to

•    Concerning

•    Between

•    During

•    Except

•    Inside

•    In spite of

•    Including

•    Through

•    Like

•    Next

•    Onto

•    Outside

•    Over

•    Past

•    Under

•    Unlike

•    Up

•    Upon

•    With

•    While