grammatical categories

1.7. prepositions

1.6 Prepositions

A common preposition is a word that shows the relationship between a noun or a pronoun and another word in the sentence.

The man swam under the bridge. ( Under connects the idea of swam and bridge .)

She walked down the aisle. ( Down connects walked and aisle .)

Julie walked around the campus and toward town. ( Around connects walked and campus. Toward connects walked and town. )

Here are the most commonly used prepositions:

aboard about above across after against along among

around as at before behind below beneath beside

besides between beyond but by concerning despite down

during except for from in inside into like

near of off on onto opposite out outside

over past since through throughout till to toward

under underneath until up upon with within without

 

But is a preposition only when it can be replaced by the word except. So in the sentence, “All but Teddy went inside,” but is a preposition since it connects All and Teddy and can be replaced by the word except.

A way to get to know these fi fty-six prepositions is to remember this sentence: The plane, Prepi I, flew………… the clouds.

 

Any single word that can logically be placed into this space is a preposition, so the only words that you would still have to memorize are those that do not logically fit into this space. Compose the list of these words, memorize the Prepi I sentence, and you will know your prepositions!

 

 

Another type of preposition is the compound preposition. It does the same as a common preposition but is composed of two or more words. Here are the most common compound prepositions:

according to               ahead of                     apart from                   as of                aside from       because of      

by means of                in addition to              in back of                   in front of       in place of       in spite of

instead of                   in view of                   next to                                    on account of             out of prior to

 

Adverb or preposition? The difference between a preposition and an adverb is that an adverb answers the questions, Where? When? How? To what extent? by itself. Both common and compound prepositions need more than just themselves to answer the same questions:

 

He fell down . ( Down is an adverb because it takes only one word to tell where he fell.)

He fell down the stairs. ( Down is a preposition because it takes more than a single word to tell where he fell.)

Trey walked aboard . ( Aboard is an adverb because it takes only one word needed to tell where Trey walked.)

Trey walked aboard the ship. ( Aboard is a preposition because it takes more than one word to tell where Trey walked.)

 

WRITING TIP Know when a word is a preposition and when it is an adverb. In the sentence “The captain walked aboard,” aboard is an adverb because it does not start a prepositional phrase. In the sentence “The captain walked aboard the ship,” aboard is a preposition that begins the prepositional phrase, aboard the ship. Look for the prepositional phrase to check that the word is a preposition and not an adverb.

 

1.6A Finding the Four Words (Prepositions)

 

Underline the preposition in each of the following sentences. Then write the fi rst letter of the preposition on the line before the sentence. Transfer the fi fteen consecutive letters to the lines below the last numbered sentence to form four words.

1. The teammates walked beyond the bleachers.

2. The track team ran into the hills.

3. The temperature is several degrees below zero.

4. Call me around four o’clock.

5. It is a matter concerning bad behavior.

6. The parents joined in the conversation.

7. Ronnie fell asleep during the professor’s lecture.

8. We found the sleeping cat underneath the blanket.

9. The couple walked near the bridge.

10. The children slid down the slide yesterday.

11. We lost contact over time.

12. This letter is addressed to your sister.

13. The strong man swam across the wide lake.

14. This group is under great suspicion.

15. I pointed toward the tall building.

The four words are , , , and               .