Parts of Speech: Prepositions

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Writing: Grammar: Parts of Speech
Prepositions

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Prepositions

Prepositions

Prepositions are words that relate noun phrases, or pronouns, with another part of the sentence. They always have an object (a noun), but they do not always precede this object, although they often do. The prepositions in the table below are in bold. To find the object, ask "<preposition> whom or what?" For example, "Under what?" Simple prepositions are ones that consist of one word.

Simple Prepositions

Sentence	Comment
The book was under the chair.	Under what? The chair. The chair is the object of the preposition "under".
The cat jumped on the table.	On what? The table. .
We left before the end.	Before what? The end.
The bird flew over the house.	Over what? The house.
It is ten past five.	Past what? Five.
She dreamed of travelling beyond the stars.	Of what? Travelling. Beyond what? The stars.
The waste is produced during the process.	During what? The process.
He argued strongly against them.	Against what? Them.
They worked for the mayor.	For whom? The mayor.

The following words in bold are also prepositions:

Example	Comment
They visited circa 321 BC	circa what? 321 BC.
The diploma was awarded cum laud.	Cum what? Laud.
He comes everyday except Saturdays.	Except what? Saturdays.
10 minus 1 plus 2 is 11.	Minus what? 1. Plus what? 2.
He did it notwithstanding the risk.	Notwithstanding what? The risk.
She was paid per hour.	Per what? Hour.
We travelled via the underpass.	Via what? The underpass.
I was happy with this project vis a vis the other one.	Vis a vis what? The other one.

The phrase formed by a preposition is an adverbial phrase, or an adjectival phrase.

Complex Prepositions

Simple prepositions consist of one word only. The examples in the previous section are simple prepositions. Complex prepositions consist of more than one word. Some are wordy and in bad style.

Complex Preposition	Example
according to	Stranding prepositions is acceptable, according to Fowler.
ahead of	We are releasing the document ahead of time.
along with
as a consequence of	As a consequence of their discussion, plans were made for the new department.
as far as	The land is clear as far as the sea.
as for	As for Tom
as per	Please bring all the items as per our letter.
as to
as well as	You can do it as well as him.
aside from	Aside from the earlier matter, we can go ahead.
because of	Because of the storm, the roads were impassable.
by means of	We will get their by means of boat.
close to	Keep close to the shore.
due to	The absence was due to illness.
except for	Except for Jill, everyone is welcome.
far from	They were far from home.
for use in	This is for use in medical products only.
in accordance with	This is quite in accordance with the regulations.
in addition to	In addition to soap, bring a towel.
in association with	This page is produced in association with Brian.
in breach of	He was in breach of our sacred laws.
in case of
in charge of	He is in charge of the project.
in conjunction with	I shall investigate the matter in conjunction with my colleagues.
in contrast to	Her response was sharply in contrast to his.
in control of	She was in control of the machine.
in front of	The cat sat in front of the dairy.
in keeping with	This is in keeping with the prevailing paradigm.
in lieu of	You can stay here in lieu of payment.
in line with	The action taken was in line with our policy.
in order to	He measured the quantities in order to avoid error.
in place of	Use this in place of that.
in reference to	My work is in reference to previous research.
in respect of	There was disagreement in respect of the new plan.
in response to	I am writing in response to your letter.
in spite of	In spite of the war, he continued his work.
instead of	I'd like the ice cream instead of the cake.
on behalf of	I would like to thank everyone on behalf of the government.
on top of	On top of the building was a strange, metallic thing.
on top of	The fairy is on top of the Christmas tree.
owing to	Owing to the quarrel, we have not spoken for days.
prior to	They were always together, prior to their quarrel.
regardless of	All are welcome, regardless of race, creed or religion.
subsequent to	Subsequent to our discussion, I would like to add some more points.

Prepositional Verbs

Prepositional verbs are formed by adding a preposition to a verb.
The following are examples of prepositional verbs:

I switched the radio off, because there was nothing worth listening to.
This belongs to me.
You cannot live on bread alone.
This is more than I can put up with.
Your cat keeps looking at me.
As she has everything, there is nothing else to wish for.

Unlike phrasal verbs, prepositional verbs:

Form a single idea.
The object of the verb cannot follow the verb: This belongs me to.
The prepositional form does not change the verb's meaning.

The prepositional part of a prepositional verb may come at the end of a clause. See the next section.

Comparison of Phrasal Verbs and Prepositional Verbs

	Phrasal Verb	Prepositional Verb
Stress	In speech you often stress the particle, and your intonation rises.	In speech, you do not stress the preposition and your intonation drops.
Meaning	The meaning of the verb changes from its basic meaning.	The verb and the preposition form a single idea. The basic meaning of the verb isn't changed.
Noun Phrase	If you write the verb's object as a Noun Phrase, you can write it before or after the particle.	If you write the verb's object as a Noun Phrase, you must place it after the preposition.
Pronoun	If you write the verb's object as a Pronoun, you must write the particle after it.	If you write the verb's object as a Pronoun, you must write the preposition before it.
Adverb	You cannot place an adverb between the verb and its particle.	You can place an adverb between the verb and its preposition.
Pied Pipering	The phrasal verb cannot be pied pipered.	The prepositional verb can be pied pipered.

	Phrasal Verb	Prepositional Verb
Stress	She wrote the project up.	He wrote to his friend.
Meaning	write up=compose a report, etc, from notes.	write to= compose and send a letter, etc, to
Noun Phrase	She wrote the project up. She wrote up the project.	He wrote his friend to. He wrote to his friend.
Pronoun	She wrote it up. She wrote up it.	He wrote him to. He wrote to him.
Adverb	She wrote the project willingly up. She wrote the project up willingly.	He wrote willingly to his friend.
Pied Pipering	The project up which she wrote.	The friend to whom he wrote.

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