English grammar Prepositions

Really useful words which give important information.

PREPOSITIONS

WHAT IS A PREPOSITION?

• A preposition is a word which shows the relationship between one thing and another.
• It links nouns, pronouns and phrases to other words in the sentence.
• The word or phrase that the preposition introduces is called the object of the sentence.

WHAT CAN PREPOSITIONS TELL YOU?

• It may tell you where a thing is in relation to something else.
• The juicy, red apple was on the book.

• It may tell you when something is in relation to another event.
• She refused to leave the house until the postman had been.

WHAT ELSE CAN PREPOSITIONS TELL YOU?

• A preposition may tell you the position of something in relation to something else.
• The gentle, brown dog slept beside the fluffy white rabbit.

• It may also tell you the direction something is travelling in relation to something else.
• The gallant horseman was riding along the windy shoreline.

HERE ARE SOME MORE PREPOSITIONS.

before behind from beneath

across below down throughout with

past among near above during under

outside toward upon over after through

YOU CAN SOMETIMES BEGIN A SENTENCE WITH A PREPOSITION.

• Without fear, the brave child climbed the tall mountain.
• Under the four poster bed, the lazy cat was having a snooze.
• Inside the old house there were all sorts of strange looking people.
• Along the hall crawled the large, spindly spider.

CHOOSING PREPOSITIONS.

• Make sure you choose a preposition which is appropriate.
• Check that it makes sense in your sentence .
• Try to think of alternatives that may be more interesting, but still mean the same.
• Now you can use a variety of prepositions in your writing.