Defence Exam Notes: English Notes: Prepositions

Preposition Definition: Prepositions are abstract words that have no concrete meaning. They are used to show a relationship between a noun and a pronoun in a sentence.

Prepositions are most commonly followed by a noun phrase or pronoun and never a verb.

Examples of prepositions:

I’ll meet you in the café opposite the cinema.
Give that to me.
Let’s meet before noon.
A bone for the dog.
The book about the wizard.

THERE ARE FIVE TYPES OF PREPOSITIONS:

Simple Prepositions
Double Prepositions
Compound Prepositions
Participle Prepositions
Phrase Preposition

Simple Prepositions: These words usually contain two syllables, Simple

Prepositions are words like at, out, of, by, till, off, through, up, with, under, etc. These prepositions can be positioned to describe time, place, or a location.

Examples:

She was hiding under the table.
He drove over the bridge.
She sat on the chair.
They were sitting by the tree.
I am from Toronto.
She put the flowers by the window.

Double Prepositions: Double prepositions are a combination of two simple prepositions used together. A double preposition always consists of more than one word. Some double prepositions are upto, out of, into, behind, within, etc.

Examples:

She never leaves without her purse.
The caterpillar turned into a butterfly.
The bird sat atop the oak tree.
My son emerged from behind the tree to scare me.
Zeal is something that comes from within an individual.
The design was up to the mark.

Compound Preposition: Compound prepositions are words that are made by prefixing the preposition to a noun, an adjective, or an adverb. They consist of two or more words. Some compound prepositions are according to, on behalf of, around, above, about, above, and so on.

Examples:

My car was parked in front of the mailbox.
We were in the middle of the traffic.
The cat is jumping around the seat.
There’s a metro station beneath this ground.
The children ran around the bench.
Her beauty is beyond imagination.

Participle Prepositions: Participle prepositions ends in -ing or -ed. Such as

During, provided, considering, including, regarding, etc.

Examples:

Our teacher sometimes gets frustrated with us.
The dog kept following him home.
Considering his age, he did splendid work.
Everyone attended the gala, including the President himself.
Everyone was maintaining Social distancing during the Lockdown.

Phrase prepositions or prepositional phrases: A phrase preposition

include a preposition, an object, and an object modifier.

Words like at home, on the floor, on behalf, because of, etc. come under the phrase preposition.

Example:

The function got canceled because of the sudden rain.
She succeeded with a little help.
She left muddy footprints on the clean floor.
In spite of being the best football team, we didn’t win.

EXERCISE ON PREPOSITION:

He fell _______ his horse. 2. Hannah is clever _______ Mathematics. 3. The sun shines _______ the earth. 4. Im sure _______ my success. 5. The parrots are flying _______ the sky. 6. The dog is lame _______ one leg. 7. We are going on vacation _______ December. 8. A beautiful girl is coming _______ my house. 9. This is the more interesting _______ the two. 10. He married _______ money.

ANSWERS:

He fell Off his horse. 2. Hannah is clever At mathematics. 3. The sun shines over the earth. 4. Im sure Of my success. 5. The parrots are flying In the sky. 6. The dog is lame Of one leg. 7. We are going on vacation in December. 8. A beautiful girl is coming toward my house. 9. This is the more interesting of the two. 10. He married for money.