Transcript Prepositions

Prepositions
The meaning and use of
prepositions
 Prepositions
are words which show the
relationship between things, people, or
events.
 They express the relationships in space,
time, purpose, possession, result, etc.
e.g. He lived by himself in an old house on
the edge of the village. (space)
He stared at the dog for a while… (time)
 He
ought to have a pet for company.
( purpose)
 It went to sit on the other side of my room.
(possession)
 Death from drowning.
(result)
Patterns with prepositions
 PREPOSITION
+ NOUN/PRONOUN
Sit on the chair ( followed by a noun)
The dog sat under it. (followed by a
pronoun)
Why do you always do the opposite of what I
tell you to do? ( followed by a noun
phrase)
Patterns with prepositions
 PREPOSITION
+ ING VERB FORM
(GERUND)
 I am no good at typing.
 He went home without saying good night.
 The dog responded by doing exactly the
opposite.
Note
 It
is important to distinguish between to
when it is part of the infinitive , as in I
want to go home, and to as a preposition
as in I’m not used to eating so much. You
can decide which it is by trying to put it
after to: if it still makes sense, then to is a
preposition
 I want to go = I want to it (this does not
make sense, so it is part of the infinitive)
 I am not used to eating= to it ( this makes
sense, so to is preposition)
Patterns with prepositions

Prepositions at the end of the sentence
This means that the preposition is separated from
its noun or pronoun. In most cases, a phrasal
verb of the type VERB + PREPOSITION is
involved, and the pronoun is either relative
( who, which, that ) or interrogative ( what, who
which)
 Relatives
I was talking about a book + here is the book =
Here is the book (that) I was talking about.
I have money ( that) you asked for.
She is a girl (whom) I work with
Patterns with prepositions
Interrogative
He is looking at sth + What? =
What is he looking at?
What were they talking about?
Where do you come from?
Who did you give it to?
Tell me what are you thinking about.
Prepositions that express
relationships in space
Prepositions that express relationships in
space
 At, in to(wards), (away) from, by,
(a)round, up and down
 In(to), inside, outside, out of, behind, in
front of
 Above and below, over and under
 On, on to, off, across
 Near, next to, by, beside
Prepositions that express
relationships in space
 Against
 Between
and among
At, in to(wards), (away) from,
by, (a)round, up and down

Examples
 Movement
Move away from the fire
He pointed up the road
The dog ran down the road
 Rest
She lives away from home
Stay up the ladder
My house is just down the road
At, in to(wards), (away) from,
by, (a)round, up and down
At or in?
At is used to describe where you are in a
general way without defining exactly
where you are in , on, under, behind, etc.,
the space:
e.g. I am sitting at my desk
My children are at school,
my sister is at University
We stayed at Heathrow Hotel.
In is more specific(definite):
e.g. I keep my pens in my desk.
you’re welcome any time in my house.
There were some policemen in (the) school today.
Note
With the names of villages, towns and cities,
especially with the verb arrive, the choice of at
or in can be a little bit difficult. Use arrive at
when you are thinking of the station, airport, or
seaport
Use arrive in when you are thinking of the place
itself.
At or to?
At describes the final point of the movement,
seen as sth separate from the person or
thing which moves. To suggests a
relationship between the person/ thing and
the destination. In a transferred sense, at
can suggest aggression, to cooperation:
Don’t throw the ball at me!
Throw it to me! (playing)
He shouted at him saying that he is fool.
(arguing)
He is shouting to him saying hello. (greeting
him)
Similarly to point at/to. The meaning of at is
suggested in to laugh at someone, which is
unkind, to shoot at and to aim at, t which treat the
final point of the movement as a target. Even to
look at suggests a similar idea.
In(to), inside, outside, out of,
behind, in front of
In(to), inside, outside, out of, behind, in front
of
In , into, inside?
Both in and inside can be used for
movement or rest; into refers only to
movement. Think of in as the more
general word, and of into/ inside as
more specific, emphasizing the
movement (into) and the
location(inside)
In(to), inside, outside, out of,
behind, in front of
e.g. A in B: Don’t put all your eggs in one
basket.
A into B: We drove into Spain ( we moved
from one country to another)
We drove in Spain. (When we were in
Spain, we travelled by car)
A inside B: Circle A is inside circle B
Above and below, over and
under
The meaning of these pairs of prepositions
is very similar, and in some cases you can
use one or the other. The difference
between them is :
Over and under describe a vertical
relationship.
Above and below describe the relative
position of two things when one is higher/
lower than the other.
House B is under house A
A
horizontal
B
Square B is under square A
Above and below, over and
under


Above and below zero
E.g.
The temperature is 3° below zero.
Her skirt is below the knee, but her sister’s is
above the knee.
The sun is sinking below the horizon.
 a over b equals c
E.g.
The ladder is leaning over the wall.
The plane is flying over the city.
Inder the circumstances, below average, under
10.00£.
On, on to, off, across
These expressions describe movement or
rest in relation to a surface
 See page 110
 On to is used like into to make it clear to
emphasize that movement is from one
place to another:
 E.g. the cat jumped on the table could
mean that the cat is jumping on to the
table or 2. the cat is on the surface of the
table.

On, on to, off, across
To make it clear, you could say: the cat
jumped on to the table.
Examples of some expressions that use on:
a calendar on the wall, a fly on the ceiling,
the news on page 4, a program on
television on one hand/on the other hand,
on the left /right.
Between and among
Between refers to position or movement of
sth or sb in relation to two objects
Among describes position or movement in
relation to more than two objects.
e.g. what is the difference between a boat
and a ship?
The present was divided among students.
It is nice to be among friends.
Prepositions which express
relationships in time
Prepositions which express relationships in
time
Before and after
Since, for, during, by, until
In, at, on, within, past, to, from, between
Prepositions which express
relationships in time
 Before
and after
 They refer to points or periods of time
either side of an event.
E.g. before the war after dinner before the
game before Thursday after the weekend
 They are followed by the –ing form of the
verb, as in the notice:
Please adjust your dress before leaving
( notice in public lavatories).
Prepositions which express
relationships in time
 After
thinking about it for a while, I decided
to choose the dark blue suit.
 However you can use the construction
CONJUNCTION+ CLAUSE as in the
sentences: have a drink before you go.
We’ll go out after we’ve had sth to eat.
Have a drink before you go.
 The construction PREPOSITION + …
ING would seem very formal or unusual.
Since, for, during, by, until
 See
p. 113
 Since: since 1982 since breakfast since
the beginning of May
 For: for a week for several years
 During: during the concert during the
night
 By: She will come by nine if the roads are
quiet. ( not later than)
Since, for, during, by, until
 Until:
until Friday until the end of the
lesson
 Since and until can be used as
conjunctions. E.g. We’ve had nothing but
trouble ever since she arrived
Don’t hurry. I’ll wait until you have finished.
 During is only a preposition; the
corresponding conjunction is while:
Since, for, during, by, until
I
fell asleep 1) during the concert.
2) while the concert was going on
 By,
in the sense of not later than,
becomes BY THE TIME + VERB:
 E.g. By the time you receive this letter, I
shall be on the other side of the world.
In, at, on, within, past, to, from,
between
 At
POINT OF TIME
 ON A DAY OR DATE
 IN
PERIOD OF TIME
 Examples
 At 10 o’clock at Easter at the weekend
 On Monday on the first of the month
 In 1999 in July in the first three months (
in is similar in meaning to during. It can be
In, at, on, within, past, to, from,
between
 also
used to mean not more than:
 E.g. I’ll be back in a minute.
 Note
 All the three prepositions can be used with
the word time, but with different meanings:
 On time: Try to arrive on time. ( punctual)
 In time: I f you hurry, you should be in
time to catch the train ( you will not be
too late)
In, at, on, within, past, to, from,
between
 At
one time: At one time you could get the
hotel room for 5.00£ a night. ( there was a
time when this was true)
 At times: he behaves a little strangely at
times. (sometimes)
 TO, FROM, PAST A POINT OF TIME
 BETWEEN
TWO TIMES
In, at, on, within, past, to, from,
between
 Examples:
 Half
past 4, 5 past 4, 20 past 4
 10 to 5, a quarter to 5
 From July to September
 Between July and September
 Note the useful extension of from in these
expressions: from the time + clause…
 From the moment I saw you, I knew that
you were the one for me.
Prepositions that express other
relationships
 Prepositions
that express other
relationships
 Simple prepositions
About against at besides by but despite
except for from in like of on out of
than to unlike with without
 Compound prepositions
 Prepositions in -ing
Prepositions that express other
relationships

A.
1.
2.
Simple prepositions
Usage
Some of these expressions are used
with adjectives : afraid of different from
amazed at angry with
Some of these expressions form fixed
expressions: by heart from memory on
leave without fail
Prepositions that express other
relationships
Some of these expressions are used
with verbs: depend on go without wait
for prevent from
A. Meaning of relationships
 About
Subject matter: a book about insects
Concerning:
She is worried about her
exams
1.
Prepositions that express other
relationships
 Against
Opposition: I am against the idea.
Some MPs voted against the
proposal
 At
Reaction: I am amazed at your suggestion.
At my request, he has resigned
from the party.
Prepositions that express other
relationships
Level of ability: good at games bad at
remembering faces.
 Besides
It means the same as apart from or in
addition to. The sentence
I know you have oranges, but do you have
sth else? Can be simply expressed using
besides:
Do you have sth else besides oranges?
Prepositions that express other
relationships
 But
It is similar to except:
She said hello to everyone but me.
The compound but for is useful. The
sentence
If it had not been for me, you would all have
been killed.
Can be: But for me, you would all have
been killed.
Prepositions that express other
relationships
 By
Means or method: go by car
 He entered by the window and left by the
side door.
 The creator: a novel by Charles Dickens
 Despite
It is similar to inspite of
Despite their political differences, the two
countries do a lot of trade with each other.
Prepositions that express other
relationships
 Except
Commoner than but:
She said hello to everyone except me.
 For
Purpose: I only did it for the money.
Destination: Where are you heading for?
Support: I am all for the idea.
A kind of comparison: He is a bit too old for
you. 2. She is very advanced for her age.
Prepositions that express other
relationships
 From
Origin: I come from Barcelona.
Separation\distinction: It was stolen from the
office safe.
Can’t you tell butter from margarine?
 In
Manner: Tell me in a few words what
happened next.
She replied in a most offensive manner.
Prepositions that express other
relationships
 Like
 Manner:
He smokes like a chimney.
 He plays football like his brother.
 Comparison: like father like son.
 Of
 Possession: the symphonies of Mozart a
man of few words the University of …
 Material: made of cold a door of steel
Prepositions that express other
relationships
Result: to die of old age.
Quantity: a piece of paper full of hatred
 On
subject matter: He spoke on The Birds of
Christchurch Harbor. You could also use
about instead of on to refer to subject
matter (e.g. a book about birds). The
preposition on suggests a formal situation,
Prepositions that express other
relationships
about suggests an informal unprepared
one. Thus, you would say to lecture on a
subject but to have a chat about sth.
 Out of
No longer possessing: out of stock run out
of food out of breath
Material/origin: He made a table out of old
orange boxes.
Motive/cause: She acted out of spite.
Prepositions that express other
relationships
 Than
Using in making comparisons: Half a loaf is
better than none. (proverb)
 To
Comparison/ratio: We won by two goals to
nill.
Odds of 10 to 1.
A petrol consumption of 25 miles to the
gallon. (comparing two amounts).
Prepositions that express other
relationships
Cause (emotional reaction): To my surprise,
nobody replied to advertisement.
It replaces of or for: in some expressions like
secretary to the managing director,
financial advisor to the board, where to
means who works for.
Prepositions that express other
relationships
 With
Manner: with a smile with pleasure
Instrument: He cut it with a knife.
 Note
There is a difference between the use of by
and with to express the
means/instrument. With tells us what sn
used in order to do sth, but there is not
necessarily a person with an intention when
we use by. For this reason, you could say
He was killed with a sword but you could
not use with in sentences like He was
killed by a train or by a lion. The test is
this: if you can substitute the word using,
the preposition should be with.
Accompaniment: Come with me. I’d like a
steak with a green salad.
Prepositions that express other
relationships
Support: We are with you.
Ingredients/contents: filled with walnuts
 Without
It expresses the opposite of with:
Manner: without hesitation
Instrument: he cut it without a knife.
Accompniment: You must go with me.
Possession: A beard without a moustache is
like a violin without a bow
Compound Prepositions
 These
prepositions often have the pattern
PREPOSITION + NOUN + PREPOSITION
 In addition to at the bottom of by means
of
 Notes
 There are many compound prepositions
which are used by people, especially in
writing, in order to make what they write
seem more important and educated.
Compound Prepositions
We wish to talk to you …your
proposal.
With respect to
With reference to
 in respect of
In connection with
 All these long-winded compounds can be
replaced by the simple word about.
 E.g.
Compound Prepositions
 2.
The expression due to is often used as
a preposition with the same meaning as
because of or owing to, but they are
different in construction: say X is due to Y
or Because of Y,X
Because of bad weather, the match has
been cancelled.
The cancellation is due to bad weather.
Prepositions in -ing
 There
are a number of words derived from
verbs which may be regarded as
prepositions expressing relationships.
They are mostly used in formal situations
such as written English, and can
sometimes be replaced by a simpler word.
 Concerning, regarding, including, and
excluding.