What is Preposition?

 6. PREPOSITION

    The word Preposition comes from Latin praepositio, from praeponere means to 'to place before'- prae means 'before' + ponere means 'to put or place'. A Preposition may be described as connecting words showing the relation of a noun or a noun substitute to some other word in the sentence. Prepositions are used to express a number of relationships including time, direction, location, cause, manner, quantity, purpose, and state or condition.

 Examples

• He rushed to the bus.

 In the above example, to is the Preposition which shows direction.

• He came by bus.

 Here, by is a Preposition which shows manner.

• We will join you at 8 o'clock.

 Here, at is a Preposition which shows time.

• She placed the rostrum table on the stage.

 In the above example, on is a Preposition which shows place.

A Preposition always goes with a noun or a pronoun which is called the object of the Preposition. The Preposition is almost always before the noun or the pronoun, thus, it is called a Preposition. The preposition and the object of the preposition together are called a prepositional phrase. Such as: to the bus, by bus, at 8 o'clock, on the stage.

 Over ninety percent of Preposition usage involves these nine prepositions: by, for with ,at ,to ,in from ,of, on.

Prepositions create confusion as they can be used interchangeably. Example

• I sat on the chair.

• I sat in the chair

A single Preposition can be used to express several different ideas

 Examples

 He is small for his age.

 I read for an hour.

 The most efficient method of study is to familiarize yourself with prepositions and prepositional phrases through practice and memorization.