Chapter # 9 English Prepositions A Proposition is a word placed before a Noun or a Pronoun to show its relation to some other word

in the sentences: He works hard in the hope of standing first. The loss of her son kept preying upon her mind. The Noun or Pronoun before which a Preposition is placed is its object. It is in the Objective Case and is said to be governed by the Preposition: This pen is for him. (not he) He has no belief in me. (not I) We waited for them. (not they) Position of a Preposition in regard to who or whom; as Who are you speaking to? To whom are you speaking ? Both of these sentences are correct. When the Preposition is used with the Infinitive it is placed at the end of the sentence; as This ball is to play with. Do you have a friend to rely on? I have no money to help you with.

9.1 KINDS OF PREPOSITIONS:

1. Simple Prepositions: After, at, by, down, in, of, over, to, up, with, through, for, on, off, till, out etc. 2. Compound Prepositions: About, across, against, before, beside, into, until, within etc. 3. Double Prepositions: From among, from beneath, from under, out of, etc. 4. Participial Prepositions: Considering, accepting, notwithstanding, regarding, etc. 5. Phrasal Prepositions: Along with by way of by virtue of instead of on account of in the event of, on behalf of, etc.

9.2 Common Use of Some Prepositions:

1. At, In: (a) At is used with the names of small towns and villages ; similarly In is used with the names of big cities and countries He was born at Wazirabad. We settled at Khanpur in Pakistan. (b) (i) At is used for a point of time (ii) In is used for a period of time. I shall see you at 6 Oclock in the evening. I shall return in four days. We say in the morning (evening or afternoon), at night, at dawn, at day break, at noon etc. (c) Both At and In are used in speaking of things at rest; as I am sitting at my desk. She is sleeping in her room. 2. After, in:

When after and in denote time, the former refers to the past and the latter to the Future; He came back after a year. (Past) I shall return your pen in a month. (Future) Both After and Jra refer to the expiry of the time. 3. After, Behind After refers to time, order or position, while behind refers to place: You came after 10 A.M. and stood behind the wall. We ran after the thief. 4. Between, Among Between is used for two persons or things; among for more than two: The fathers property was divided equally between the two brothers. Distribute these mangoes among all the boys. 5. In, Into In shows rest within, into shows motion I movement inwards:T There are twenty desks in the room. He jumped into the river. 6. In, Within, Before In shows the end of a period of time; within shows the period before the end of a period of time; before refers to the time before a point of time: I shall write to you in a week. (during the week or immediately at the end of the week) I shall write to you within a week. (before the expiry of a week) 1 shall finish this book before March next. 7. On, Upon Virtually speaking, there is no explicit difference between on and upon. However, upon is more formal: The books are lying on the table. The king sat upon the throne. on shows rest; upon shows movement: He fell on the floor. The cat sprang upon the rat. 8. Since, For, From Since refers to a point of time. For refers to a period of time. They are used in some forms of the Perfect Tense only. From is used for a point of time in any Tense: If Since joins two Clauses, we use Present Perfect Tense before it (since) and Simple Past Tense after it (since). However, we must keep in mind that since is not a preposition but a conjunction: Mohsin has grown fat since he married. I have been ill since Monday last. It has been raining since morning. I have not heard from you for a long time. He has been working in this office for five years. I shall wait for you from Monday to Friday. He plays from morning till evening. 9. Beside, Besides Beside means by the side of; besides means in, addition to: He was sitting beside his mother. Besides being punished, he was fined. 10. By, With: By refers to the doer or the agent; with shows the instrument: He was stabbed by his enemy with a dagger.

He beat me with a stick. Also study the following sentences : (a) She sat by her mother. (near) I travelled by myself. (alone) What is the time by your watch ? (according to) I am a Brahman 6y caste, (in respect of) (b) I rise with the sun. With all your shortcomings, I love you. 11. Till, By Till means upto. By means not later than. We also use by for the means of conveyance also: I shall wait for you till 5 P.M. I shall come back by 7 Oclock. I went to Lahore by car. 12. Over, Above, Under, Below: Over is the opposite of under. Over implies the relation of highest in position or space. Above is the opposite of below and shows rest in a higher position: The sky is over our heads. My house is above the road. The bullocks are tethered under a shady tree. He is under the thumb of his wife. His head is above water. He is below me in the class. Revision of Prepositions in Common Use A. Prepositions of Time: At: At sunset, at noon, at dawn, at 10 Oclock, at Holi, at Dussehra. On: On Friday, on 25th April, on Sunday morning. In: In an hour, in March, in the morning, in the evening. During: During holidays, during the war. By: By 7 Oclock, by Monday. For: For ten days, for two hours. Since: Since morning, since 1995, since 8 Oclock. B. Prepositions of Travel and Movement: By: By bus, by train, by aeroplane. On: On foot, on bike, on horse back. From: From home to school. C. Preposition of Place: At: At a small village, at a certain point, at home. In: In a city, in a country, in an inclosed space.

9.4 COMMON ERRORS IN THE USE OF PREPOSITIONS:

Make a careful note of the following wrong use of prepositions: A. Where a preposition should not have been used: Incorrect I have ordered for dinner. The younger brother resembles to the elder. I want the police to investigate Correct I have ordered dinner. The younger brother resembles the elder. I want the police to investigate

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4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.

10.

11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17.

18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25.

into the case. He deeply loved with me. I reached at Lahore only this morning. The teacher has not yet entered into the classroom. Why have you picked up a quarrel with him? He asked from me if I was interested in a job. He thought if he could cram a few important questions, he could pass in The examination. Your name precedes before mine and succeeds after Rehmans. You will come to grief if you do not obey to my orders. He should not have violated against the rules. Let us discuss about the problem. May I accompany with you to the railway station? As he approached to his office, he was attacked by a stranger. The teacher promised to the boys a holiday. The Principal requested to the President to distribute the prizes. He married with a rich widow. He prevailed upon me to resign from my job. Sign on this paper. Fear from God. Do you have enough of money? A sense of gloominess pervades whole novel. Please recommend for me to the officer. Your advice will benefit to me much.

the case. He deeply loved me. I reached Lahore only this Morning. The teacher has not yet entered the classroom. Why have you picked a quarrel with him? He asked me if I was interested in a job. He thought if he could cram a few important questions, he could pass the examination. Your name precedes mine and succeeds Rehmans. You will come to grief if you do not obey my orders. He should not have violated the rules. Let us discuss the problem. May I accompany you to the railway station? As he approached his office, he was attacked by a stranger. The teacher promised the boys a holiday. The Principal requested the President to distribute the prizes. He married a rich widow. He prevailed upon me to resign my job. Sign this paper. Fear God. Do you have enough money? A sense of gloominess pervades through the whole novel. Please recommend me to the officer. Your advice will benefit me much.

B. Where a preposition should not have been omitted

Incorrect Correct 1. He will not listen what you say. He will not listen to what you say. 2. Have you disposed the old Have you disposed of the old furniture you wanted to? furniture you wanted to? 3. Your fault does not admit any Your fault does not admit of excuse. any excuse. 4. Could you lend me your pen to Could you lend me your pen to write a letter? write a letter with? 5. He searched the book He searched for the book everywhere. everywhere. 6. I asked a ticket. I asked for a ticket. 7. We spent the whole day playing We spent the whole day in cards. playing cards. 8. I prevailed him to attend the I prevailed upon him to attend meeting. the meeting. 9. This scholarship has to be This scholarship has to be Competed competed for. 10. You are welcome to partake You are welcome to partake of this light refreshment this light refreshment. C. Where a wrong preposition has been used: Incorrect I could not understand why he was angry upon me. Our examination begins from 1st May. You are required to sign with ink. I equipped from him where he lived. Why are you afraid from Me? Have you come in train or by foot? He was appointed on the post. Those who are jealous from others never get peace in life. I met him in the way. I am prepared to say it at his face. Send this letter on my address. Open your books on page 20. It is a quarter to seven in my watch. This book is different than that. Correct I could not understand why he was angry with me. Our examination begins on 1st May. You are required to sign in ink. I equipped of him where he lived. Why are you afraid of me? Have you come by train or on foot? He was appointed to the post. Those who are jealous of others never get peace in life. I met him on the way. I am prepared to say it to his face. Send this letter to my address. Open your books at page 20. It is a quarter to seven by my watch. This book is different from that.

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14.

15. The students are sitting on their desks. 16. Let us sit down under the shade of a tree. 17. You should return home before two hours. 18. She was married with a businessman. 19. Sri Lanka is in the South of Pakistan. 20. Copy this letter word by word.

The students are sitting at their desks. Let us sit down in the shade of a tree. You should return home within two hours. She was married to a businessman. Sri Lanka is to the South of Pakistan. Copy this letter word for word.

D. Make a careful study of the following sentences in which the use of the infinitive is erroneous and should be replaced by a preposition followed by a gerund or a noun: Incorrect Correct 1. He insisted to leave He insisted on leaving immediately. immediately. 2. You should refrain to tell lies. You should refrain from telling lies. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. The policeman prevented him to park his car there. The invigilator prohibited the student to copy. I am confident to succeed. He assisted me to check the accounts. I have great pleasure to certify it. She has a passion to read novels. You are quite justified to hold that opinion. He is desirous to go abroad. He succeeded to win the election. You are fortunate to have an intelligent and obedient son. I dissuaded him to try for the job. 1 take pride to serve my country. There is no harm to try. I am keen to go there. I take this opportunity to thank The policeman prevented him from parking his car there. The invigilator prohibited the student from copying. I am confident of success. He assisted me in checking the accounts. I have great pleasure in certifying it. She has a passion for reading novels. You are quite justified in holding that opinion. He is desirous of going abroad. He succeeded in winning the election. You are fortunate in having an intelligent and obedient son. I dissuaded him from trying for the job. I take pride in serving my country. There is no harm in trying. I am keen on going there. I take this opportunity of

you. thanking you. 18. I find no chance to make a I find no chance of making a profit in this business. profit in this business. 19. He is bent to harm me. He is bent on harming me. 20. He is addicted to smoking. He is addicted to smoke.