Lesson 1.7: Prepositions - Showing Relationships

Prepositions: Little Words, Big Connections!

Prepositions are small but mighty words! They show relationships between nouns or pronouns and other words in a sentence. They often tell us about:

Location (Place): Where something is. (in, on, at, under, near, behind, next to, etc.)
Time: When something happens. (in, on, at, before, after, during, since, until, etc.)
Direction: Movement or path. (to, from, into, onto, through, across, up, down, etc.)
Other relationships: Connections that aren't just about space or time. (of, for, with, about, by, etc.)

Let's look at some examples of prepositions in different categories:

Prepositions of Place (Location)

These tell us where something is located.

Examples: in, on, at, under, over, above, below, beside, between, among, near, far from, behind, in front of, next to.

Sentence Examples:

"The book is on the table." (Where is the book? On the table.)
"They live in a small town." (Where do they live? In a town.)
"Meet me at the coffee shop." (Where to meet? At the coffee shop.)
"The cat is sleeping under the chair." (Where is the cat? Under the chair.)
"The park is near my house." (Where is the park? Near my house.)

Prepositions of Time

These tell us when something happens.

Examples: in, on, at, before, after, during, since, until, for, ago, by, past, from...to.

Sentence Examples:

"I was born in 1990." (When were you born? In 1990.)
"The meeting is on Monday." (When is the meeting? On Monday.)
"We eat breakfast at 7 am." (When do you eat breakfast? At 7 am.)
"Please arrive before 5 pm." (When to arrive? Before 5 pm.)
"I have lived here since last year." (Since when? Since last year.)

Important Note about Time Prepositions (in, on, at):

Generally, we use:
- at for specific times (at 3 pm, at noon, at night)
- on for days and dates (on Monday, on July 4th, on my birthday)
- in for months, years, seasons, centuries, and general parts of the day (in July, in 2023, in winter, in the morning, in the 21st century)

Prepositions of Direction (Movement)

These show movement from one place to another or a path.

Examples: to, from, into, onto, out of, through, across, along, around, up, down, towards, away from.

Sentence Examples:

"They are going to the beach." (Direction of movement: to the beach.)
"She came from Italy." (Origin: from Italy.)
"He jumped into the pool." (Movement: into the pool.)
"The car drove through the tunnel." (Path: through the tunnel.)
"We walked across the street." (Path: across the street.)

Prepositions of Other Relationships

These prepositions show other kinds of connections that aren't just location, time, or direction.

Examples: of, for, with, without, about, by, because of, despite, according to, instead of.

Sentence Examples:

"This is a picture of my family." (Relationship: belonging to/representing)
"I bought a gift for you." (Relationship: intended recipient)
"She went to the party with her friends." (Relationship: accompaniment)
"He is worried about the exam." (Relationship: topic of concern)
"The book was written by a famous author." (Relationship: agent/creator)

Prepositional Phrases: Preposition + Noun (or Pronoun)

A preposition always introduces a prepositional phrase. A prepositional phrase usually has this structure:

Preposition + Noun (or Pronoun) + (Optional Modifiers)

The noun or pronoun that follows the preposition is called the object of the preposition.

Examples of Prepositional Phrases (Preposition in bold, object of preposition in italics):

on the table
in the town
at the coffee shop
under the old wooden chair (modifiers: "old", "wooden")
near my house
before 5 pm
since last year
to the beach
from Italy
with her close friends (modifier: "close")
about the important exam (modifier: "important")

Key takeaway: Prepositions are essential for showing how words and ideas relate to each other in sentences, especially in terms of space, time, and direction. Mastering prepositions will make your English much more precise and help you express complex relationships clearly! Next, we'll look at Conjunctions - words that join words and ideas together!