Tata Bahasa 1

Prepositions

A preposition is a word which shows relationships

among other words in the sentence.  The relationships
include direction, place, time, cause,
manner and amount. It is usually placed before a noun
or pronoun to show its relation to another element in
the sentence.
 Examples of Prepositions

about above Across after Against

along behind Below beneath Beside

besides between Down during Except

for from In off On

onto opposite Out outside Till

to toward Under underneath Until

with within without

Prepositions of Time: These prepositions tells the time in
the sentence.
On, at, in, from, to, for, since, ago, before, till/until, by, etc.
are the most common preposition of time.

in on at
– Used for years / months /
seasons – Days / period – At an exact time of the
– Used for morning / day
afternoon / evening - Date
– Period of time

in an hour, 
at two o'clock 
on Wednesday 
in January,
At midnight
On April 2nd
 in 1992 
At the moment
● When we say last, next, every, this we do not also use at,
in, on.
● • I went to London last June. (not in last June)
● • He's coming back next Tuesday. (not on next
Tuesday)
● • I go home every Easter. (not at every Easter)
● • We'll call you this evening. (not in this evening)
 Prepositions of Place: These prepositions denote a place
in the sentence.
On, at, in, by, from, to, towards, up, down, across, between,
among, through, in front of, behind, above, over, under,
below, etc. are the most common prepositions of
place/direction.

In On At

-Used for enclosed space – Placement of a particular – An exact place where

- Country thing attached to, or next to something is situated
something
– used to discuss a surface
in New York, in my head on the table at my house
 Prepositions of Direction: These prepositions is used to show direction
in the sentence.
To This preposition is used to show movement, action or condition suggesting
movement in the direction of a place, a thing or a person.
I go to school with Jane

Into This is a directional preposition indicating movement into an enclosed place or

object.
- The students walked into the cave to study history.

Onto Onto is used to mean a surface and not an enclosed place.

- The cat got onto the sofa when we arrived.

Towards This is a preposition of direction that specifies the destination that one is heading
to.
- I had to run towards shelter when it started raining.

Across The preposition across just from the words cross means to move from one side
to another.
- My house is just across the book store.

Around This preposition is used to indicate movement in a circular direction.

- The tourist had a walk around the park with the help of the guides.

Through This is a preposition that is used to describe the action of passing an enclosed
region.
- We had to pass through the tunnel to reach the safety room.
Prepositional phrase is a combination of two or more words
that acts as a preposition and tells about the time, place, or
condition of a sentence. Prepositional phrase consists of a
preposition and an object of preposition.

Preposition Object of the Prepositional Phrase

Preposition

To The store To the store

By Bus By bus

At Three o’clock At three o’clock

Under The table Under the table

 Preposition with Special Uses

of Of expresses the relationship of a part of something to its whole.

Some of the students were absent

about About means ‘on the subject of’ something or ‘concerning of’

something/someone. It also means ‘approximately.‘
- I have read about 230 books in my life

For For means ‘with the object or purpose of’. It indicates a suiting of

purpose for something/someone.
- She makes the cake for you

With With means ‘accompanied by’ something or someone.

- I will go there with him

by By means ‘as a means of’ something or someone. This preposition

often comes in a passive sentence.
- The questions were answered by the students
- I go to school by car
 Preposition with Adjectives

At She is good at baking cake

To This book is similar to the previous one

With I’m not satisfied with the result

In Anna is interested in joining English club

Of I’m so proud of you

About They are very excited about the plan

for We are ready for it

 Preposition with Verbs
on You can count on me

to This paper belongs to Mr. Smith

for Can I ask for your help?

from I come from Canada

at Donna is looking at those flowers

about We need to think about our new project

in Just believe in her

with I agree with that

 Preposition with Noun

Of She is a member of our organization

For We have high hopes for humanity

With They have a meeting with Mr. John

To We don’t have the invitation to the party

On Congratulation on your new album!

About She gets information about his whereabouts

In I found many difficulties in translating this text

Between I cannot find the connection between both of them

 Preposition and Adverb

a. We followed her "up" the stairs

b. She ran "up" the stairs

c. She looked "up" and saw the bird

d. My room is "up" on the second floor

The word ‘up’ in the a and b sentences, is it an adverb or a

preposition?
The word ‘up’ in the c and d sentences, is it an adverb or a
preposition?
● "Up" in the a and b sentences is a preposition. In
sentence (d) the prepositional phrase is ‘on the
second floor’. So "up" in the c and d sentences is
an adverb. If you look closely, "up" when it
becomes an adverb, generally there is no object
that is connected. So that when it is not
followed by other information, the sentence still
has a perfect meaning.

● Note: Preposition in a sentence is always in the

form of prepositional phrase. So it should have
an object of preposition.