Preposition

A preposition is a word that helps us to construct and define meaning in a sentence. Prepositions are like the glue of a sentence. They formulate the relationship between certain words. They articulate. They help us define what we want to say. They help us to join words with meaning, together. They are purely functional words, sometimes having no apparent definition.
Yet without them, we would find it very hard to make ourselves understood. Prepositions usually come before nouns, however they don’t always follow or come after nouns. In English grammar, a determiner such as ‘the’ can be placed between a preposition and a noun. Let us not forget that adjectives may also come between a preposition and a noun.

‘On white horses’ ‘Up dark alleys’ ‘Over green hills.’   No matter how it is used in a sentence, a preposition never changes its form. Prepositions are mostly used singularly, on their own in a sentence. They normally consist of 6 letters or less.
There is also the two words form of a preposition clause. And a three worded group as well. Prepositions are usually placed among other words within a sentence; however, sometimes they come at the every end of one, with some people object to. But now I’m getting a little ahead of myself. So first of all, let’s take a look at prepositions, beginning with the single ones.

 One Word:

Aboard, about, above, absent, across, after, against, along, alongside, amid, among, amongst, around, as, aside, astride, at, atop, barring, before, behind, below, beneath, beside, besides, between,  beyond, but, by, concerning, despite, down, during, except, excluding, failing, following, for, from, given, in, including,  inside, into, like, minus, near, next, of, off, on, onto, opposite, out, outside,  over, pace, past, plus, regarding, round, sans, save, since, than, through, throughout, till, times, to, toward, towards, under, underneath, unlike, until, up, upon, versus, via, with, within, without, worth.
The overall description of a preposition defines the way in which a sentence constructed. The general term for this is… ‘adposition’. This type of word defines other formations such as a…
‘postposition’. Which formulates the sentence after the noun. Prepositions exist in other languages, such as Japanese and Turkish.

There is also the  ‘circumposition’, where two defining parts… appear on both sides of the dependant noun. Generally speaking, prepositions are the ones most commonly used, …especially in English. Having said that, there are postpositions in English, such as… ‘ ago, apart, aside, away, hence, on, through’. ‘Ten years ago’ ‘this apart’ ‘such matters aside’ ‘Five years hence’ ‘Two weeks on’  ‘The whole night through’

Prepositions formed by two words.

According to, ahead of, apart from,  as for, as of, as regards,  aside from, because of, close to, due to, except for, far from, into, inside of, instead of, left of, near to, next to, out from, out of, outside of, owing to, prior to, pursuant to, regardless of, subsequent to, thanks to, that of, where as.

Another variation of preposition use is ‘stranding’. This is when a preposition occurs where it normally would not, yet still expresses a meaning. A good example is the sentence… ‘Who did you give it to?’ This works because it is an interrogative sentence. The word ‘who’ appears at the beginning of the sentence, so ‘to’ can end the sentence as it clearly refers to who (whom). This form of sentence is most commonly found in English.

Prepositions formed with three words.

As far as, as well as, by means of, in accordant with, in addition to, in case of, in front of, in lieu of, in place of, in spite of, on account of, on behalf of, on top of, with regard to, with respect to.

The use of prepositions at the end of a sentence has for many years been the subject of argument. Should a sentence be allowed to end with one? Despite the fact that there is no rule preventing a preposition ending a sentence, there are those who are against it being done. The earliest recorded objection to the use of prepositions at the end of sentences came in the 17th century by the poet John Dryden, who mistakenly likened the English language to Latin, which does not allow prepositions to end any sentence. Fortunately for us this rule was never followed. So if you want to ask ‘where do you come from?’ or ‘Where are you going to?’ you still can.

Yes it’s the quiz show everybody loves to join in with.

Spot the preposition

And here’s your host, the guy who never takes no for an answer! Your host ‘George Spangles’
Hi how doody- doody tip- top- oody to you! Oh it’s great to be here again. Shall I do my catchphrase? Shall I do my catchphrase?
It’s nice not being dead, not being dead it’s…nice.

Okay it’s great to be here with another edition of… ‘Spot the preposition’.
Where you, the viewer has to spot the hidden prepositions within sentences. If you guess right, you will win this amazing star-prize, which this week is…
This beautiful stainless steel dining set…consisting of a fork and a spoon. So are you ready to play? It’s time for our first… ‘Spot the preposition’

Sentence 1: Can you spot the preposition? – The cat sat behind the sofa.
Can you spot it? Quickly! Can you spot the preposition? It’s hidden in there somewhere.
Quickly chop- chop,
Times up!
The correct answer is…
behind.
So did you get it right?
No? oh that’s too bad. Maybe you will have more luck with the next one!
They all stood at the bus stop. Can you spot the preposition? It’s hidden in there somewhere.
Times up!
 The correct answer is…
at.

Did you get it right? Were you correct?
If so, well done! And now here comes our next ‘Spot the preposition’
I can tell you feel angry from the look on your face. Quickly- the clock is ticking… here comes the answer!
The correct answer are…
from and on.
Did you get it right, I hope you did!
Here comes our next ‘Spot the preposition’.
I learn English throughout the day.
 Here’s the answer! The correct answer is…
throughout.

So how well did you do? Did you get it right? Prepositions. Prepositions.
Yet you’ve got to have prepositions to make the sentence flow, to make it really go. To give it some jazz, to give it some pizzazz.
You’ve got to have………prepositions.
Ah, yes! Thank you very much!