Prepositions

A common preposition is a word that shows the relationship between a noun or a pronoun and

another word in the sentence.

The man swam under the bridge. ( Under connects the idea of swam and bridge .)

She walked down the aisle. ( Down connects walked and aisle .)

Julie walked around the campus and toward town. ( Around connects walked and campus.

Toward connects walked and town. )

Here are the most commonly used prepositions:

 

 aboard             about              above                  across
after                 against            along                   among
around                as                    at                       before
behind             below             beneath                 beside
besides           between            beyond                but
by                 concerning        despite                  down
during            except                for                        from
in                     inside               into                       like
near                  of off             on
onto                opposite          out                        outside
over                past                since                      through
throughout       till                  to                         toward
under             underneath       until                      up
upon              with               within                    without

But is a preposition only when it can be replaced by the word except. So in the sentence, “All
but Teddy went inside,” but is a preposition since it connects All and Teddy and can be replaced
by the word except.
A way to get to know these fifty-six prepositions is to remember this sentence: The plane,
Prepi I, flew the clouds. Any single word that can logically be placed into this space is
a preposition, so the only words that you would still have to memorize are those that do not logically
fi t into this space. Compose the list of these words, memorize the Prepi I sentence, and you
will know your prepositions!

 Prepositions (Continued)

 Another type of preposition is the compound preposition. It does the same as a common
preposition but is composed of two or more words. Here are the most common compound
prepositions:
according to                   ahead of           apart from         as of
aside from                   because of           by means    of inaddition to
in back of                    in front of            in place of         in spite of
instead of                  in view of              next to            on account of
out of                          prior to

Adverb or preposition? The difference between a preposition and an adverb is that an
adverb answers the questions, Where? When? How? To what extent? by itself. Both common and
compound prepositions need more than just themselves to answer the same questions:
He fell down . ( Down is an adverb because it takes only one word to tell where he fell.)
He fell down the stairs. ( Down is a preposition because it takes more than a single word
to tell where he fell.)
Trey walked aboard . ( Aboard is an adverb because it takes only one word needed to tell
where Trey walked.)
Trey walked aboard the ship. ( Aboard is a preposition because it takes more than one
word to tell where Trey walked.)

WRITING TIP

                         Know when a word is a preposition and when it is an adverb. In the sentence “The captain walked aboard,” aboard is an adverb because it does not start a
prepositional phrase. In the sentence “The captain walked aboard the ship,”
aboard is a preposition that begins the prepositional phrase, aboard the ship.
Look for the prepositional phrase to check that the word is a preposition and
not an adverb.

 Finding the Four Words (Prepositions)

Underline the preposition in each of the following sentences. Then write the first letter of the

preposition on the line before the sentence. Transfer the fi fteen consecutive letters to the lines

below the last numbered sentence to form four words.

1. The teammates walked beyond the bleachers.

2. The track team ran into the hills.

3. The temperature is several degrees below zero.

4. Call me around four o’clock.

5. It is a matter concerning bad behavior.

6. The parents joined in the conversation.

7. Ronnie fell asleep during the professor’s lecture.

8. We found the sleeping cat underneath the blanket.

9. The couple walked near the bridge.

10. The children slid down the slide yesterday.

11. We lost contact over time.

12. This letter is addressed to your sister.

13. The strong man swam across the wide lake.

14. This group is under great suspicion.

15. I pointed toward the tall building