Well, prepositions are one of the nine parts of speech and here they are given in alphabetical order.

1. Adjectives
2. Adverbs
3. Conjunctions
4. Determiners
5. Interjections
6. Nouns
7. Prepositions
8. Pronouns
9. Verbs

Definition for Preposition

A preposition sits before a noun or a pronoun to link its relationship with a nearby word.

Examples of Prepositions

The plums are on the box. =”On” is our preposition and it’s sitting before the noun phrase “the box” and it’s linking it to “the plums.”

The apple is behind the cylinder. =”Behind” is our preposition and it sits before the noun phrase “the cylinder” and it links to “the apple.”

She taught yoga on the beach as the sun fell below the horizon. =”On” is a preposition, this one sits before the noun phrase “the beach” and it’s linking to “taught.”= “Below” is also a preposition this one sits before the noun phrase “the horizon” and it links to “fell.”

Types of Prepositions

Prepositions of Direction or Place, Time, and Manner

Prepostions of Direction or Place

Prepositions of Direction tell us where things are rolling. For example:

• to
• after
• of
• at
• in
• on
• at
• near
• by
• beside
• between
• among
• below
• above
• behind
• under
• in front of
• next to

1. The mouse is in the box.
2. The mouse is on the box.
3. The mouse is between the boxes.
4. The mouse is among the boxes.
5. The mouse is below the box.
6. The mouse is in front of the box.
7. The mouse is under the box.
8. The mouse is beside the box.
9. The mouse is above the box.
10. The mouse is behind the box.
11. The mouse is near the box.
12. The mouse is across the box.

These tell us where things are about each other. But not all prepositions tell us where things are.

Prepositions of Time

Prepositions of time tell us when things are about each other. For example:

Eat your popcorn during the show. =”During” is our preposition it sits before the noun phrase “the show” and links to “eat.” This one tells us when. But some other prepositions tell us when: for example:

• I will visit you in the summer.
• Let’s have dinner together on Saturday.
• Go to your home at seven o’clock.
• I don’t wake up by midnight.
• Ali went to the zoo during the holidays.
• She shocked after this horrible event.
• Keep your shop open before the sunset.
• I will see you on Friday.
• Please come at 8 O’clock.

Preposition of Who, Why, and How

President of the club. This one might tell us who. For is another common preposition, here it is in a phrase:

Machine for cutting grass. This one might tell us why.

“With“=He spoke with confidence. This one might tell us how.

So, with prepositions, the context of the sentence tells us how they are being used.

The important bit is that a preposition sits before a noun to link it to a nearby word, and as we’ve seen, that noun can be a noun phrase, or it can even be a noun clause.

Examples

• She is junior to my wife.
• Today, she traveled with me.
• What a nice doll we bought for you!
• The scientist made a medical kit for the patients.
• Miss Taiba is the principal of our school.
• My friend belongs to a noble family.