Preposition
A preposition is a word placed before a noun or pronoun to show in what relation the person or thing denoted by it, stands in regard to something else.
Examples
1. There is a plate on the table.
2. A cat jumped upon the table.
3. He has died for his country.
Note- Prepositions are generally placed before a noun or pronoun as in the above sentences but not always.
Examples
1. Where do you belong to?
2. What are you preparing for?
Some important prepositions
1. Between and Among
Rule:-1. Between is used for two persons or things while among is used for more than two persons or things.
Examples
1. This property has been divided between two brothers.
2. Books were distributed among five boys.
3. Sweets were distributed between/among them. (both are correct because them does not define any definite number)
Rule:-2. Between is followed by and, from is followed by to.
Between……………………and
From…………………………..to
Examples
1. The distance from Lucknow to Kanpur is about 80 kilometers.
2. She was sitting between her brother and mother.
Rule:-3. We always use objective case of a pronoun after between…….and, and all prepositions.
Examples
1. There is no love lost between she and I.(use her and me instead of she and I)
2. He tried to talked to she, but she gave him a cold shoulder. (use her instead of she)
Rule:-4. Difference is followed by between (not among)
Difference….………….between
Different………………..from
Examples
1. There are many differences between you and her.
2. His nature is quite different from his sister’s.
Rule:-5. Always use plural noun/pronoun after between and among.
Examples
1. This matter can be solved among them.
2. A beautiful girl was sitting between them.
3. There is a cat among the tiger. (Use tigers instead of tiger)
Rule:-6. Each and every can not be used after between.
Examples
1. There are many trees between each road. (incorrect)
2. There are many trees between the roads. (correct)
Rule:-7. Between can also be used for more than two persons or things to show a reciprocal relation.
Example
1. The match is to be played between India, Australia and Pakistan.
Rule:-8. Amongst is also used for more than two persons or things, before a noun that starts with a vowel.
Examples
1. Sweets were distributed amongst all the boys.
2. This matter can be solved amongst us.
At and In
At is used comparatively for small places while in is used for bigger places.
Examples
1. He lives in Kapoorthala at Lucknow. (incorrect)
2. He lives at Kapoorthala in Lucknow. (correct)
In and Into
In is used to indicate the things at rest while into is used to indicate an act of entry in something/somewhere.
Examples
1. She is in the room.
2. He jumped into the river.
With and By
With is used for instruments while by is used for persons to express the means.
Examples
1. She was killed by an unknown man with a knife.
2. He was thrashed soundly by his teacher with a stick.
Note- By is also used for mode of transformation.
Examples
1. She goes to school by car.
2. She to school by her car. (incorrect)
3. She goes to school in her car. (correct)
4. She goes to school by a bicycle. (incorrect)
5. She goes to school by bicycle. (correct)
Beside and Besides
Beside is used for adjacent/near position while besides is used for something additional.
Examples
1. I take two meals besides a light breakfast.
2. He was sitting beside his father in the hall.
On and Upon
On is used for the things at rest while upon is used to show motion.
Examples
1. Your book is on the table.
2. A cant jumped upon the table.
In and With
Both in and with are used for instruments but in is used for uncountable nouns and with is used for countable nouns.
Examples
1. She wrote a letter to me in ink with a pen. ( correct)
2. Why don’t you write with pencil? (incorrect)
3. Why don't you write with a pencil ? ( correct)
4. Why don’t you write in a pencil? (Incorrect)
5. Why don’t you write in pencil? (correct)
Since and For
Since is used for point of time while for is used for period of time.
Examples
1. He has been living in Lucknow since 2011.
2. She has been reading newspaper for 4 hours.
At and Towards
At shows a sense of aim while towards shows direction.
1. A deer was running towards the forest.
2. The people whose houses are made of stone, don’t throw stone at others.
At, In and On
At:- Exact time, festivals.
In:- months, years.
On:- days, dates.
Examples
1. She called me at 9:30 in the morning. (exact time)
2. He will come to your house at Christmas. (festival)
3. He will go to Mumbai in January. (month)
4. He completed his graduation in 2012. (year)
5. She goes to temple on Monday. (day)
6. He gave me a tinkle on 26th of Jan. (date)
Note :-(i)"in" is generally used with morning, evening, afternoon, but if a day or date is mentioned before them we use ‘on’.
Examples
In the morning, in the evening, in the afternoon .
On Tuesday morning, on the evening of 26th January, on the evening of June.
Note:-( ii) Use ‘At’ with the following words.
Examples
At dawn, at dusk, at day break, at sunrise, at sunset, at noon, at night, at midnight etc.
During and Within
During shows something continuing in a time period while within indicates inside the time period.
Examples
1. You are not allowed to attend your phones during the class.
2. She promised to call me within an hour.
Until, till and By
Rule:-(1) By is used to talk about a deadline when something will happen before that time.
By tomorrow
by 6 o’clock
by next month
Examples
1. I will be back by 6 o’clock.
2. We will have got our university degrees by next month.
Rule:-2 Until and till are used to talk about something that will keep going on for a duration of, time from a specific time to another.
Example
1. He came here yesterday and he will stay with us until/till the weekend. (means from now to weekend)
Rule:-3. Sometimes we can use both ‘by’ and ‘until’ in a sentence but their meanings will differ from each other.
Examples
1. He is down with fever, he needs to be in bed until 10 o’clock. (means he is already in bed)
2. He is running with high temperature, he needs to be in bed by 10 o’clock. (means he is not in bed)
Below and Under
Rule:-1. Both are used to show something down, however under is used to objects in motion.
Examples
1. The river is flowing below the bridge. (incorrect)
2. The river is flowing under the bridge. (correct)
Rule:-2. Under indicates physical contact while below is used when there is a space between two objects.
Examples
1. A cat was sleeping below the blanket. (use under instead of below)
2. I felt that he was hiding something below his jacket. (use under instead of below)
3. They live below us. (means we live above them)
Note- There are a few expression where only under can be used.
Under fire, under construction, under attack, under arrest, under pressure, under these conditions .
Above and Over
Both are used to show higher than, however over is used to indicate a sense of movement, across, from one side to the other and in every part of the region.
Examples
1. We put a blanket over her body. (across)
2. A cat jumped over the fence. (movement)
3. There is a bridge over the river. (from one side to other)
4. Shakespeare is known all over the world. (everywhere in the world)
5. An aeroplane was flying above the clouds.
Make of and Make from
Make of is used for physical change while make from is used for chemical change.
Examples
1. This ring is made of gold.
2. Curd is made from milk.
Compare to and compare with
Compare with:- comparison with similar things
Compare to:- comparison with different things
Examples
1. Thomas Hardy’s novels can be compared with Shakespeare’s.
2. Yuvraj’s batting can be compared to a thunder storm.
On time, in time, in good time
(1) On time -means- exact time
Example
Trains are running on time now a days.
(2) In time - means- a little bit earlier
Example
The train is running on time so you should reach station station in time.
(3) In good time - means- with comfortable margin
Example
He reached the station in good time as he had to buy a ticket.
Up and Down
Up is used to show a movement step by step upward while down indicates step by step downward movement.
Examples
1. He climbed up the tree.
2. She ran down the stairs.
Of and Off
'Of' is used to show possession for non-living things while 'off 'is used to show physical separation.
Examples
1. Table’s leg. (incorrect) The leg of the table. (correct)
2. Fan’s blade. (incorrect) The blade of the fan. (correct)
3. A cat jumped off the table. (means from table to the ground)
