PREPOSITIONS
“pre” meaning “before”. ‘Position” means “to place” or
“to put”. So “preposition’ means “placing before” or “putting before”. What to
place? Before what? Before a noun or verb, we put some words. These are called
prepositions.
A preposition is
an important part of the English language. It is used to show a relationship
between the noun and pronoun in a sentence.
A preposition
must always be followed by a noun or pronoun in a sentence. It can never be
followed by a verb.
PREPOSITIONS MEANING EXAMPLE SENTENCES
- About பற்றி –He was talking about his recent visit to his native place.
- Above மேலே – The crocodile raised his head above the water level.
- across குறுக்கே – Ravi walked across the road.
- After பிறகு – we went to the park after the school hours.
- Against எதிராக – Kumar placed the ladder against the wall.
- along வழியாக, நெடுக்கில், அதனோடு – The people stood along the road to watch the procession.
- Among மத்தியில் – Kala is the tallest girl among the four.
- Around சுற்றிலும் – They planted the saplings around the house.
- As போல – Her face is as bright as the moon.
- At இல், இடத்தில் – I go to school at 9 am. I am at home.
- Before முன்னால் – I reached home before my sister.
- Behind பின்னால் – John is hiding behind the door.
- Below அடியில் – The water level is below 10 ft.
- Beneath அடியில் – Gopal is lying beneath the tree.
- Beside அருகில், பக்கத்தில் – I am sitting beside my friend.
- Besides மேலும், கூட – Besides coffee we ate snacks.
- Between இடையில் – Arun is standing between the two pillars.
- Beyond அப்பால் – My house is beyond the temple.
- By ஆல்/மூலமாக – I go to school by bus.
- Down கீழே – He went down the stairs.
- During பொழுது – I will go to my uncle’s house during the summer vacation.
- Except தவிர –Everyone is present except Raju.
- For க்கு/க்காக – Sunil is waiting for his father.
- From இருந்து – My brother is coming from Delhi.
- In இல்/உள்ளே – We are sitting in the shade of a tree.
- Inside உட்பக்கத்தில் – My mother is sleeping inside the room.
- Into இல், உள்நோக்கி – He poured the water into the bottle.
- Like போல – He cried like a child.
- Near அருகில் – My school is near the hospital.
- Of உடைய – He is the hero of the film.
- On மேலே – A cat is sitting on the table.
- Outside வெளியே – They are playing outside the house.
- Over மேலே – Mani jumped over the wall.
- Since இருந்து – We are playing cricket since this morning.
- Through மூலமாக – He ran through the tunnel.
- Till வரைக்கும் – We waited till he reaches us.
- To க்கு – My sister is going to the market.
- Towards நேராக/சார்பாக – The dog is coming towards me.
- Under கீழே – The child is sitting under the table.
- Up மேலே – The soldiers went up the hill
- Upon மேலே – She kept the basket upon her head.
- Versus எதிராக – India versus Pakistan test match begins tomorrow.
- With உடன்/ஓடு – I went to the theatre with my friend.
- Within உள்/உள்ளே – Mala finished her home work within 1 hour.
- Without இல்லாமல் – I won’t attend the meeting without the manager.
According to the usages of prepositions, they are
classified into following major divisions:
1 PREPOSITION OF TIME
– About, After, Around, At, During, For, In, On, Since, Till, Until
2 PREPOSITION OF PLACE
– Above, At, Before, Below, Beside, In , Inside, Near, On, Over, Under
3 PREPOSITION OF MOVEMENT – Across, Along, Into, Out, Through
4 PREPOSITION OF AGENTS – About, By, For,
Of, With
Prepositions we use daily
1 AT –
Particular time of a clock, Short and precise time (night), Specific place,
festivals like Christmas,
Looking
something deep, pointing next to, by an object.
Eg:
Thieves are mostly rob at
night
Look at the board
My
dad is planning to go to exhibition at the weekend.
You
should complete the exam sharply at 5.00 pm. (a certain point of clock
mentioned time)
2 BY – Means
of travelling, Means of something or someone, use in the passive form, to
finish something
within a point of time(on or before), left or right of something or someone,
beside.
Eg:
I
will be back by 6 o’clock.
By 11 o'clock, I had read five pages.
Shaker was awarded by the chief guest
My dog came and sat by me
The project should be finished by this evening
3 IN – pointing
Centuries or a period of time in the past or future, Month, Particular
time(morning,
Afternoon and evening), Seasons, Year, Place
having physical or virtual boundaries
Eg:
We
are going to America in August. (months)
They
will come to our house in winter. (season)
You
should wake up early in the morning. (time of day)
That
medicine was discovered in 2006. (year)
Our
course will be completed in 6 months. (after a certain period of time)
Don’t
worry. You will be all alright in 2 days. (after a certain period of
time)
4 ON – Days,
Dates, Particular holidays, Surface of things, something attached on the wall.
Eg:
the picture on the wall is beautiful
The book is on the table
The school will be reopened on Monday
5 WITH – ‘accompanied by’ something or someone.
Eg:
I will come with him
Here are a few prepositions which cause confusion. The
examples illustrate the correct usage.
1 SINCE/FOR
- since for an action continuing from the past to the present time
Yuvan has been playing badminton well since
2014.
- for the total duration of an action/ existence from the past to the present time
Yuvan has been playing badminton for
the past four years.
- ABOVE/OVER
- above when one thing is not directly over the other
My
brother lived in the mountains above the lake.
- over for horizontal movement at a higher level
I
saw a helicopter fly over a lake.
- BELOW/UNDER
- below ‘Below’ is the opposite of ‘above’
Her head was below the level of the
table. So, nobody noticed her.
- under ‘under’ is the opposite of ‘over’; for horizontal movement at a lower level
A
child places his toys under a blanket.
A boy ran under the bridge when
the river was dry.
- ALONG/THROUGH
- along for following a line of specific movement
A
man walked along the side of the river.
- through for movement in a three dimensional space from one side to the other
Hunters walked through the forest.
5 BETWEEN/AMONG
- between used for two nouns/adverbials, when there is ‘and’ in the sentence
There was amity between
Jessie Owens and Luz Long in the Berlin Olympics.
- among used for more than two nouns, when there is the use of ‘and’ in the sentence
There was a healthy discussion about communal
harmony among Ramesh, Abdul and John.
- BEFORE/AFTER
- before used for the second action in a phrase when we mention two actions
Before
eating food, we clean our hands.
- after used for the first action in a phrase when we mention two actions
After
eating food, children love playing.