Prepositions

(Like conjunctions and determiners,

prepositions can be seen as a kind of
sentence glue)

Devised by Jo Killmister,
Skills Enhancement Program,
Newcastle Business School

The role of prepositions

Prepositions act as joining words.

They also add information to a sentence by telling
us something about the relationship between
other words.
Prepositions often occur as single words, but can
also be multiple-word constructions.

(Always try to use a single word preposition if you

possibly can. In both academic and professional
contexts, it is better to be concise.)
Devised by Jo Killmister,
Skills Enhancement Program,
Newcastle Business School

What sort of information do

prepositions add?

As the grammarian Graham King

(2000, p.147) says, prepositions
have a particular ability to unite two
elements in terms of space (to),
time (at) and reason (for).

That is, prepositions can tell us more

about the relationship between two
things or ideas in these three ways.
Devised by Jo Killmister,
Skills Enhancement Program,
Newcastle Business School

Examples of prepositions

Space: above, between, over, into,

near, beside, along, amid
Time: after, at, before, during,
since, until, past
Others: as, for, in, to, by, with,
without
Devised by Jo Killmister,
Skills Enhancement Program,
Newcastle Business School

Some prepositional phrases

Adverbial prepositional phrases:

The farmer drove her tractor through the gate.

He was sitting in the dining room.

The businesswoman vanished with the cash.

(In each of these examples, the phrase tells us more about the verb
of the sentence. That is why we call such phrases adverbial even
though they are led by prepositions. One role played by adverbs
is to tell us more about verbs.)
Adjectival prepositional phrases:

She drove along the road to the farm.

He sat at a table near the window.

She was one of those responsible for the companys collapse.

(As adjectives do, each of these examples tells more about a noun or
pronoun.)
Devised by Jo Killmister,
Skills Enhancement Program,
Newcastle Business School

How do I know which preposition to

use?

Firstly, think about your intended

meaning.

For instance, did she drive her car

near the house, under the house
or into the house?

Devised by Jo Killmister,
Skills Enhancement Program,
Newcastle Business School

Which preposition to choose?

Secondly, try to use a short preposition

rather than a long one. Here are some
long-winded examples, with shorter,
preferable alternatives in brackets.

as a consequence of (because of)

in the course of (during)
for the purpose of (to)
in the neighbourhood of (about)
in addition to (besides)
prior to (before)

in case of (if)
subsequent to (after)
on the grounds that (because)
in excess of (more than)
for the reason that (because)
in order to (to)
(Drawn from King, 2000, p. 149)
Devised by Jo Killmister,
Skills Enhancement Program,
Newcastle Business School

Which preposition to choose?

Thirdly, speak and read as much in

English as you can so that you get a feel
for which verbs and contexts demand
particular prepositions. In many cases,
the choice is a matter of idiom usual
practice.

For instance, we aim at something, we feel

disgust for certain kinds of behaviour, we
may feel superior to some kinds of people
or we may be oblivious of looming
disaster.
Devised by Jo Killmister,
Skills Enhancement Program,
Newcastle Business School

More about choice of preposition

You need to read, listen to and

speak English as much as you can
in order to learn and reinforce that
you go to the theatre, or have a
good time at the cinema, but have a
holiday in Italy and land on the
moon, or to learn that although you
feel anger with somebody you feel
regret for some aspect of the past.
Devised by Jo Killmister,
Skills Enhancement Program,
Newcastle Business School

Preposition rules
It used to be taboo to end a sentence with a preposition, perhaps
because many literate English-speaking people knew Latin, a
language in which such an ending was simply not possible in
written form. These days, we are more relaxed about this rule.
However, in formal written English, it is still a good idea to avoid
ending with a preposition if it makes a sentence look and
sound clumsy. For instance, an awkward construction such as,
The Health Department conducted an inquiry into the
manufacture of the cereals the supermarkets were supplied with
would be smoother and easier to process if it were phrased: The
Health Department conducted an inquiry into the manufacture of
the cereals with which the supermarkets were supplied.
On the other hand, especially in everyday English, if you are sure
that it is necessary to end a sentence with a preposition to
avoid clumsiness and think that there is no better way of
phrasing the sentence then just go ahead! (For instance, I
cant think of anyone Id rather go with.)

Devised by Jo Killmister,
Skills Enhancement Program,
Newcastle Business School

Below are some prepositions in use in

sentences:

Because he was such a moody man, I did not

enjoy working for him.
The firm invited its biggest clients to drinks
before the meeting.
The firms representatives said that they would
meet us at six oclock.
The airline said that her suitcases were over the
baggage weight limit.
She was promoted instead of her colleague.
The companys offices are near the station.
During the lecture, he could not help
daydreaming.
She works until midnight every night.
Devised by Jo Killmister,
Skills Enhancement Program,
Newcastle Business School

References

Jose, J. (2000). Study Skills Online.

King, G. (2009). Improve Your Grammar. Glasgow, UK:
Collins.
Thomson, A.J. & Martinet, A.V. (1977). A Practical English
Grammar (2nd ed.). OUP, Oxford.
Loberger, G. & Shoup, K. (2009). Websters New World
English Grammar Handbook (2nd ed.). Hoboken, NJ:
Wiley.
Practice Resource: Murphy, R. (2004). English Grammar
in Use (3rd ed.). Cambridge, UK: CUP. Units 113-136
Devised by Jo Killmister,
Skills Enhancement Program,
Newcastle Business School