PrepositionsRecall first that the direct object of a transitive verb answers the questions: What? OR: Who? Examples: You saw a movie. What did you see?He bought a car. What did he buy?She loves him. Who does she love? She carried her son. Who did she carry?
Prepositions answer different questions…
PrepositionsPrepositions answer the question Where:
John is sitting by a tree. Where is John sitting?
Prepositions answer the question When:
John left in the morning. When did John leave?
He went to school. Where did he go?
The book is on the shelf. Where is the book?
It starts before 10 am When does it start?
They ate lunch at noon. When did they eat lunch?
Prepositions
Prepositions never appear by themselves. They are followed by a noun-phrase or a pronoun.
*The pen is on. The pen is on the desk
*She looked at. She looked at him.
The underlined word below also answers the question When. But is it a preposition?
John saw the movie yesterday.
NO!!!
*John saw the movie in John saw the movie in the afternoon
Test 1 for Prepositions
(It is) _______ the table
Examples: above the table; across the table; against the table; around the table; behind the table; below the table; beneath the table; beside the table; between the tables; by the table; on the table; over the table; under the table.
Test 2 for Prepositions
(I walked) ______ that place.
Examples: from that place; beyond that place; in that place; into that place; near that place; to that place; through that place; within that place; towards that place.
Test 3 for Prepositions(it was/it happened) ______ that time/
12 o'clock
Examples:
after 12 o'clock; around 12 o'clock; at 12 o'clock; before 12 o'clock; by 12 o'clock; about that time; during that time; for that time; since that time; throughout that time; till that time; towards that time; until that time; within that time.
Some prepositions only pass one of the tests, so you should use all tests to be sure.
Still, these tests don’t identify ALL prepositions. Some more fairly common prepositions are: Along; among; despite; down; up; onto; out; with, without
The most common prepositions in English are: Of, on, to, with, in, fromBy, for, at, over, across
PrepositionsNote that prepositions must be followed by a
noun-phrase: 1. John walked up the hill. “up” is a preposition in sentence 1. 2. The bird flew up. “up” is NOT a preposition in sentence 2. 3. John came up with a great idea. “up” is NOT a preposition in sentence 3. “came up” is a phrasal verb.
Prepositions
4. John walked out. “out” is NOT a preposition in (4)5. John walked out the door. “out” is a preposition in (5)6. John spelled out the instructions. “Spell out” is a phrasal verb in (6)
PrepositionsSometimes Prepositions answer questions that require the use of TWO words (the Preposition + the question word):
She is from Texas. Where is she from?
He hasn’t seen her since yesterday
Since when hasn’t he seen her?
You saw the movie with Greg.
With whom did you see the movie?
A bit more on Linking Verbs
Linking verbs can be followed by an adjective:1. John is hungry. Linking verbs can be followed by a noun-phrase: 2. John is a student. Linking verbs can be followed by… a preposition:3. John is at school.4. The house is on fire.
Infinitive “to” VS. the preposition “to” Is the underlined word a preposition? 1. John went to the store. 2. John likes to sleep. 3. I gave it to him. 4. He deserves to be heard.
How do we distinguish the two types of “to”? I. Infinitive “to” is followed by a verb. II. The preposition “to” is followed by a noun-
phrase or a pronoun.
Is the underlined word a preposition?
1. John ate pizza after the movie. 2. John ate pizza after he saw the movie. 3. She waited until the end. 4. She waited until the movie ended. 5. Jane exercised before lunch. 6. Jane exercised before she ate.
Prepositions can be followed by noun-phrases or pronouns, but
NOT sentences1. John ate pizza after [the movie]. 2. John ate pizza after [he saw the movie]. 3. She waited until [the end]. 4. She waited until [the movie ended]. 5. Jane exercised before [lunch]. 6. Jane exercised before [she ate]. The underlined words in (2), (4) and (6) are called conjunctions, and that’s our next topic…
Review- Identify the prepositions:
1. I came home around 9 P.M. last night.2. She found a package on her doorstep.3. His heroism was beyond the call of duty.4. During the long ride, the kids listened to the radio.5. John can finish the job within that time frame.
Review- Identify the prepositions:
6. The candidate withdrew from the race.7. The stream wanders through Mrs. Perkins' property.8. From our vantage point, we could see the sun rising above the horizon.9. They decided to bicycle for an hour.10.The post office is around the corner and to
the right of the grocery store.
Homework
Read and do all the exercises in unit 5.
