Help With Prepositions

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prep·o·si·tion1 /ˌprɛpəˈzɪʃən/ Pronunciation Key – Show Spelled Pronunciation[prep-uh-zish-uhn] Pronunciation Key – Show IPA Pronunciation

–noun Grammar.

any member of a class of words found in many languages that are used before nouns, pronouns, or other substantives to form phrases functioning as modifiers of verbs, nouns, or adjectives, and that typically express a spatial, temporal, or other relationship, as in, on, by, to, since.

[Origin: 1350–1400; ME preposicioun < L praepositiōn- (s. of praepositiō) a putting before, a prefix, preposition. See pre-, position] —Related forms prep·o·si·tion·al, adjective prep·o·si·tion·al·ly, adverb —Usage note The often heard but misleading “rule” that a sentence should not end with a preposition is transferred from Latin, where it is an accurate description of practice. But English grammar is different from Latin grammar, and the rule does not fit English. In speech, the final preposition is normal and idiomatic, especially in questions: What are we waiting for? Where did he come from? You didn't tell me which floor you worked on. In writing, the problem of placing the preposition arises most when a sentence ends with a relative clause in which the relative pronoun (that; whom; which; whomever; whichever; whomsoever) is the object of a preposition. In edited writing, especially more formal writing, when a pronoun other than that introduces a final relative clause, the preposition usually precedes its object: He abandoned the project to which he had devoted his whole life. I finally telephoned the representative with whom I had been corresponding. If the pronoun is that, which cannot be preceded by a preposition, or if the pronoun is omitted, then the preposition must occur at the end: The librarian found the books that the child had scribbled in. There is the woman he spoke of. Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006. Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source pre·po·si·tion2 /ˌpripəˈzɪʃən/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[pree-puh-zish-uhn] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation –verb (used with object) to position in advance or beforehand: to preposition troops in anticipated trouble spots. Also, pre-po·si·tion. [Origin: 1960–65; pre- + position] Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006. American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source prep·o·si·tion 1 (prěp'ə-zĭsh'ən) Pronunciation Key n. Abbr. prep. A word or phrase placed typically before a substantive and indicating the relation of that substantive to a verb, an adjective, or another substantive, as English at, by, with, from, and in regard to. [Middle English preposicioun, from Old French preposicion, from Latin praepositiō, praepositiōn-, a putting before, preposition (translation of Greek prothesis), from praepositus, past participle of praepōnere, to put in front : prae-, pre- + pōnere, to put; see apo- in Indo-European roots.] Usage Note: It was John Dryden who first promulgated the doctrine that a preposition may not be used at the end of a sentence, probably on the basis of a specious analogy to Latin. Grammarians in the 18th century refined the doctrine, and the rule has since become one of the most venerated maxims of schoolroom grammar. But sentences ending with prepositions can be found in the works of most of the great writers since the Renaissance. English syntax does allow for final placement of the preposition, as in We have much to be thankful for or I asked her which course she had signed up for. Efforts to rewrite such sentences to place the preposition elsewhere can have stilted and even comical results, as Winston Churchill demonstrated when he objected to the doctrine by saying "This is the sort of English up with which I cannot put." · Sometimes sentences that end with adverbs, such as I don't know where she will end up or It's the most curious book I've ever run across, are mistakenly thought to end in prepositions. One can tell that up and across are adverbs here, not prepositions, by the ungrammaticality of I don't know up where she will end and It's the most curious book across which I have ever run. It has never been suggested that it is incorrect to end a sentence with an adverb. (Download Now or Buy the Book) The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source pre·po·si·tion 2 also pre-po·si·tion (prē'pə-zĭsh'ən) Pronunciation Key tr.v. pre·po·si·tioned also pre-po·si·tioned, pre·po·si·tion·ing also pre-po·si·tion·ing, pre·po·si·tions also pre-po·si·tions To position or place in position in advance: artillery that was prepositioned at strategic points in the desert. (Download Now or Buy the Book) The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source preposition 1388, from L. præpositionem (nom. præpositio) "a putting before," from præpositus, pp. of præponere "put before," from præ- "before" + ponere "put, set, place" (see position). In grammatical sense, a loan-translation of Gk. prothesis, lit. "a setting before." Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper WordNet - Cite This Source preposition noun 1. a function word that combines with a noun or pronoun or noun phrase to form a prepositional phrase that can have an adverbial or adjectival relation to some other word 2. (linguistics) the placing of one linguistic element before another (as placing a modifier before the word it modifies in a sentence or placing an affix before the base to which it is attached) WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.

“Jim is driving through the tunnel.”

Now if you would like to know about prepositonal phrases I can tell you about those too.

A prepositonal phrase is made up of several elements; object, preposition, and and adverd/adjective.

If you would like to know more there’s an excellent article here:

http://www.arts.uottawa.ca/writcent/hypergrammar/preposit.html

Preposition – under

Prep phrase- under the couch

A preposition gives location on under, around, on top of, inside, next to, beneath, above.

The phrase is the group of words the preposition has with it to explain location.

Look at it like pre (meaning before) positional (like position) it is telling you where to go or what position to take before you or the subject does it.

that’s clear as mud…! but if you have a King James Bible, they say the beatitudes in there (sermon on the mount) are a perfect example of balanced use of prepositions…like the preps IN and FOR.

A prepositional phrase is simply a phrase that starts with a preposition.

2 sites to check: http://www.grammarlady.com/

http://www.dailygrammar.com/

aboard

about

above

around

after

against

along

among

around

at

before

behind

below

beneath

beside

between

beyone

by

down

during

except

for

from

in

into

like

of

off

over

pass

since

through

throughout

to

toward

under

underneath

until

up

upon

with

within

without

prepositions come in phrases

which always end in objects.

hope this helps!

John is hiking on the mountain trail. …on the mountain trail is the prep. phrase

anything you can do to the box is a preposition.

you can go: under, around, into, beside, beneath…get it?

i put the key under the box.

prep. phrase: under the box.

for, to, by, next….words like that.

hope it helps you.