ENGLISH VOCAB.( PREPOSITIONAL PHRASES)

  1. ACCOMPLISH IN

Meaning: Possessed of good qualities

Example : Mukesh is accomplished in art of painting.

  1. Acquainted with

Meaning: Familiar, known

Example : Rohit is acquainted with Ramesh.

  1. Angry with a person

Example : Ram is angry with his brother.

  1. Angry at Once Behaviour

Meaning: Possessed of good qualities

Example : The teacher was angry at his student’s behaviours.

  1. Abide by

Example : We should abide by the advice of our teacher.

  1. Agree with

Example : I do not agree with my friends in this matter.

  1. Agree to

Example : We agree to your proposal.

  1. Anxious for

Meaning : I am anxious for the prize.

  1. Anxious about

Example : he was anxious about my health.

  1. Accompanied by

Example : He was accompanied by his friend

  1. Accompanied with

Example : The fever was accompanied with cough.

  1. Hanker from

Example : He was hindered from doing this work.

  1. Part with

Example : I don’t want to part with this book.

  1. Part from

Example : I parted from my friend at the station.

  1. Preventive of

Example This medicine is a good preventive of cancer.

How to use Preposition in English Grammar

Prepositions are words which show the relationship between a noun or a pronoun object and some other words in the sentence. They are always followed by nouns or pronouns. They are called “the biggest little words” in English because they have very important functions.

Three Groups of Prepositions:

  1. Prepositions of place, position and direction.
    b. Prepositions of time.
    c. Prepositions for other relationships.

 

SOME COMMON PREPOSITIONS
PLACE POSITION DIRECTION TIME OTHER
above
across
along
among
at
away from
behind
below
beside
between		 beyond
by
down
from
in
in front of
inside
into
near
off		 on
opposite
out (of)
outside
over
around
through
to
towards
under
up		 after
before
at
by
for
during
from
in		 except
as
like
about
with
without
by
for

Rule: è
They are always followed by a “noun”, never followed by a verb.
By “noun” we include:

à Noun (dog, money, love)

à Proper Noun (name) (London, Mary)

à Pronoun (you,him,us)

à Noun Group (my first car)

à Gerund (swimming)

If we want to follow with a verb, we must use the “-ing” form which is really a gerund or verb in noun form. è

Subject + Verb Preposition “noun”
The pen is on the table.
He lives in England.
Henry is looking for you.
The newspaper is under your green book.
Pascal is used to English people.
She isn’t used to working.
We ate before coming.

 

Prepositions of Time / Place at, in, on à

à  At for a PRECISE TIME

à In for MONTHS, YEARS, CENTURIES and LONG PERIODS

à On for DAYS and Dates

At In On
At 4:30 pm in March on Monday
At 3 o’clock In Winter On 6 March
At noon In the summer On 22 Dec.2012
At dinnertime In 1990 On Christmas Day
At bedtime In the next century On your birthday
At the moment In the future On New Year’s Eve

Notice that use of the prepositions of time in and on in these common expressions è

àIn the morning /On Monday morning

àIn the mornings / On Sunday mornings

àIn the afternoon(s) / On Sunday afternoons

àIn the evening(s) / On Friday evenings

Note : When we say next, last, this, every we do not use at,in,on.

àI went to New York last June (not in last June)
àShe is coming back next Monday. (not on next Monday)
àI go home every Easter . (not at every Easter)
àWe’ll call you this afternoon. (not in this afternoon)

Place: at, in, on

In General:

à At for a POINT (dog, money, love)

àIn for an ENCLOSED SPACE

àOn for a SURFACE

At In On
At the bus stop In London On the wall
At the corner In the garden On the ceiling
At the entrance In a box On the floor
At the crossroads In a building On the carpet
At the top of the page In a car On a page

Some other common uses of at / on / in

At In On
At home In a car On a bus
At work In a taxi On a train
At school In a helicopter On a plane
At university In an elevator On a bicycle
At the top In the sky On the radio
At the bottom In the street On the left
At the side In a row On a horse
At reception In a boat On a boat

Note : Notice how we can use on a boat or in a boat depending on the type and the size of the particular boat/ship.

More Prepositions

Prepositions use Example
during while in during the film,during the war, during my stay
for for two days, for an hour
from / to from Saturday to Monday, from 5 to 9
between the time period from one to another between 1986 and 2012, between Saturday and Monday
until/till before a certain time until/till Sunday,5 o’clock
by at the least by Tuesday, by next month, by tomorrow
to movement towards to school, to work, to the station
into movement towards inside something into the cinema, into the car
out of to leave a place/a thing out of the cinema,out of the car
by near/next to/beside LINK stand by me, by the lake
through through the tunnel, through the room
across opposite ends across the river, across the street
against against the wall, against the door
into movement towards inside something into the cinema, into the car

 

Prepositions
A preposition is a word placed before a noun (or a pronoun) to show in what relation the person or thing denoted by it stands to something else.
Kinds of Preposition
1) Simple Prepositions : They are the simple words used as prepositions.
For example, at, by, for, from, in, of, off,on, out, over, through, till, to, under, up, with.
2) Compound Prepositions : They are generally formed by prefixing a preposition (usually a = on or be = by) to a
noun, an adjective or an adverb.
For example,about, above, across, along, amidst, among, around, before, behind, below, beneath, beside, between, beyond, inside, outside, underneath, within, without.
3) Phrase Prepositions : When a group of words is used with the force of a single preposition, it is known as a phrase preposition.
For example, He succeeded in spite of obstacles.
4) Participial Prepositions: When the present participle of a verb acts as a preposition, it is known as a participle preposition.
For example, There have not been too many celebrations in recent times barring those happened after Diwali.
Rules based on frequent asked questions
 
Rule : In is used with names of countries and large towns; at is more often used when speaking of small towns and villages.
Incorrect: He lives at Germany.
Correct: He lives in Germany.
Rule : In and at are used in speaking of things at rest; to and into are used in speaking of things in motion.
Incorrect : This week the song jumped at the top of the charts.
Correct: This week the song jumped to the top of the charts.
Rule : Till is used of time and to is used of place.
Incorrect: The office will remain open to six in the evening.
Correct: The office will remain open till six in the evening.
Rule : With often denotes the instrument used by the agent.
Incorrect: The ball was hit by the bat.
Correct: The ball was hit with the bat.
Rule : Both since and from are used before a noun denoting some point of time. However, while since is preceded by a verb in the perfect tense, from is used with the
non-perfect tense.
Incorrect: India has been playing Test cricket from 1932.
Correct: India has been playing Test cricket since 1932.
Rule : While since or from is used with a point of time, for is used with a period of time.
Incorrect: The parcel has been lying here since 10 days.
Correct: The parcel has been lying here for 10 days.
Rule : Beside means by the side of while besides means in additions to.
Incorrect: He sat besides the chair.
Correct: He sat beside the chair.
Rule : Between is used for only two things or persons while among is used for more than two.
Incorrect: You have to choose among tea and coffee.
Correct: You have to choose between tea and coffee.
Rule : Above and below merely denote position while over and under also carry a sense of covering or movement.
Incorrect: The bird flew above the lake.
Correct: The bird flew over the lake.
Rule : During is used when we are talking about the time within which something happens. For is used when we are talking about how long something lasts.
Incorrect: There were few incidents of irregularity for the Emergency years.
Correct: There were few incidents of irregularity during the Emergency years.
Rule: The preposition “off” denotes “separation”, “at a distance from” or “far from” whereas the preposition “of” denotes cause, origin, quality, possession.
Incorrect: He put of his coat.
Correct: He put off his coat. (Separation)
Incorrect: He died off cancer.
He died of cancer. (Cause)
Rule : The word compare is followed by to when it shows that two things are alike. It is followed by with when we look at the ways in which two things are like and unlike each other.
Incorrect: Sanath Jayasuriya’s batting may be compared with the sales of a useful book: they score fast right from the beginning.
Correct: Sanath Jayasuriya’s batting may be compared to the sales of a useful book: they score fast right from the beginning.
Rule : When we simply speak of a thing having got better, we talk of an improvement in it. When we compare two things, the second of which is better than the first, we talk of an improvement on the first thing.
Incorrect: There has been an improvement on the weather.
Correct: There has been an improvement in the weather.
Rule : In means at the end of, while within means before the end of, the said time duration.
Incorrect: We left at 5 o’clock expecting to come back in an hour and watch the 6 o’clock movie.
Incorrect: We left at 5 o’clock expecting to come back within an hour and watch the 6 o’clock movie.
Some important points about prepositions
1. The words “superior”, “inferior”, “senior”, “junior” etc. take the preposition “to” with them.
Incorrect: Ram is senior than Mohan.
Correct: Ram is senior to Mohan.
2. The words “prefer”, “preferrable”, “preferred” also take the preposition “to” with them.
Incorrect: I prefer tea than coffee.
Correct: I prefer tea to coffee.
3. The words “inspite of” and “despite” share the same meaning. The only difference is that inspite takes the preposition “of” whereas despite does not take any preposition.
Incorrect: Despite of bad weather, he went to school.
Correct: Despite bad weather, he went to school.
In the same way, the word “consist” takes the preposition “of” whereas “comprise” does not take any preposition.
Incorrect: The classroom comprises of twenty students.
Correct: The classroom comprises twenty students.
Following questions are based on the above concepts
Directions: Choose the most appropriate preposition in each of the following sentences.
 
1. The peasant refused to grovel _______ the feet of his master.
a) on
b) about
c) upon
d) at
e) None of these
2. He was killed _______ a highway man ______ a dagger.
a) by; for
b) by; with
c) in; for
d) with; for
e) None of these
3. Give an example pertinent ________ the case.
a) with
b) for
c) on
d) to
e) None of these
4. Are not these slums a disgrace ______ the civic authorities.
a) for
b) to
c) towards
d) on
e) None of these
5. Take this medicine and you will get rid _______ the bad cold.
a) from
b) over
c) at
d) of
e) None of these]
6. President Saddam Hussain has lived _______ the gun all his life.
a) with
b) for
c) by
d) on
e) None of these
7. He had to repent _______ what he had done.
a) at
b) of
c) over
d) for
e) None of these
8. The commentator seems to be enamoured _______ it.
a) with
b) over
c) for
d) on
e) None of these
9. The man died _______ fever last week.
a) with
b) from
c) of
d) by
e) None of these
10. He has not been cured _______ his disease.
a) of
b) from
c) by
d) through
e) None of these
Directions (Q.11-20). Read each sentence to find out whether there is any grammatical error or idiomatic error in it. The error, if any, will he in one part of the sentence. The number of that part is the answer. If there is ‘No error’, the answer is ‘e’.
 
11. I have been teaching a)/ in this school since b)/ several years but have c)/ never met such a hopless class as this. d)/ No error e)
12. I have an a)/ appointment on the b)/ 9th of September on c)/ five O’clock.d)/ No error e)
13. Despite of a good a)/ monsoon this year, the b)/ production of food grains in the country c)/ did not go up.d)/ No error e)
14. Ordinarily, when in a)/ difficulty Renu prefers b)/ keeping her counsel than c)/ running about taking advice.d)/ No error e)
15. The invitation card a)/ says that Satish b)/ marries with c)/ Sunita next month.d)/  No error e)
16. She looked very a)/ different from the b)/ photograph I c)/ had of her. d)/ No error e)
17. The bride said a)/ that she would not b)/ marry the man c)/ over thirty five.d)/  No error e)
18. The reason a)/ of his failure b)/ is due to c)/ his negligence.d)/ No error e)
19. The captain and his a)/ wife were invited b)/ for the cultural c)/ function at my home.d)/ No error e)
20. Yesterday, while a)/ crossing the b)/ road he was run out c)/ by a truck. d) No error e)

Answers :
1.  d
2.  b
3.  d
4.  b
5.  d
6.  c
7.  d
8.  a
9.  c
10. a
11. b; Replace “since” with “for”.
12. c; Replace “on” with “at”.
13. a; Omit “of”
14. c; Replace “than” with “to”
15. c; Replace “with” with “to”
16. e; No error.
17. d; Replace “over” with “above”
18. b; Replace “of” with “for”
19. c; Replace “for” with “at”
20. c; Replace “run out” with “run over”

 

The usage of some preposition with some words is fixed. Some of them are given below.  Have a look. Hope you all like the post.

Accustomed of

  • He was accustomed of working hard in his youth. (used to)

 

Accused of

  • The man accused of stealing was sent to jail. (blamed of)

Acquainted with

  • Please introduce him to me if you are acquainted with him. (know)

 

Afraid of

  •  Don’t get afraid of that dog. It won’t bite. (fear from)

 

Agree to (idea)

  • The president agreed to the resolution and passed it. (accept)

 

Agree with (person)

  • If you agree with me please support me. (have same opinion)

 

According to

  • He was acquitted as he was innocent according to the jury. (in the opinion of)

 

Adapted to

  • Man easily gets adapted to new environments. (change)

 

Along with

  • The Prime Minister along with his retinue entered the hall. (together with)

 

Associated with

  • He had long been associated with the organization before he retired. (worked with)

 

Averse to

  •  Initially people are averse to accepting their weakness, but with the passage of time they start realizing and correcting themselves. (unwilling to)

 

Believe in (faith)

  • I believe in God. (have faith in)

 

Belong to

  • As this country belongs to us, we belong to this country. (have a right over)

 

Clever at

  • She is clever at painting and playing mu sic, but I am at mu sic. (skilled at)

 

Congratulate on

  • I congratulated her on her great success. (greeted)

 

Cure for

  •  As man conquers a disease and find a cure for it, another pops up. (remedy for)

 

 Depend on

  • High rate of employment depends on growth of economy. (is related with)

 

Derived from

  • Many English words are derived from Greek and Latin. (came/originate from)

 

Details of

  • This new book contains de tails of her extensive journey. (description of)

 

Different from

  • Village life is quite different from city life. (not same)

 

Divide into

  • The property was divided into two parts and given to the two sons. (break into)

 

Dream of

  • The henpeck husband could never dream of op pos ing his wife. (think of) Frightened of Those frightened of obstacles never proceed ahead for success. (having fear of)

 

Famous for

  •  The city of Benaras is famous for its teeming ghats. (known for)

 

Good at

  • He is quite good at convincing people in his favour. (skilled at)

 

Ignorant of

  • Being ignorant of the consequences, thenaives easily fall into bad habits. (not knowing)

 

Increase in

  • There has been a tremendous increase in the multi-nationals in our country. (rise in)

 

Insist on

  • The shopkeeper could not deny when she insisted on paying later. (said forcefully)

 

Interested in

  • Work hard if you are interested in your progress. (want to)

 

Lack of

  • Lack of money brings poverty and lack of knowledge ignorance. (devoid of, not having)

 

Fond of

  •  The mother was very fond of her youngest child. (loved/liked very much)

 

Aim at

  • The shooter aimed at the tar get and shot accurately. (fix at the tar get)

 

Laugh at

  •  Don’t laugh at those who are deprived of God’s blessings. (ridicule, make fun of)

 

Listen to

  • Hello! Please listen to me. (lend your ear, heed, pay attention to)

 

Look at

  •  What are you looking at? (see)

 

Look after

  • The nurse looked after the child better than the mother. (to take care of, to rear)

 

Look for

  • Have you lost anything? What are you looking for under the table. (to search for)

 

Look into

  • I have requested the police commissioner to look into the matter of increasing crime in our locality. (investigate, to probe, examine)

A Preposition is a word placed before a noun or pronoun to show in that relation the person or Having denoted by the noun stands to something else.
Some–times it is used after the word it goners.
(a) Here is the boy (Whom) you spoke of.
(b) What are you looking at
(c) When the object is the relative pronoun ‘that’ the preposition is always placed at the end:
as This is the book that were looking far.
(d) When the object is a relative pronoun or and interrogative preposition is used at the end.
Sometimes a word takes a certain preposition after it in one context and a different preposition in another context. Some such words are given as under:
1.
Abide by a thing.
Abide with a person.

2.
Accuse of crime.
Accused by a person.

3.
Apply to a person 
Apply for a thing.

4.
Appeal to a person.
Appeal against a thing.

5.
Angry with a person.
Angry at a thing.

6.
Annoyed at a thing.
Annoyed with a person.

7.
Apologize to a person.
Apologize for a thing.

8.
Accomplice with a person.
Accomplice   in some crime.

9.
Agree with a person.
Agree to proposal.

10.
Attend to a thing.
Attend upon a person.

11.
Award for a thing.
Award to a person.

12.
Account for a thing.
Account to a person.
13.
Affiliated to a university.
Affiliated  with a party.

14.
Burns into tears/ rage.
Burns upon a country.

15.
Feed on grass.
Feed a cow with grass.

16.
Accommodate oneself to circumstance.
Accommodate a person with lodging or loan.

17.
Ambitious for a thing.
Ambitious of getting fame.

18.
Disgusted at a thing.
Disgusted with a person.

19.
Displeased with a person.
Displeased at a thing.

20.
Die of disease.
Die for country.

21.
Differ from a thing.
Differ with a person.

22.
Enquire of a person.
Enquire into a matter.

23.
Eager for fame.
Eager in the pursuit of knowledge.

24.
Furnish a thing to a person.
Furnish a person with a thing.

25.
Familiar with a thing.
Familiar with a thing.

26.
Good at something.
Good for nothing.

27.
Grateful to a person.
Grateful for a thing.

28.
Involve in a thing.
Involve with a person.

29.
Join with a person.
Join to a thing.

30.
Live on food 
Live with a person.

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