What is a Preposition ? Preposition â Meaning and Types
What is a Preposition ?
A preposition is a word that shows the relationship between a noun or pronoun and another word in a sentence.
It usually tells us about place, time, direction, cause, manner, or position.
Definition:
A preposition is a word placed before a noun or pronoun to show its relation to another word in the sentence.
āϏāĻāĻā§āĻāĻž (Assamese): Preposition āĻšā§āĻā§ āĻāύ⧠āĻāĻāĻž āĻļāĻŦā§āĻĻ āϝāĻŋ noun āĻŦāĻž pronoun ā§° āĻāĻāϤ āĻŦāĻšā§ āĻā§°ā§ āĻŦāĻžāĻā§āϝāϤ āĻāύ āĻļāĻŦā§āĻĻā§° āϏā§āϤ⧠āϏāĻŽā§āĻĒā§°ā§āĻ āĻŦā§āĻāĻžā§āĨ¤
Ex: The book is on the table. āĻāĻŋāϤāĻžāĻĒāĻāύ āĻā§āĻŦā§āϞ⧰ āĻāĻĒā§°āϤ āĻāĻā§āĨ¤
Types of Prepositions
Preposition of Place : Shows where something is.
Common words: in, on, at, under, over, behind, between
Ex: The cat is under the table. āϤā§āĻāĻ āϏā§āĻā§āϞ⧰ āĻŽāĻžāĻāϤ āĻāĻā§āĨ¤
Preposition of Time : Shows when something happens.
Common words: at, on, in, before, after, during
Ex: He came at 6 o’clock. āĻāĻŽāĻŋ āϏāĻāĻžāϞ⧠āĻāĻ ā§āĻāĨ¤
Preposition of Direction / Movement : Shows movement or direction.
Common words: to, into, towards, across, through
Ex: She went to school. āĻĒāĻā§āĻā§ āĻāĻā§° āĻĢāĻžāϞ⧠āĻā§°āĻŋ āĻ’āϞāĨ¤
Preposition of Position : Shows exact position.
Common words: on, in, at, inside, outside
Ex: The keys are in the bag. āĻŦāϞāĻā§ āĻŦāĻžāĻāĻā§° āĻāĻŋāϤ⧰āϤ āĻāĻā§āĨ¤
Preposition of Manner : Shows how something is done.
Common words: by, with, in, like
Ex: He solved the problem with ease. āϤā§āĻāĻ āĻŦāĻžāϏā§ā§°ā§ (by bus) āĻāĻšāĻŋāϞāĨ¤
Preposition of Agent / Instrument : Shows who does the work or what is used.
Common words: by, with
Ex: The letter was written by her. āĻāĻāĻžā§°āĻāύ āĻāϞāĻŽā§ā§°ā§ āϞāĻŋāĻāĻž āĻšā§āĻāĻŋāϞāĨ¤
Preposition of Cause / Reason : Shows reason or cause.
Common words: because of, due to, for
Ex: The match was canceled because of rain. āĻŦā§°āώā§āĻŖā§° āĻāĻžā§°āĻŖā§ āĻā§āϞ āĻŦāύā§āϧ āĻš’āϞāĨ¤
Compound Prepositions : Made of two or more words.
Ex: in front of / because of / according to
Example sentence: The teacher is in front of the class.
Quick Example List : in the room / on the table / at night / by bus / before class / after lunch
Correct Use of Prepositions
1. The players agreed to abide ___ the referee's decision.
AnS: (b) by
Explanation: Abide by means to obey or follow a rule or decision. āĻŦā§āϝāĻžāĻā§āϝāĻž: Abide by āĻŽāĻžāύ⧠āĻšā§āĻā§ āĻŽāĻžāύāĻŋ āĻāϞāĻž āĻŦāĻž āĻ
āύā§āϏ⧰āĻŖ āĻā§°āĻžāĨ¤
⥠āĻā§āϞā§ā§ąā§āϏāĻāϞ⧠⧰ā§āĻĢāĻžā§°ā§ā§° āϏāĻŋāĻĻā§āϧāĻžāύā§āϤ āĻŽāĻžāύāĻŋ āĻāϞāĻŋāĻŦāϞ⧠āϏāύā§āĻŽāϤ āĻšā§āĻāĻŋāϞāĨ¤
2. Modern industry abounds ___ opportunities for young people with good scientific knowledge.
Ans: (a) in
Explanation: Abound in means to be full of something. āĻŦā§āϝāĻžāĻā§āϝāĻž: Abound in āĻŽāĻžāύ⧠āĻšā§āĻā§ āĻŦāĻšā§āϤ āĻĒā§°āĻŋāĻŽāĻžāĻŖā§ āĻĨāĻāĻžāĨ¤
⥠āĻāϧā§āύāĻŋāĻ āĻāĻĻā§āϝā§āĻ āϏā§āϝā§āĻā§ā§°ā§ āĻā§°āĻĒā§ā§°āĨ¤
3. A junior cashier has absconded ___ ten thousand rupees.
Ans: (d) with
Explanation: Abscond with means to run away secretly with money. āĻŦā§āϝāĻžāĻā§āϝāĻž: Abscond with āĻŽāĻžāύ⧠āĻšā§āĻā§ āĻāĻāĻž āϞ⧠āĻĒāϞāĻžāĻ āϝā§ā§ąāĻžāĨ¤
4. The children were so absorbed ___ their game that they did not notice the passage of time.
Ans: (c) in
Explanation: Absorbed in means deeply engaged or fully involved. āĻŦā§āϝāĻžāĻā§āϝāĻž: Absorbed in āĻŽāĻžāύ⧠āĻšā§āĻā§ āϏāĻŽā§āĻĒā§ā§°ā§āĻŖ āĻŽāύā§āϝā§āĻā§ā§°ā§ āĻŦā§āϝāϏā§āϤ āĻĨāĻāĻžāĨ¤
5. He was abstained ___ salted food by the doctor.
Ans: (a) from
Explanation: Abstain from means to avoid something. āĻŦā§āϝāĻžāĻā§āϝāĻž: Abstain from āĻŽāĻžāύ⧠āĻšā§āĻā§ āĻŦāĻŋā§°āϤ āĻĨāĻāĻž / āĻā§°āĻŋ āĻāϞāĻžāĨ¤ ⥠āĻĄāĻžāĻā§āϤ⧰⧠āϤā§āĻāĻāĻ āύā§āύā§ā§āĻž āĻāĻžāĻĻā§āϝ āĻā§°āĻŋ āĻāϞāĻŋāĻŦāϞ⧠āĻā§āĻāĻŋāϞāĨ¤
6. The committee regrets that it cannot accede ___ your request for a month's unpaid leave.
Ans: (b) to
Explanation: Accede to means to agree to a request. āĻŦā§āϝāĻžāĻā§āϝāĻž: Accede to āĻŽāĻžāύ⧠āĻšā§āĻā§ āĻ āύā§ā§°ā§āϧ āĻŽāĻžāύāĻŋ āϞā§ā§ąāĻžāĨ¤
7. My information does not accord ___ the report which has just been presented.
Ans: (c) with
Explanation: Accord with means to agree or match. āĻŦā§āϝāĻžāĻā§āϝāĻž: Accord with āĻŽāĻžāύ⧠āĻšā§āĻā§ āĻŽāĻŋāϞ āĻā§ā§ąāĻž / āĻāĻā§ āĻšā§ā§ąāĻžāĨ¤
8. I have been accused ___ many things in my life, but never of cowardice.
Ans: (b) of
Explanation: Accused of means charged with a fault or crime. āĻŦā§āϝāĻžāĻā§āϝāĻž: Accused of āĻŽāĻžāύ⧠āĻšā§āĻā§ āĻĻā§āώ āĻā§°ā§āĻĒ āĻā§°āĻžāĨ¤
9. You will soon get accustomed ___ the change of climate.
Ans: (a) to
Explanation: Accustomed to means used to something. āĻŦā§āϝāĻžāĻā§āϝāĻž: Accustomed to āĻŽāĻžāύ⧠āĻšā§āĻā§ āĻ āĻā§āϝāϏā§āϤ āĻšā§ āϝā§ā§ąāĻžāĨ¤
10. The new teacher was very slow to adapt ___ the unusual rules of the school.
Ans: (d) to
Explanation: Adapt to means to adjust to new conditions. āĻŦā§āϝāĻžāĻā§āϝāĻž: Adapt to āĻŽāĻžāύ⧠āĻšā§āĻā§ āύāϤā§āύ āĻĒā§°āĻŋāϏā§āĻĨāĻŋāϤāĻŋāϤ āĻāĻžāĻĒ āĻā§ā§ąāĻžāĨ¤
11. He became addicted ___ drugs at quite an early age.
Ans: (c) to
Explanation: Addicted to means dependent on something harmful. āĻŦā§āϝāĻžāĻā§āϝāĻž: Addicted to āĻŽāĻžāύ⧠āĻšā§āĻā§ āύā§āĻļāĻžāϤ āĻĒā§°āĻŋ āϝā§ā§ąāĻžāĨ¤
12. This point will adhere ___ any surface, whether rough or smooth.
Ans: (a) to
Explanation: Adhere to means to stick firmly. āĻŦā§āϝāĻžāĻā§āϝāĻž: Adhere to āĻŽāĻžāύ⧠āĻšā§āĻā§ āϞāĻāĻŋ āϧ⧰āĻžāĨ¤
13. It is awful to be afflicted ___ a sense of inferiority.
Ans: (b) with
Explanation: Afflicted with means suffering from a problem. āĻŦā§āϝāĻžāĻā§āϝāĻž: Afflicted with āĻŽāĻžāύ⧠āĻšā§āĻā§ āĻāώā§āĻ āĻĒā§ā§ąāĻž / āĻā§āĻāĻžāĨ¤
14. The debate adjourned ___ the following week.
Ans: (d) to
Explanation: Adjourned to means postponed to a later time. āĻŦā§āϝāĻžāĻā§āϝāĻž: Adjourned to āĻŽāĻžāύ⧠āĻšā§āĻā§ āĻĒāĻŋāĻāϞ⧠āϏā§āĻĨāĻāĻŋāϤ āĻā§°āĻžāĨ¤
15. This college is affiliated ___ the Punjab University.
Ans: (a) to
Explanation: Affiliated to means officially connected with a university. āĻŦā§āϝāĻžāĻā§āϝāĻž: Affiliated to āĻŽāĻžāύ⧠āĻšā§āĻā§ āĻŦāĻŋāĻļā§āĻŦāĻŦāĻŋāĻĻā§āϝāĻžāϞā§ā§° āϏā§āϤ⧠āĻāύā§āώā§āĻ āĻžāύāĻŋāĻāĻāĻžā§ąā§ āϏāĻāϝā§āĻā§āϤāĨ¤
Final Exam Tip: Many verbs take fixed prepositions—learn them as pairs. āĻŦāĻšā§ verb ā§° āϞāĻāϤ āύāĻŋā§°ā§āĻĻāĻŋāώā§āĻ preposition āĻĨāĻžāĻā§—āϝā§ā§°ā§ āϝā§ā§°ā§ āĻŽā§āĻāϏā§āĻĨ āĻā§°āĻāĨ¤