What is a Preposition ? Preposition – 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.


āϏāĻ‚āĻœā§āĻžāĻž (Assamese): Preposition āĻšā§ˆāϛ⧇ āĻāύ⧇ āĻāϟāĻž āĻļāĻŦā§āĻĻ āϝāĻŋ noun āĻŦāĻž pronoun ā§° āφāĻ—āϤ āĻŦāĻšā§‡ āφ⧰⧁ āĻŦāĻžāĻ•ā§āϝāϤ āφāύ āĻļāĻŦā§āĻĻā§° āϏ⧈āϤ⧇ āϏāĻŽā§āĻĒā§°ā§āĻ• āĻŦ⧁āϜāĻžā§ŸāĨ¤


Ex: The book is on the table. āĻ•āĻŋāϤāĻžāĻĒāĻ–āύ āĻŸā§‡āĻŦ⧁āϞ⧰ āĻ“āĻĒā§°āϤ āφāϛ⧇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. āϤ⧇āĻ“āρ āĻ¸ā§āϕ⧁āϞ⧰ āĻŽāĻžāϜāϤ āφāϛ⧇āĨ¤


Preposition of Time : Shows when something happens.


Common words: at, on, in, before, after, during


Ex: He came at 6 o’clock. āφāĻŽāĻŋ āϏāĻ•āĻžāϞ⧇ āωāĻ ā§‹āρāĨ¤


Preposition of Direction / Movement : Shows movement or direction.


Common words: to, into, towards, across, through


Ex: She went to school. āĻĒāĻ–ā§€āĻŸā§‹ āĻ—āϛ⧰ āĻĢāĻžāϞ⧇ āω⧰āĻŋ āĻ—’āϞāĨ¤


Preposition of Position : Shows exact position.


Common words: on, in, at, inside, outside


Ex: The keys are in the bag. āĻŦāϞāĻŸā§‹ āĻŦāĻžāĻ•āϚ⧰ āĻ­āĻŋāϤ⧰āϤ āφāϛ⧇āĨ¤


Preposition of Manner : Shows how something is done.


Common words: by, with, in, like


Ex: He solved the problem with ease. āϤ⧇āĻ“āρ āĻŦāĻžāϏ⧇⧰⧇ (by bus) āφāĻšāĻŋāϞāĨ¤


Preposition of Agent / Instrument : Shows who does the work or what is used.


Common words: by, with


Ex: The letter was written by her. āĻ•āϟāĻžā§°āĻ–āύ āĻ•āϞāĻŽā§‡ā§°ā§‡ āϞāĻŋāĻ–āĻž āĻšā§ˆāĻ›āĻŋāϞāĨ¤


Preposition of Cause / Reason : Shows reason or cause.


Common words: because of, due to, for


Ex: The match was canceled because of rain. āĻŦā§°āώ⧁āĻŖā§° āĻ•āĻžā§°āϪ⧇ āϖ⧇āϞ āĻŦāĻ¨ā§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§āϝāĻžāĻ–ā§āϝāĻž: Abide by āĻŽāĻžāύ⧇ āĻšā§ˆāϛ⧇ āĻŽāĻžāύāĻŋ āϚāϞāĻž āĻŦāĻž āĻ…āύ⧁āϏ⧰āĻŖ āϕ⧰āĻžāĨ¤
➡ āϖ⧇āĻ˛ā§ā§ąā§ˆāϏāĻ•āϞ⧇ ⧰⧇āĻĢāĻžā§°ā§€ā§° āϏāĻŋāĻĻā§āϧāĻžāĻ¨ā§āϤ āĻŽāĻžāύāĻŋ āϚāϞāĻŋāĻŦāϞ⧈ āϏāĻ¨ā§āĻŽāϤ āĻšā§ˆāĻ›āĻŋāϞāĨ¤


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§āϝāĻžāĻ–ā§āϝāĻž: Abound in āĻŽāĻžāύ⧇ āĻšā§ˆāϛ⧇ āĻŦāĻšā§āϤ āĻĒā§°āĻŋāĻŽāĻžāϪ⧇ āĻĨāĻ•āĻžāĨ¤
➡ āφāϧ⧁āύāĻŋāĻ• āωāĻĻā§āϝ⧋āĻ— āϏ⧁āϝ⧋āϗ⧇⧰⧇ 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§āϝāĻžāĻ–ā§āϝāĻž: Abscond with āĻŽāĻžāύ⧇ āĻšā§ˆāϛ⧇ āϟāĻ•āĻž āϞ⧈ āĻĒāϞāĻžāχ āĻ¯ā§‹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§āϝāĻžāĻ–ā§āϝāĻž: Absorbed in āĻŽāĻžāύ⧇ āĻšā§ˆāϛ⧇ āϏāĻŽā§āĻĒā§‚ā§°ā§āĻŖ āĻŽāύ⧋āϝ⧋āϗ⧇⧰⧇ āĻŦā§āϝāĻ¸ā§āϤ āĻĨāĻ•āĻžāĨ¤


5. He was abstained ___ salted food by the doctor.


Ans: (a) from


Explanation: Abstain from means to avoid something. āĻŦā§āϝāĻžāĻ–ā§āϝāĻž: Abstain from āĻŽāĻžāύ⧇ āĻšā§ˆāϛ⧇ āĻŦāĻŋā§°āϤ āĻĨāĻ•āĻž / āĻā§°āĻŋ āϚāϞāĻžāĨ¤ ➡ āĻĄāĻžāĻ•ā§āϤ⧰⧇ āϤ⧇āĻ“āρāĻ• āύ⧁āĻ¨ā§€ā§ŸāĻž āĻ–āĻžāĻĻā§āϝ āĻā§°āĻŋ āϚāϞāĻŋāĻŦāϞ⧈ āĻ•ā§ˆāĻ›āĻŋāϞāĨ¤


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§āϝāĻžāĻ–ā§āϝāĻž: Accede to āĻŽāĻžāύ⧇ āĻšā§ˆāϛ⧇ āĻ…āύ⧁⧰⧋āϧ āĻŽāĻžāύāĻŋ āĻ˛ā§‹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§āϝāĻžāĻ–ā§āϝāĻž: Accord with āĻŽāĻžāύ⧇ āĻšā§ˆāϛ⧇ āĻŽāĻŋāϞ āĻ–ā§‹ā§ąāĻž / āĻāϕ⧇ 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§āϝāĻžāĻ–ā§āϝāĻž: Accused of āĻŽāĻžāύ⧇ āĻšā§ˆāϛ⧇ āĻĻā§‹āώ āφ⧰⧋āĻĒ āϕ⧰āĻžāĨ¤


9. You will soon get accustomed ___ the change of climate.


Ans: (a) to


Explanation: Accustomed to means used to something. āĻŦā§āϝāĻžāĻ–ā§āϝāĻž: Accustomed to āĻŽāĻžāύ⧇ āĻšā§ˆāϛ⧇ āĻ…āĻ­ā§āϝāĻ¸ā§āϤ āĻšā§ˆ āĻ¯ā§‹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§āϝāĻžāĻ–ā§āϝāĻž: Adapt to āĻŽāĻžāύ⧇ āĻšā§ˆāϛ⧇ āύāϤ⧁āύ āĻĒā§°āĻŋāĻ¸ā§āĻĨāĻŋāϤāĻŋāϤ āĻ–āĻžāĻĒ āĻ–ā§‹ā§ąāĻžāĨ¤


11. He became addicted ___ drugs at quite an early age.


Ans: (c) to


Explanation: Addicted to means dependent on something harmful. āĻŦā§āϝāĻžāĻ–ā§āϝāĻž: Addicted to āĻŽāĻžāύ⧇ āĻšā§ˆāϛ⧇ āύ⧇āĻļāĻžāϤ āĻĒā§°āĻŋ āĻ¯ā§‹ā§ąāĻžāĨ¤


12. This point will adhere ___ any surface, whether rough or smooth.


Ans: (a) to


Explanation: Adhere to means to stick firmly. āĻŦā§āϝāĻžāĻ–ā§āϝāĻž: Adhere to āĻŽāĻžāύ⧇ āĻšā§ˆāϛ⧇ āϞāĻ—āĻŋ 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§āϝāĻžāĻ–ā§āϝāĻž: Afflicted with āĻŽāĻžāύ⧇ āĻšā§ˆāϛ⧇ āĻ•āĻˇā§āϟ āĻĒā§‹ā§ąāĻž / āĻ­ā§‹āĻ—āĻžāĨ¤


14. The debate adjourned ___ the following week.


Ans: (d) to


Explanation: Adjourned to means postponed to a later time. āĻŦā§āϝāĻžāĻ–ā§āϝāĻž: Adjourned to āĻŽāĻžāύ⧇ āĻšā§ˆāϛ⧇ āĻĒāĻŋāĻ›āϞ⧈ āĻ¸ā§āĻĨāĻ—āĻŋāϤ āϕ⧰āĻžāĨ¤


15. This college is affiliated ___ the Punjab University.


Ans: (a) to


Explanation: Affiliated to means officially connected with a university. āĻŦā§āϝāĻžāĻ–ā§āϝāĻž: Affiliated to āĻŽāĻžāύ⧇ āĻšā§ˆāϛ⧇ āĻŦāĻŋāĻļā§āĻŦāĻŦāĻŋāĻĻā§āϝāĻžāϞ⧟⧰ āϏ⧈āϤ⧇ āφāύ⧁āĻˇā§āĻ āĻžāύāĻŋāĻ•āĻ­āĻžā§ąā§‡ āϏāĻ‚āϝ⧁āĻ•ā§āϤāĨ¤


Final Exam Tip: Many verbs take fixed prepositions—learn them as pairs. āĻŦāĻšā§ verb ā§° āϞāĻ—āϤ āύāĻŋā§°ā§āĻĻāĻŋāĻˇā§āϟ preposition āĻĨāĻžāϕ⧇—āϝ⧋⧰⧇ āϝ⧋⧰⧇ āĻŽā§āĻ–āĻ¸ā§āĻĨ āϕ⧰āĻ•āĨ¤