Prepositions

A preposition is a word which shows the relations between a noun or a pronoun and some other word in a sentence. It is placed before the noun or the pronoun( or any other word acting like a noun )

Prepositions of time

A number of propositions may be used to denote time:on Monday, before night, during the night, till tomorrow, after lunch.

1. At, on, in
   (a) At usually denotes a definite point of time but can also be used for indefinite periods:
   at 3 o'clock, at midnight
   (b) On is used with days and dates:
   on Monday, on 5th December
   (c) In is used with parts of the day, month, year, season:
   in the morning, in winter
2. By
   It denotes the latest time at which an action will be over:
   The show will be over by 6 p.m.
3. From
   It denotes the starting point of an action. It is almost always used with to or till/until:
   The examination will be held from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m.
4. after, before, between
   a) It is used later than something:after school.
   b)earlier than something:before Christmass.
   c)a time that separates two points:between Monday and Friday.
5. Up to
   It denotes not more than special time:
   They study up to 8 hours a day.
6. during
   It denotes the whole of period of time:
   I'm at Kathmandu during the holidays.

Prepositions of position

1. At, in
   (a) At has the idea of an exact point; it is used in villages, small towns. In has idea of a larger area and is used while speaking of bigger towns, states, countries:
   at Thamel, in Kathmandu, at Dhanusha, in England
   (b) At conveys the idea of general neighborhood; in conveys the idea of something contained:
   Please sit at the table when you eat.
   I shall meet you at Hotel Hyatt.
   The jam bottle is in the refrigerator.
2. Between, among
   Between is used for two persons or things, among is used with more than two:
   A small table was lying between the two chairs.
   The Hari hid among the bushes.
3. On, upon
   Both on and upon can be used while speaking of things at rest; upon is used with things in motion:
   My bag is on/upon the table.
4. Above, over
   Both above and over mean higher than:
   The flags waved over our heads.
   The flags waved above our heads.
5. Below, under
   Both below and under mean lower than. Sometimes we can use either of them. But under also means vertically below.
   The traveller was resting under a tree.
   She put the book under her pillow.
   There was a beautiful lake below us in the valley.
   
   

Prepositions of direction towards,to, into, at, against,outside,up,down,near

1. To has the sense of destination, towards of direction:
   We went to the school. (reached the school)
   We went towards the school. ( in the direction of the school)
2. Into denotes movement towards the interior of something:
   The dog jumped into the pond.
3. At has the idea of hitting:
   She threw the stone at the dog.
4. Against shows pressure or contact:
   He threw the bag against the wall.
5. Outside shows the opposite of inside:
   Can we stay outside ?
6. Up has the sense of low to high:
   Jack and Jill went up the hill.
7. Down has the sense of high to low:
   They came down the hill.
8. Near shows the close to:
   My house is near the Boudha.

Prepositions of direction from: from, off, out of

1. From is used with the point of departure:
   She has already gone from the office.
2. Off shows separation. It is used in the sense of from the surface of, down from:
   He fell off the cycle.
3. Out of is the opposite of into. It means from the interior of:
   The bird flew out of the cage.

Correct use of certain prepositions

1. By, with
   By is used to express the agent or doer of an action; with relates to the instrument with which the action is done:
   The leopard was beaten by the villagers with a stick.
2. After,in
   After is used to denote some period of time in the past; in is used to show some period of time in the future:
   She came back home after an hour.
   We will come back home in an hour.
3. Beside, besides
   Beside means by the side of; besides means in addition to:
   Please put this bag beside the box.
   Besides giving me books, she gave me her notes.
4. On time, in time
   On time = at the arranged time; not before, not after
   In time = not late, with a comfortable margin:
   We reached the station in time for the train.
   The train started on time.