Why I love English prepositions is the ability to completely change the meaning of the main word with the help of one small word. It was "watch" ( look at), and it became:
. "search" ( look for)
. "to have an opinion" ( look upon)
. "take care" ( look after)
. "forgive" ( look over)
. "track" ( look to).
Juggling English prepositions is aerobatics. If you learn this art, you will enrich your vocabulary and create a buzz of approval with your speech.
Many students of English treat prepositions with some arrogance, believing that it is like a student repeating the English alphabet at night. Underestimated. But in vain. Yes, prepositions are considered auxiliary, they do not answer any questions, but they allow you to obtain from the same verb different meanings, form cases (yes, the same ones that exist in Russian) and do other interesting things. There is only one problem: prepositions in English language A LOT OF. But this does not mean that you need to learn them all right here and now. It is enough just to know the basic ones, as well as understand the division into groups.
Let’s not waste time on the fact that prepositions can be simple, monosyllabic, polysyllabic, consisting of several words, blah blah blah. Let's get straight to the point and provide not only tables of prepositions in English, but also illustrative examples in pictures. We will also look at the use of prepositions using examples.
1. Prepositions of place and direction (spatial)
2. Prepositions are temporary
Let's look at the most basic ones: about, after, at, during, for, in, on, till, within.
| about | about (approximately, approximately) | It's about 6 p.m. (It's about 6 pm now) |
| after | after | Summer comes after spring. (Summer comes after spring) |
| at | V | Let's meet at 10 a.m. (Meet me at 10 am) |
| during | during | She was sleeping during the whole lesson. (She slept throughout the lesson) |
| for | during | He laughed for 5 minutes. (He laughed for 5 minutes) |
| in | through | I'll be home in 10 minutes. (I'll be home in 10 minutes) |
| on | By | I usually go shopping on Fridays. (I usually go shopping on Fridays) |
| till | before | I won't go shopping till Sunday. (I won't go shopping until Sunday) |
| within | during, for | You must do it within a month. (You must do this in a month) |
3. Causal prepositions
because of- because;
on account of- as a result, because of;
thanks to- thanks to;
in accordance with- according to, in accordance with.
As you can see, the same preposition can be in different groups (for example, in or on can be both temporal and spatial). Moreover, if you open any dictionary (well, at least Yandex) and select any preposition, you will be surprised by the number of meanings. Let's say the most frequently used English preposition to can have 13 values (don't be lazy, take a look).
Let's talk a little about the nuances before inviting you to go into battle in the "tests" section, where the first linguistic tests of knowledge of prepositions await you.
Sing the prepositions!
Yes, yes, just sing or even read. When you are familiar with the basic prepositions, try yourself in the role of Eminem, Timati or any rapper you like. Still lacking an idea for a text? Mix prepositions! Knowing small and remote prepositions is very cool. Make sure of this by watching the video and feeling like a rising rap star.
ENGLISH PREPOSITIONS AND RUSSIAN CASES. Let's remember the second grade.
Genitive case (of whom? what?) - preposition of
Show me the plan of the house.
Dative case (to whom? what?) - preposition to
Give it to me.
Accusative case (who? what?) - without preposition
Give me a pen.
Instrumental case (by whom? with what?) - preposition with
She was cutting the letter with scissors.
Prepositional case (about whom? about what?) - preposition about
Don't speak about me.
PLACE OF PREPOSITION IN A SENTENCE
Every excuse, know its place!
In general, a preposition is supposed to be placed BEFORE a noun or pronoun (if the noun has an article or attribute, then it cannot be broken)
Put the book onthetable.
Give it to me.
The shop is behind green house.
You must do it with in two months.
In interrogative sentences (which begin with what, where, etc.) the preposition is placed at the end:
What city do you live in?
Who are you waiting for?
The remaining cases are associated with the use of prepositions in subordinate clauses, passive designs. All this will be more relevant to study in the “Syntax” section.
It is very useful to learn tablets where the preposition has already merged with a specific noun. Useful in everyday communication.
| by | By mistake By accident By chance By the way By bus/train/car Day by day Step by step |
by mistake accidentally accidentally By the way by bus/train/car day after day step by step |
| for | For a walk/dance/drink/swim For breakfast/dinner |
go for a walk/dance/drink/swim for breakfast/lunch |
| in | In fact In case In the future In love In time In the morning/evening/afternoon |
In fact when in future in love during morning/evening/afternoon |
| on | On television On holiday/a trip On foot |
on TV on vacation/trip on foot |
| at | At home/work At night At present |
at home/at work at night Now |
By the way, about the last three prepositions. They won a special place in the sun and formed their own caste - prepositions of place. Why it is necessary to collect a dossier on them no less than on a counterintelligence agent will be told and proven by someone specially dedicated to them.
Just valuable advice: since it is impossible (and not necessary) to learn ALL prepositions at first, when you write out another new verb from the dictionary, mark yourself with at least 2 options with different prepositions.
For example:
Put- put
Put on- bet on (someone, something)
Put across- deceive
When this becomes a habit, one day you will be pleased to discover that the use of the verb comes out masterfully: in different meanings according to the situation. This will decorate your speech and get rid of all sorts of pauses and “mmm”, “uh”, “ahh”. In the meantime, the problem exists, you need to solve it, starting with passing a thematic test on prepositions.
Have you sorted the predogs into shelves in your head? Even the Sun has spots, so we suggest once again (which is not superfluous) to go through the prepositions by watching a video lesson on the topic. After viewing and several years of practice, you can safely assign yourself the honorary title of “guru”.
In English, the role of prepositions is more important than in Russian, since in English these small words are assigned huge task not only control and coordination between words in a sentence, but also playing the role of cases, which, oddly enough, they do an excellent job with.
There is also some correspondence between the cases of the Russian language and the prepositions of the English language. Of course, they are not identical, but the analogy is already good. Preposition of- one of the most important prepositions. This preposition is an indicator of the genitive case. If it comes before a noun, then when translating we put the noun in the genitive case (if you forgot, it answers the question of who? what?). In addition to the genitive case indicator, it also performs other functions. Preposition of used:
1) after words denoting quantity;
2) in combinations “who of …”, “none of …”, “many of …” in the role of “from”;
Which of them is our president?- Which one is our president?
None of Germans like frost.- None of the Germans like frost.
3) usually neighbors and cooperates with out;
He went out of the room.- He left the room.
The driver got out of the car and started running round it.- The driver jumped out of the car and ran around it.
4) is used when talking about the origin of the nobility, in the meaning of “from.”
I know that noble knight. He is Sir Charles of Perigord and Lavendor.- I know this noble knight. This is Sir Charles of Périgord and Lavendor.
Here is a series of expressions with the preposition of:
a bar of chocolate - chocolate bar
a slice of sausage - a piece of sausage (cut off)
a piece of chalk - a piece of chalk
a sheet of paper - sheet of paper
a lump of sugar - a piece of sugar
a bit of information - piece (bit) of information
a pair of gloves - a pair of gloves
a can of meat - can (American: tin) of meat
a tin of fish - a can (Br.: can) of fish
a box of cereal - box of cereal
a bottle of milk - a bottle of milk
a pint of beer - a pint of beer
a bunch of grapes - a bunch of grapes
a loaf of bread - a loaf of bread
a jar of honey - jar (glass) of honey
a tube of mustard - a tube of mustard
a pound of potatoes - a pound of potatoes
a kilo of apricots - a kilo of apricots
a cup of coffee - a cup of coffee
a glass of water - glass of water
a group of students - group of students
a pack of wolves - a pack of wolves
a team of workers - team (team) of workers
Above you got acquainted with the accepted measures, volumes and units of measurement of various nouns. And of is present everywhere. Below is another list. This time words denoting quantity.
a great (good) deal of - large quantity (uncountable)
a lot of, lots of - a lot (counted and uncounted)
a great (large, small) amount of - large (small) amount (uncountable)
a great (large, small) number of - large (small) quantity (inc.)
plenty of - set (countable and non-countable)
a couple of - pair (original)
I would also like to mention combinations of cardinal numerals and plural nouns. In this form, they also cannot imagine their own existence without of:
hundreds of men and women- hundreds of men and women
thousands of slaves- thousands of slaves
millions of books- millions of books
billions of years- billions of years
Only we publish the most complete and understandable table of prepositions in the English language with examples. Any word can be translated by double click. We recommend that you learn this topic by heart.
|
Pretext |
Meaning |
Examples |
|
at |
1. Location (at, at, at, at a certain point) 2. Time (in hours) |
She is at school. She is sitting at my table. Let us meet at 5 p.m.! |
|
in |
1. Location (in a separate space) 2. Time (in months, years) 3. Work written in some language |
He is in the study. The book is in my table. Summer begins in June. It took place in 2002. This article is written in English. |
|
on |
1. Location (on horizontal and vertical surfaces) 2. Dedicated to something, on the topic (about, about) 3. Time (in days) |
The book is on my table. The picture is on the wall.This is an article on history. I was born on the 5th of November, |
|
from |
1. Direction (from, from) 2. Time (s, from) |
The train is coming from Moscow. Take the pencil from the table.I'll be busy from 10 a.m. |
|
to |
1. Direction (to, to) 2. Time (up to some point) 3. Corresponds to the dative case |
We came to Moscow. They went to the theatre.I'll be busy from 10 p.m. to 3 p.m. Give this book to me. |
|
since |
Time (from, from some point) | I'll have a rest since July till August. |
|
till |
Time (before, until some point) | Till Friday I'll be very busy. |
|
into |
Direction (inward) | Put the book into the bag. |
|
onto |
Direction (on, to the surface of something) | Put the pen from the drawer onto the table. |
|
before |
Time (before, before) | The accident took place before our era. |
|
after |
Time (after) | I went there after the stopped. |
|
about |
1. About (relatively) 2. Place (about, around, approximately) 3. Time (about, approximately) |
Please tell me about him. Come about 2 p.m.It was about noon, when she came home. |
|
for |
1. Time (during a specifically specified (in days, years) period of time) 2. Goal (at) Z.For 4. Direction (in) with the verb to leave |
I have lived there for 2 years. I went for a walk. That is a present for you. We left for St. Petersburg at 10 p.m. |
|
during |
Time (during the period of time expressed by the noun) | I was in the countryside during my weekend. |
|
of |
1. Corresponds to the genitive case (what?, whom?) 2. About (relatively) |
All the students of this group passed the exams perfectly. You must never think of him badly. |
|
with |
1. Corresponds to the instrumental case (what?) 2. With, together 3. From (surprise, fear) |
We write with pens. He went to the station with her. His face was pale with fear. |
|
by |
1. Corresponds to the instrumental case (by whom?) 2. Place (near, nearby) 3. Time (at some point) |
This poem was written by Pushkin. He was standing by the window. He had already come by 3 p.m. |
|
between |
Location (between 2 objects) | The father divided the apples between his 2 sons. |
|
among |
Location (between multiple items or objects) | The farther divided the apples among all his children. |
|
except (for) |
Except (except for those present) | Everybody likes it except me. |
|
besides |
In addition (in addition, there are more people present in number) | There were 5 boys in the room besides me. |
|
over |
1. Above, above 2. Through 3. For, in, during (period of time) |
A flight over the lake - flying over the lake. Over the last five years - over the last five years. |
|
below |
Below, under | Below zero - below zero. |
|
out |
Outside, outside, beyond | My crossbow is already out. - I already pulled out my crossbow. |
|
behind |
Behind, behind, behind | The sun is behind a cloud. - The sun disappeared behind a cloud. |
They act not only as a service part of speech, connecting parts of a sentence with each other, but also as a performer of the role of cases. The preposition of in English is - genitive case indicator. A noun preceded by the preposition of answers the questions of whom? what? The preposition itself is not translated into Russian.
This is the guitar of our grandfather— This is our grandfather's guitar.
We have finished The Big Book of Australian History— We have finished the Big Book of Australian History.
This is the nest of the yellow bird- This is the yellow bird's nest.
Functions of the preposition of
The preposition of is one of the most important prepositions in the English language; it serves many functions. We have compiled for you a list of the main functions of the English preposition of; it can be used when:
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Christopher is the owner of the museum fund— Christopher is the owner of the museum fund.
The garden of my neighbor is bigger than mine— My neighbors’ garden is bigger than mine.
He is one of us- He's one of us.
One of her children has broken Bob’s green hedge— One of her children broke green hedge Boba.
One of my classmates are owner of the water park now— Now one of my classmates is the owner of a water park.
This beautiful antique amphorae are made of ceramics— These beautiful antique amphorae are made of ceramics.
Such yurts are made of felt— Such yurts are made of felt.
My new coat is made of pure wool— My new raincoat is made of pure wool.
The Jungle Book of Rudyard Kipling— The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling.
The Lord of the Rings of John Ronald Reuel Tolkien— The Lord of the Rings by John Ronald Reuel Tolkien.
She is a wife of Damon's- She's Damon's wife.
This is a film of Shyamalan's— This is a Shyamalan film.
Is she a worker of your uncle’s?“Is she your uncle’s employee?”
The roof of our house is red— The roof of our house is red.
I just saw a big body of water— I just saw a large body of water.
The leg of the bench is broken— The bench leg is broken.
A breathtaking woman of forty— A stunning woman of forty.
A tall gray-haired man of seventy— A tall, gray-haired man of about seventy.
A turtle of ten years— A ten-year-old turtle.
I have a big bunch of keys— I have a big bunch of keys.
The structure of our society is complicated— The structure of our society is complex.
You need to have your own collection of coins— You must have your own collection of coins.
I smell of chocolate pie— I smell chocolate cake.
There is a smell of corruption here“It smells like corruption here.”
My favorite smell is a smell of fried mushrooms— My favorite smell is the smell of fried mushrooms.
Doctor of Paleontology Ross Geller— Doctor of paleontology Ross Geller.
Finally I am Master of Arts- Finally, I am a Master of Arts.
Sigmund Freud was a Doctor of Medicine— Sigmund Freud was a doctor of medicine.
We live in the north of London— We live north of London.
You can find your family a mile east of the bay“You can find your family a mile east of the bay.”
She lives to the west of Reykjavik— She lives west of Reykjavik.
the first of May- may Day
the fourth of November- fourth of November
the seventeenth of March- March seventeenth
the thirty first of December- thirty first of December
the twelfth of September- September 12
the twenty-ninth of July- twenty ninth of July
the thirteenth of August- thirteenth of August
She is full of anger right now!- She's full of anger right now!
My cup is full of water— My glass is full of water.
This baby elephant is a friend of this little hippopotamus— This baby elephant is the friend of this little hippopotamus.
Maggy is a friend of our family— Maggie is a friend of our family.
It's no business of yours- It's none of your business.