Kinds of Prepositions: A thorough guide with interesting examples

In the first chapter of Prepositions- Introduction to prepositions, we learned briefly about the Kinds of Prepositions. In this chapter, we will dive deeper into the topic.

Kinds of Prepositions

As we have learned, Prepositions are words that connect nouns/pronouns/phrases. It’s a bit tricky to explain the usage as it really has not many rules. But the wonders of logic will save this one. We will get into complete details of this part in our next chapter but let’s get introduced to the different kinds in this chapter:

Simple Prepositions: Usually containing only two syllables, simple prepositions are words like for, by, at, out, in, of, off, through, till, up, to, with.

The whale dived into the water creating a massive splash.
I am from New Jersey.
Martha is here till her brother gets into college.
The moon does not shine by its own light.
My niece is suffering from flu.
I am working hard at Geography.

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2. Compound Prepositions: Compound prepositions are those prepositions that are made by prefixing the preposition to a noun, an adjective or an adverb. Say for example, amongst, amidst, above, around, along, across, about, below, beneath, beside, between, beyond, outside, within, without.

Compound prepositon: Prefix + noun/adjective/adverb

The cat is jumping around the seat.
Amidst all the confusion, Nancy stayed calm and saved the drowning kid.
Amongst all the children, Cindy is the brightest in music.
The car pulled along the driveway.
There’s a metro station beneath this ground.
Our dog stayed outside our home in his kennel.
The children ran around the bench.
There is a friendly mouse inside my cupboard.
Her beauty is beyond imagination.
Once upon a time, there was a brave princess.

3. Double Preposition: When two prepositions are used together, they are called Double Prepositions. Sometimes a Compound Preposition is formed by joining two words, but unlike that, Double Prepositions are always two separate words.

Double Prepositions are formed by simple- two prepositions

My son emerged from behind the curtains to scare me.
According to the meteorology department, it is going to rain tonight.
It is up to nature to replenish our renewable resources.
Zeal is something that comes from within a person.

4. Participle Preposition: Verbs that act as a preposition. Usually, end in -ing and -ed.

Particle preposition are verbs in disguise

Barring a few minor mistakes, the play went pretty good.
Everyone, please keep quiet during the class.
Our teacher sometimes gets frustrated with us.
Considering my grandfather’s age, we keep our travels less exhausting.
Everyone attended the gala including the President himself.

5. Phrase prepositions: A Phrase preposition includes a preposition, an object and the object’s modifier.

Phrase prepositions are – preposition + object + modifier

My little brother collected my trophy on behalf of my sister.
Inspite of being the best soccer team, we didn’t win.
The show got canceled because of the sudden rain.
In course of time, the wounds on my cat’s paws healed.
In order to avoid losses, he withdrew all money to mitigate the risk
By virtue of the power vested upon the prince, he announced a peace treaty.

kinds of prepositions

Kinds of Prepositions: According to Functionality

Prepositions of Time: These prepositions denote time in the sentence. For example, look at the table below to get an idea of how prepositions of time are used. Please note that these are only 3 examples of prepositions of time. We will deep dive more into these and more separately:

Prepositions of time	Explanations	Example
In	– Used for years / months / seasons – Used for morning / afternoon / evening – Period of time	– I went backpacking in Europe in 1999/ in May 2017/ in the summertime. – I went for a run in the morning/ afternoon/ evening. – This is my first chocolate in last three years.
On	– Days / period	– I will go for a haircut on Monday. – I will go shopping on the weekend.
At	– Night – At an exact time of the day	– The moon shines at night. – We go to the sea coast every day to watch the sunrise at 5:30 am.

We are traveling abroad in the summertime.
Why don’t you come home on Sunday evening?
The home-coming is on the 7th September.
My mom gifted me a puppy on my birthday.
We gathered in the assembly hall at 7 o’ clock.

2. Prepositions of Place: These prepositions denote a place in the sentence. For example, look at the table below to get an idea of how prepositions of place are used. Please note that these are only 3 examples of prepositions of place. We will deep dive more into these and more separately:

Prepositions of time	Explanations	Example
In	– Used for inside	– Martha is in the car. – Picasso is one of the most famous artists in the world.
On	– Placement of a particular thing attached to, or next to something – Something displayed on something	– She will sing on stage tomorrow. – I will feature in a video on TV today. – There’s a beautiful picture of my family on the wall. – I got on the bus for Goa from Mumbai.
At	– An exact place where something is situated	– She met me at the North main street. – We go to the sea coast every day to watch the sunrise at 5:30 am.

There’s a shoe rack in the lobby.
There’s a painting on the wall.
There’s a rod at the roof edge.
There’s a mouse under my chair.
Let’s get under the umbrella as it’s starting to drizzle.
There’s a key-holder behind the door.

Note: Notice in the two tables above, the words are actually the same but the usage changes their meaning and hence the kind of preposition they make. We will understand this fully when we read about each of these functions individually further on.

3. Prepositions of Direction: These prepositions show the direction of something.

She dived into the river.
All students walked towards the assembly hall.
Past the orchard, you will find my grandmother’s house.

4. Prepositions of Agent: These prepositions act as an agent between a noun and usually a verb.

Harry Potter was written by J.K Rowling.
Some schools are accredited by CBSE board.
She was hit by a car while she was going to school.
Hanah graduated with an honors degree.

5. Prepositions of Instruments, devices or Machines: These prepositions connect instruments, machines or devices in the sentence.

She came to the wedding party by train.
I made a hole in the wall with the help of a drill for the waste-pipe.
My brother opened the lock with a hairpin.

That wraps our chapter on Kinds of Prepositions. Amazingly, all these prepositions can be used in many situations in many ways. We will break it down further and see all these kinds in the upcoming chapters. Stay tuned to Toppr Guides.

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Solved Question for You

Q: Select a suitable preposition to complete the sentence:
Stella is worthy ______ a prize.

with
for
to
of

Ans: The correct option is “D”

‘At’ is used to point out specific time or location.
‘Of’ is used for belonging to, relating to, or connected with.
‘To’ is used to indicate the place, person, or thing that someone or something moves toward, or the direction of something.
‘For’ is used to indicate the use of something.
Here belonging/connection of ‘prize’ and ‘Stella’ is mentioned.

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