Preposition of Measure, Standard, Rate, Value

Preposition of Measure, Standard, Rate, Value: A preposition is a word placed before a noun or a pronoun to show in what relation the person or thing denoted by it stands in regard to something else.

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Trivia (Because who doesn’t love some trivia?) – The word Preposition means “that which is placed before”.

How about you look at a few examples here to give you an idea about prepositions:

There is a cute bear in the jungle. (Note that the preposition in is joining one Noun to another, bear and jungle in this case.)
My sister is fond of pizza. (Note that the preposition of is joining a Noun to an Adjective, fond and pizza.)
The leopard jumped off the tree. (Note that the preposition off is joining a Noun to a Verb, jumped and tree.)

Don’t worry one bit if you couldn’t follow the above fully or at all. We got you covered in a chapter we covered before, called kinds of Prepositions. This will elaborate on how prepositions are divided into Simple, compound, Phrasal, and Double prepositions. Now according to their functionality, prepositions can also be divided in prepositions of time or place or manner or possession or agency or source or cause or measure, standard, rate, value. The last one is the one we are going to break down in this chapter. So let’s get into it.

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Preposition of Measure, Standard, Rate, Value:

To begin with, this preposition is used for the purpose as it seems from the title: for a measure or state a standard or specify a rate or specify a value. There are a few prepositions that are used before nouns, adjectives or verbs to describe them in the context of a measurement. Let’s see a few examples to really understand what we mean here:

My brother is taller than me by 5 inches. – In this sentence, what’s being measured is the height. Height can be measured specifically and the comparison is clearly mentioned in the sentence. Notice how the preposition by is placed right before the measure of 5 inches.
Can you please sell your bicycle to me at 50 percent of selling price. – What’s being measured here is the rate. A rate usually always takes the preposition at. A percentage is a very precise number to describe a rate that usually goes with the preposition, at.

So now that we think you have a good idea of Preposition of Measure, Standard, Rate, Value, let’s have a look at a few prepositions and try to break down their usages:

By – Most commonly used preposition for the purpose of measure, by is usually used to describe a measure, standard or value, sometimes in comparisons or just stating standard measurement. Let’s see a few examples:

Tina won the match against Whitney by 2 points.
The area of this house is measured by the yard.
The leopard is heavier than the jaguar by 10 pounds.

At – Second most common preposition of this kind. At is usually used in the context of very precise measures. Let’s see a few examples:

She charges interest rate at 10 percent.
It came in running at 110km/hour.

Of – This preposition is usually used when the topic is abstract or measurement can’t be in numbers. For example, a thing like bravery cannot be measured in numbers, but it’s measurement or value can still be described. Let’s see a few examples: