Prepositions

Prepositions of Manner

We have seen how a preposition shows where, when or how an action took place in a sentence. They are the connecting words in sentences. What do they connect? Nouns/pronouns/phrases to other words in a sentence. We have seen Prepositions of Time and Prepositions of Place in the earlier articles, now we delve into the logical next kind, Prepositions of Manner.

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Prepositions of Manner is all about how a certain thing happened or is done. Sometimes even referred to as Prepositions of Method, these include words like on, by, with, like, etc. 

The most commonly used Prepositions of Manner are “by” and “with”. We make use of By whenever we talk about actions and it is usually followed by the gerund (verb + -ing) or a noun, while we make use of With to talk about objects or tools that are used to achieve something and it is often followed by a noun. This will make more sense as you read further:

Prepositions of Manner

Browse more Topics under Prepositions

Prepositions of Manner:

  1. Prepositions of form- By, With. They have the same purpose in the sentence but not the same meaning. Both of them show the form of the noun. They show what was used to make something happen.

By is used as –By + noun OR By + -ing + noun
With is used as – with + noun

For example:
  • He will die by the sword. (the sword will be the manner of his death)
  • He faces danger with courage. (he is courageous when faced with danger)
  • She left the room in tears. (she was crying when she left the room)

Answering the question of how:

  • She lost 2 pounds by going vegan. (how did she lose 2 pounds? by going vegan)
  • They went through the blizzard with courage. (how did they go through the blizzard? with courage)
2. Preposition of method- As if, like, on, as. These show the method with which something was done.
For example:
  • She spoke as if she was the head of the team. (in the manner of the head)
  • He acted like there was no other option. (in a manner that there was no other option)
  • They traveled on foot. (they walked)
  • I have worked as a teacher and counselor. (in the capacity of a teacher and counselor)

Try answering the question of how from the following examples:

  • She went to South Bombay by cab.
  • Our mother sings like a cuckoo bird.
  • The skydivers were dropped by a plane.
  • He fell in the ditch while walking home.
  • The tourists arrived on the Havelock island on a ferry.
  • I reacted with anger to his mistake.
  • My sister speaks like an old wise woman.

Solved Question for You

Q: Fill in the blank with a suitable preposition.
She came to the party _______ auto.

  1. by
  2. for
  3. with
  4. of

Ans: The preposition ‘by’ is used to show how or in what way something is done, especially to denote the transport that is used for traveling. In the given context the person uses an auto to travel, therefore ‘by’ is the apt answer. Thus option A is correct.

Whereas ‘with’ in the given context would mean in the company of someone. Since the auto is not a person and cannot accompany the person to the party option C is incorrect. Similarly ‘for’ cannot be used in the sentence because ‘for’ is used to denote why something is done or for whom.

The party is not conducted for the auto, therefore, option B is incorrect. The preposition ‘of’ is used to express belonging, which is inappropriate here because the party doesn’t belong to or originates from the auto. Thus option D is incorrect.

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One response to “Kinds of Prepositions”

  1. shraddha says:

    all information is good but can u add more exceptions and errors that are commonly made while using prepositions.

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