Campus Recruitment – Verbal Ability – Preposition

Campus Recruitment – Verbal Ability – Preposition

A Preposition is a word placed before a noun or a pronoun and shows some relation between that and some other word in the sentence.
e.g.: Mohan gave a lecture on patriotism.

Note: Sometimes, Prepositions also end a sentence for example, This is the boy I gave the book to.
It also shows relationship between:
a VERB and a NOUN
a VERB and a PRONOUN
an ADJECTIVE and a NOUN
one NOUN and another NOUN

Kinds of Prepositions:

Simple prepositions: Generally have a single syllable.
e.g.: in, on, at, for etc.

Compound prepositions: have two or more syllables.
e.g.: among, between etc

Phrasal prepositions: A group of words which can be used as a preposition.
e.g.: by means of, with reference to, in spite of etc.
Some commonly used prepositions are given here.
IN 

Before bigger places.
e.g.: He was in London for about a year.
It is also used for a month, year and period of time.
In England, it often snows in December.

Shows state or condition
e.g.: He came here in 2010.
She stays at Jubilee Hills in Hyderabad.
He is in bed.

ON

To show place of rest. To show time on day and date
e.g.: She came on Friday.

AT

Used before smaller places, to show exact time, to show to what extent an action is performed.
e.g.: They came at 8 O’clock.
The train leaves at 5.00 p.m.

Look at these examples

TO

Used for time ‘from’…. ‘to’, used with indirect object for direction.
e.g.: We travelled from Delhi to Agra by train
The last session lasted from July to September.
He lent his bike to his brother, (indirect object)
She’s going to Mumbai.

INTO

Used to show inwards motion.
e.g.: He jumped into the river.
She put the money into the purse.

BY

1. Is used in passive voice.
e.g.: The snake was killed by Raju.
2. To express approx time.
e.g.: I will be there by 5 pm.
3. To show means of transport.
e.g.: They came by train.
4. To show nearness and support.
e.g.: The child stood by his father.
5. To show measurement
e.g.: Cloth is shown by meters.

WITH

To show instrument, manner of action, company.
e.g.: They came with their children.
He broke the lock with a hammer.
She drew this picture with a pencil.

BEFORE and AFTER

Used to show time earlier and after.
e.g.: He joined this firm two years before I did.
She went out after breakfast.

BETWEEN and AMONG

‘Between’ is used when speaking of two persons, places etc, whereas ‘among’ is’used when speaking of more than two.
For example.The man divided his property among his four children. Divide this fruit between the two of you.

BESIDE and BESIDES

‘Beside’ means by the side of whereas ‘besides’ means in addition to.
e.g.: Their house is beside the temple.
Besides being a doctor he is also an amateur photographer.

WITHIN

Expresses enclosed time and place.
e.g.: My uncle will be back from Delhi within a week.

OF

Expresses cause and possession.
e.g.: The man died of cancer.

OFF

To show direction and distance.
e.g.: I got off the bus immediately.

FOR

To express period of time.
e.g.: We stayed in Kanpur for three months.

SINCE

To show a point of time.
e.g.: We have been staying in Delhi since 2010.

• When we say last, next, every, this we do not use at, in, on.
  e.g.: I met Rani on last Sunday. (incorrect)
  I met Rani last Sunday. (correct)
• Certain Verbs, Nouns, Adjectives and participles are always followed by particular Prepositions. The best way to remember prepositions is by learning them together. A few examples are given here. This helps yo’ not only in using the correct prepositions but also in improving your vocabulary.

FOR
affection, ambition, appetite, aptitude, blame,candidate, capacity, compassion, compensation,contempt, desire, esteem, fondness, guarantee, leisure, liking, motive, need, opportunity, reputation, surety, qualified, ready, sorry, sufficient, notorious, prepared, eligible, grateful, useful, fit care, feel, hope, mourn, sue, wish.

WITH
associate, bear, clash, coincide, comply, condole, cope, correspond, credit, disagree, fill, grapple, meddle, part, quarrel, acquainted, afflicted, busy, satisfied, gifted, infected, inspired, overcome, touched.

OF
experience, failure, proof, result, want, worthy, weary, accused, acquitted, afraid, apprehensive, assured, aware, cautious, certain, characteristic, composed, confident, conscious, convicted, convinced, deprived, desirous, devoid, diffident, distrustful, envious, fond, guilty, ignorant, informed, innocent, irrespective, negligent, proud, regardless, sure, beware, boast, complain, dream.

TO
access, allegiance, alternative, antidote, approach, assent, attachment, attention, accede, adapt, adhere, allude, apologize, aspire, attend, attribute, belong, disgrace, dislike, conform, consent, contribute, lead, listen, object, prefer, pretend, refer, revert, stoop,submit, succumb, surrender, testify, yield, exception, incentive, indifference, invitation, key, likeness, limit, obedience, objection, obstruction, opposition, preface, reference, resemblance, sequel, temptation, acceptable, accustomed, addicted, adjacent, affectionate, agreeable, alien, amenable, applicable, beneficial, comparable, condemned, conducive, devoted, due, entitled, equal, exposed, faithful, fatal, hostile, inclined, indebted, indifferent, insensible, favorable, impervious, liable, limited, loyal, lost, necessary, obliged, partial, peculiar, pertinent, preferable, prior, prone, reduced, related, relevant, restricted, sacred, sensitive, subject, suitable, true.

FROM
abstinence, deliverance, descent, digression, escape, exemption, inference, respite, abstain, cease, debar, derive, deviate, differ, digress, elicit, emerge, escape, exclude, preserve, prevent, prohibit, protect, recoil, recover, refrain.

IN
absorbed, accomplished, accurate, correct, defective, deficient, experienced, diligent, enveloped, honest, interested, involved, proficient, delight, employ, enlist, excel, involve, indulge, persevere, persist.

ON
comment, decide, deliberate, depend, dwell, embark, encroach, enlarge, impose, insist, intrude, resolve, trample.

Correction of errors

1. The employees insisted to meet the manager.(on meeting)
2. We should aim for excellence. (at)
3. She is suffering with fever. (from)
4. The bank is located besides the shopping complex.(beside)
5. Distribute the text-books between your classmates.(among)
6. The Krishna express arrives on platform 6. (at)
7. She can swim 200 m for 20 seconds. (in)
8. He deals with the sale of property. (in)
9. He always boasts about the century he once hit. (of)
10. The thief jumped on the wall to escape from thepolice. (over)
11. Amar has an aptitude on Mathematics. (for)
12. The meeting was held in a Sunday morning. (on)
13. She looked in her watch to see the time. (at)
14. You must return this book in a week. (within)
15. She usually comes by walk. (on foot)
16. Sravani is good in Mathematics. (good at)