English Grammar A2 Level Prepositions of Possession | English Grammar A2 Level

Introduction

Prepositions are small words that connect elements in a sentence. They are essential because they provide additional details about the sentence.

Prepositions of possession are used to express that something belongs to a person, animal or thing.

Form

The main prepositions used to show possession are:

of: of + nouns/possessive pronouns;
to: to + object pronouns;
with: with + adjectives/nouns.

Example

These are the most important monuments of London.
Dublin is the capital of Ireland.
She is a friend of mine.
My heart belongs to you.
This towel belongs to me.
They belong to the same family.
I saw a boy with brown eyes.
She spoke with a German accent.
The girl with the black hat.

Use

We use prepositions of possession to highlight a relationship of ownership and possession:

of is used with countries, cities, people, possessive pronouns;
to is used to express belonging (belong to);
with is used with physical characteristics, accents, objects/materials/animals.

Summary

Prepositions of possession are used to express that something belongs to a person, animal or thing. There are no rules regarding this topic, therefore you need to learn them by heart.

The main prepositions of possession are: of, to and with.

For example:
— “She is the girl of his dreams.” = We use of to express possession.
— “She is the girl with the piercing.” = We use with to express someone’s physical characteristics.
— “She is the girl that belongs to your team.” = We use belong to to express belonging.

Let’s revise this content within the {Form} section. Take a look at the {Example} section that shows its use within a context.

Besides prepositions of possession are used to express that something belongs to a person, animal or thing, we locate an event in a time frame with Prepositions of time ^[1], express movement or directions with Prepositions of movement ^[2], locate an event in space with Prepositions of place ^[3], and explain the way something done with Prepositions of method and manner ^[4];

For better understanding about the combination of a preposition and other elements of the sentence, you can learn common prepositions ^[5]and prepositional phrases ^[6].