Introduction
Prepositions are small words that connect elements in a sentence. They provide additional details about the sentence by locating events, people and objects in a time and place or to show movement from one place to another.
Form
Prepositions usually come after verbs and adjectives, but before nouns.
However, there are no grammatical rules for which preposition is used with which verb/adjective/noun, so they should be learnt by heart.
Prepositions can combine with verbs, adjectives and nouns.
Verb + preposition
Some verbs need a preposition before the object or another verb.
The most common are: apologize for, apply for, believe in, care for, consist of, depend on, laugh at, listen to, look at, wait for.
Adjective + preposition
Some adjectives need a preposition before the object.
The most common are: angry with, afraid of, scared of, disappointed with, famous for, full of, interested in, proud of, responsible for, worried about.
Preposition + noun
We place prepositions before nouns to indicate place, direction or time.
The most common are:
| PLACE | in, at, for, over, below, under |
| DIRECTION | to, into, towards |
| TIME | on, at, from…to, during, before, until, after, since, by |
Example
Verb + preposition:
- I sincerely apologize for the inconvenience.
- He tried not to laugh at her joke, but it was impossible.
- We have been waiting for around 20 years.
Adjective + preposition:
- I am very angry with you for what you did to me.
- She is interested in learning Spanish.
- Your parents should be really proud of you.
Preposition + noun:
- My sister is not here, she is at school now.
- We are going to Paris next summer.
- We always wake up before dawn.
Use
We use prepositions to connect elements in a sentence and provide additional information about it.
Summary
We use prepositions in combination with other elements of the sentence to create the main sense of it. They usually come after verbs and adjectives, but before nouns.
For example:
— “I listen to music everyday.” = the preposition to comes after the verb listen.
— “She is afraid of spiders.” = the preposition of comes after the adjective afraid.
— “There is a cat under the table.” = the preposition under comes before the noun table.
Let’s revise this content within the {Form} section. Take a look at the {Example} section that shows its use within a context sentence.