Preposition as a word class

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3) Lexical and Grammatical Word Classes

Compound Words

We know, that lexical morphemes carry the main meaning (or significance) of the word it belongs to. The morpheme ‘ready’ in ‘readiness’ carries the meaning of the word, as does ‘bound’ in ‘unbound’, or ‘cran’ in ‘cranberry’. These morphemes, because they carry the lexical meaning, are lexical morphemes.

Grammatical morphemes can become attached to lexical morphemes. The ‘ing’ in ‘singing’ carries no lexical meaning, but it does provide a grammatical context for the lexical morpheme. It tells us that the ‘sing’ is ‘ing’ (as in ‘on-going’). In the same way, the morpheme ‘ely’ in ‘timely’ carries no meaning, but it does turn the noun ‘time’ into a word more frequently used as an adverb. Time the thing becomes the description of an action – as in ‘his intervention was timely’.

Of course, as with so many things in life, these definitions are by no means uncomplicated. For example, if we were to consider the lexical meaning of the words ‘stand’ and ‘under’, then they would be distinctive and straightforward. ‘Stand’, means to be upright, and ‘under’ means to be beneath something. However, when we put these two lexical morphemes together (although technically ‘under’ is actually a preposition), we get the word ‘understand’ which has an entirely different lexical meaning.

The combining of morphemes in order to create a new lexis is known as compounding, and words which are formed by the combination of such morphemes are known as compound words. Compound words do not necessarily have to be the consequence of combining lexical morphemes alone. Certainly, the lexical morphemes ‘earth’ and ‘quake’ combined create ‘earthquake’, but the combination of grammatical morpheme ‘to’ and the lexical morpheme ‘day’ creates ‘today’.

Here is a list of compound words. See if you can identify the lexical and grammatical morphemes:

lifetime	elsewhere	upside	grandmother
cannot	backbone	fireworks	passport
together	become	became	sunflower
crosswalk	basketball	scapegoat	superstructure
moonlight	football	railroad	rattlesnake
anybody	weatherman	throwback	skateboard
meantime	earthquake	everything	peppermint
sometimes	also	backward	schoolhouse
butterflies	upstream	nowhere	bypass
fireflies	because	somewhere	spearmint
something	another	somewhat	airport
anyone	today	himself	grasshopper
inside	themselves	playthings	footprints
therefore	uplift	without	homemade

Whether these compound words are composed of grammatical or lexical morphemes, the compound itself is almost always lexical. ‘Therefore’ is composed of two morphemes which in some ways can both be considered grammatical, but the compound carries a lexical meaning of ‘as a consequence of’.

Word Classes

It is useful to be able to distinguish between lexical and grammatical morphemes, because by doing so we are able to understand that words are constructed using specific mechanisms. Understanding those mechanisms means that we understand more clearly not only how we use words today, but how new words are formed.

If this is true of the morphemes in relation to the construction of words, then is is true also of words in relation to the construction of sentences. This is our next topic: the categorisations of words.

Words are divided into various classes (or ‘parts of speech’), each of which has a specific function in relation to creating meaning within sentences. The first and easiest distinction is that between open-class words (or lexical words) and closed-class words (or grammatical words).

Open-class words, or Lexical words

Open-class words, as Leslie Jeffries writes, are “those which contain the main semantic information in a text, and they fall into the four main lexical word classes: noun, verb, adjective and adverb” (Jeffries, 2006, p. 83). Stott and Chapman, in their book Grammar and Writing (2001) define these classes as:

• Verb: A word or phrase which expresses the action, process or state in the clause (e.g. I’m eating my favourite meal right now; I will go to that football match; I went quietly)

• Adverb: Single words that modify verbs by adding to their meaning (e.g. The choir sang sweetly). Words or phrases that modify or give extra definition to the verb in terms of place, manner and time (e.g. I’m eating my favourite meal right now; I’m eating my favourite meal in my favourite restaurant), are often referred to as adverbial.

• Noun: Words that names persons / places / things or abstractions (e.g. Edward, Tanzania, guitar, happiness). In earlier centuries all nouns in the English language were given a capital letter. In German, they still do the same. In English now, only proper nouns are given capital letters.

• Adjective: Words that modify nouns by adding to their meanings (e.g. That was a long film). Most adjectives have comparative (I’m glad it wasn’t any longer) and Superlative forms (It was the longest film I’ve ever seen).

They classes are referred to as open-class because “they are open-ended and can be added to readily” (Jeffries, 2006, p. 83), but they are also often referred to as lexical words because they carry a lexicial meaning (sometimes they are even referred to as semantic words, for the same reason). Sara Thorne goes on to say:

New words can be added to nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs as they become necessary, developing language to match changes in the society around us. The computer age, for example, has introduced new words like hardware, software, CD-Rom and spreadsheet; the 1980s introduced words like Rambo, kissogram and wimp; the 1990s introduced words like babelicious, alcopop and e-verdict; and the twenty-first century words like bling, chav, sudoko, bluetooth, chuggers (‘charity muggers’), mediatrics (‘media dramatics’ i.e. a story created from nothing), and doorstepping (journalists catching celebrities on their doorsteps to question them about incidents they would prefer not to discuss). Open-class words are often called lexical words and have a clearly definable meaning. (Thorne, 2008. p. 4)

Closed-class words, or Grammatical words

If open-class words tend to change frequently, then closed-class words tend not to change very often. Closed-class or grammatical words (sometimes referred to as function words) have less meaning than open-class or lexical words, but do useful jobs in language. They are the ‘little words’ that act as the glue, or connectors, inside a sentence. Without them, lexical words might still carry meaning but they do not make as much sense.

Grammatical words include articles, prepositions, conjunctions and pronouns.

• Articles: There are only two articles in English: the definite article, the, and the indefinite article a(n) (Jeffries, 2006. p. 96).

• Prepositions: Define the relationships that exist between elements. This includes relationships of place (at, on, by, opposite), of direction (towards, past, out, of, to, through), of time (at, before, in, on), of comparison (as, like), of source (from, out of), and of purpose (for) (Thorne, 2008. p. 20). Prepositions are by no means uncomplicated – you will have noticed from this list that the word ‘at’ can function as both a preposition of place and of time, depending on its contexts.

• Conjuntions: The function of conjunctions is to link together elements of sentences and phrases. They come in two forms. Co-ordinating conjunctions are words that join two clauses in a sentence, where each clause is of equal importance (i.e., ‘and’, ‘but’, ‘either’, ‘or’, ‘neither’, ‘nor’). Subordinating conjunctions are words that link sentences where one half is a consequence of the other (‘although’, ‘as’, ‘because’, ‘if’, ‘since’, ‘that’, ‘though’, ‘until’, ‘where’, ‘when’, ‘while’, etc.).

• Pronouns: Pronouns come in two forms. Firstly, the pronoun itself, where words are “used instead of a noun or noun phrase (e.g. it, he, who, theirs)”. Secondly, there is the personal pronoun, in which “[w]ords identify speakers, addressees and others (I, you, she, it, we, they)” (Stott and Shapman, 2001).

What is the significance of word classes?

Note: I am indebted to Dr. Geoffrey Finch for his help with much of this next section, to which I have added some additional notes and material. This means that some parts of this section have doubtless either already appeared in one of Dr. Finch’s book, or will imminently do so – but without the details I have been unable to reference them properly.  See here for published works, and buy them all — ‘cos they’re great.

Word classes are important in the acquisition of language because they enable us to construct sentences with a maximum of economy. Knowing that only a verb can complete the following sentence:

	loved
The boy	…………..	the dog
	hit

or an adverb the one below,

	badly
The boy wrote the essay very	………..
	easily

means that we don’t have to try out every word in our mental lexicon to see whether it will fit or not.

So classifications of words and grammar enable us to communicate much more efficiently. Not only this, such systems enable us to communicate with much more variety. Humans simply could not memorise a lexicon which contained a different word for every thing they wanted to express. This means that there are only two options – either make do with a limited range of expression, or develop a system which allows for individual words to mean more than one thing. Word classes are part of that very system – as we shall discover more of in a moment.

Bauer, Holmes and Warren (2006) argue that word class systems are like the assembly instructions for language:

Kit-sets for furniture (and other construction toys for older children) generally come with a parts list and a set of instructions. If the parts list of a language is the set of words used by that language, then the grammar is the instruction set. If your build-it-yourself bookcase arrives with a parts list and no instructions, then the construction of a well-formed piece of furniture may be more difficult, if not impossible. If we have a set of words but no grammar then the construction of well-formed sentences is similarly compromised.

The language instruction set is useful not only in constructing sentences, but also in deconstructing them, in understanding what someone is saying to us. And understanding what someone is saying is not just understanding the words they use. Compare, for instance, Tama would like to speak to you and you would like to speak to Tama. These sentences share the same words, and the result of the situation expressed might be the same (i.e. the people referred to as you and Tama get together to talk), but our understanding of these sentences involves not just knowing what each word means but also recognizing how the words, as components of sentences, are combined. After all, Max loves Alice does not mean Alice loves Max. Success in communicating the message depends on speakers and listeners working with the same instruction set. It is this type of shared knowledge which constitutes part at least of what we call grammar. (Bauer, Holmes and Warren, 2006. p. 104)

Problems with classifications

The criteria by which linguists assign words to particular classes, however, are less certain. Most people if asked to say what a verb or a noun are rely on what is called ‘notional’ criteria. These are broadly semantic in origin. They include referring to a verb as a ‘doing word’, i.e. a word that denotes an action of some sort (go, destroy, eat), and a noun as a ‘naming word’, i.e. one that denotes an entity or thing (car, cat, hill). Similarly, adjectives are said to denote states or qualities (ill, happy, rich), and adverbs, the manner in which something is done (badly, slowly, well).

As a rule of thumb this works reasonably well, but it’s not subtle enough to capture the way in which word classification essentially works. Not all verbs are ‘doing’ words. The verbs ‘to be’, and ‘to have’ clearly aren’t. And neither are all nouns necessarily ‘things’. Nouns such as ‘advice’, and ‘consequence’ are difficult to conceive as entities. We’re forced to call them ‘abstract’ nouns, a recognition that in some way they are not typical. Indeed, notional criteria only work for prototypical class members, but there are many others for which such criteria are not adequate. The word ‘assassination’, for example, seems like a verb since it describes a process or action, but it is in fact a noun.

The Lawlessness of English

The English language is flexible. It has, over the centuries developed from a corruption of Latin — the twisting and changing of ‘proper’ Latin with local jargon and slang. “From at least the time of Shakespeare”, Measham says, “the English language has not been overly hampered by rules” (Measham, 1965. P. 83).

To use an example from Measham — look at these three sentences:

• Gardening is a good way of getting blisters.
• I was gardening at the time the wall fell down.
• I had on my gardening boots.

The word ‘gardening’ appears three times. But does it serve the same function each time?

• Gardening is a good way of getting blisters

here ‘gardening’ functions as a noun.

• I was gardening at the time the wall fell down

here ‘gardening’ functions as a verb: it describes an action.

• I had on my gardening boots

here ‘gardening’ functions as an adjective.

Of course, for native English speakers the meaning of these sentences might appear plain, despite the fact that the same word operates in very different functions. 

So how can we classify words at all?

The only secure way to assign words into word classes is on the basis of how they behave in the language. If a word behaves in a way characteristic of a noun, or a verb, then it’s safe to call it one. This, of course, means recognising that words can belong to more than one class. It also means recognising that words may be more or less noun-like or verb-like in behaviour.

Word classes are similar to family groupings in that some members are more recognisably part of their class than others. Basic to word behaviour are two sets of criteria, namely, the morphological, and the syntactic. Morphological criteria, as we have seen, are concerned with the structure of words. Important here are such processes as inflection. Most verbs will inflect to show tense (show + ed), most nouns to indicate plurality (bat + s), and many adjectives to show the comparative and superlative (fat > fatter > fattest). But there is no one criterion which all words in a particular class will obey. As a consequence, linguists also use syntactic criteria, in particular, the distribution of a word in an individual string. This is the topic we will be considering in my next post: Whereabouts a word can occur in a phrase or sentence is an important indication of its class.

Using the behaviour of individual words as an indication of word class means that our approach is descriptive rather than prescriptive. And we shall also find that, because of the variable character of words, each class will contain within it several sub-classes. So there are sub-classes of nouns, verbs, and so on. And because the different classes have features in common it is possible to cross-classify them into larger groups. Linguists, therefore, differentiate between lexical and grammatical classes. The former contain words which have a meaning outside the context in which they are used, and include nouns, lexical verbs, adjectives and adverbs, whilst the latter consist of words which are only meaningful as part of the syntactic frame for example, prepositions, conjunctions, pronouns and auxiliary verbs.

Bibliography

Jeffries, L. (2006). Discovering Language: The Structure of Modern English. Basingstoke, Palgrave.

Thorne, S. (2008). Mastering Advanced English Language. Basingstoke, Palgrave.

Sott, R. and Chapman, J. (2001). Grammar and Writing. Harlowe, Longman

Measham, D. C. (1965). English Now and Then. Cambridge, Cambridge

Bauer, L., Holmes, J. and Warren, P (2006). Language Matters. Basingstoke, Palgrave

A Preposition is a word placed before a noun or a pronoun to show the relationship between the person or the thing denoted by it and something else as:

Example:

1. We saw a dog on the road.

2. I am fond of chocolates.

3. The boy jumped off the table.

In the first example, the preposition word ‘on’ joins a noun to another noun.

In the second example, the preposition word ‘of’ joins a noun to an adjective.

In the third example, the preposition word ‘off’ joins a noun to a verb.

A preposition is used with its object, which is either a noun or a pronoun. In a sentence, a preposition can have more than one object. Prepositions alludes to direction, time, place, location, spatial relationships, or to introduce an object when placed before a noun or pronoun. In addition to «in,» «at,» «on,» and «of,» prepositions also include «at» and «to.»

There are a lot of idiomatic expressions in English prepositions. Most prepositions are used based on fixed expressions, though there are some rules for usage. Instead of memorizing a single preposition, your best bet is to memorize the phrase.

Prepositions are often thought of as the tools that bind sentences together. In order to achieve this, they convey place and movement, possession, time, and how an action is completed.

As a matter of fact, many of the most commonly used words in the English language are prepositions, including of, to, for, with, on, and at. Even though it may seem complex to explain prepositions, they are commonly used parts of language and we generally use them without even noticing.

Prepositions are regarded as a subset of English words that do not belong to any other group. It follows that, unlike verbs and nouns, this category does not develop new words over time. Their role as the functional backbone of the sentence is reflected here. Language relies on them for its meaning, even though they are subtle and unassuming.

Some Examples 

Example: The children ran across the hill and the plain.

Note: The word, ‘preposition’ is placed before its object; but sometimes it is placed after its object.

Example:

1. Please give me the phone that I asked for.

2. What are you looking at?

3. That is the student (whom) I was speaking of.

In the first example, a preposition word is placed at the end when the object is the relative pronoun that.

In the second example, when its object is interrogative, then the preposition word is placed at the end of the sentence.

In the third example, the preposition word is placed at the end of the sentence because its object is a relative pronoun.

Note: Sometimes, when a preposition word needs to be emphasized, then the object is placed at the beginning of the sentence.

Example: Sachin Tendulkar is known all the world over.

That he insists on.

To learn the correct usage of prepositions in a sentence, you must do ample reading, listening, speaking and writing. However, there are certain rules, which are worth knowing.

Kinds of Preposition

i) Simple Preposition: The preposition words that are used along with its object is called simple preposition. Ex: at, by, for, in, of, off, on, out, through, till, to, up, with, etc.

Example:

1. I saw a man at the corner of the street.

2. My parents live in the countryside.

3. The train moved through the dark tunnel.

ii) Compound Preposition: These are usually formed by prefixing a preposition (a or be) to a noun, adjective or adverb. Ex: above, across, along, around, before, beyond, inside, within, without, etc.

Example:

1. The children were hiding behind the tree.

2. The dog went around the bush.

3. I reached the mall before my friend.

iii) Phrasal/ Group Preposition: Joining two or more words forms this preposition. Ex: according to, in addition to, away from, by means of, in order to, instead of, with regard to, etc.

Example:

1. I live 5kms away from my mother’s house.

2. According to the latest news, the elections will be postponed.

3. I watched the news instead of a movie.

iv) Participle Preposition: When present participles are used without any noun or pronoun attached to them, these are called participle prepositions. Ex: barring, concerning, passing, considering, during, pending, regarding, touching, etc.

Example:

1. Notwithstanding his ill health, he took the final examination.

2. Considering the quality, the price is not high.

3. Concerning his involvement in the incident, locals differ.

Classes of Preposition

To make a distinction, simple prepositions can be divided into three classes:

I. Prepositions of Time and Date: These include at, on, in by, to, till, until, during, for, since, from, within, before, after, afterwards, then, etc.

Example: 

1. We have been living in this apartment for ten years.

2. Our relatives arrived in the morning.

3. Bring the file to the office by nine o’clock.

II. Prepositions of Place: These include at, in, on, to, behind, etc.

Example:

1. My parents live in Kolkata.

2. We are going to Shimla for a vacation.

3. The teacher is standing behind the desk.

III. Prepositions of Travel and Movement: These include from, to, by, on, into, at, out, out of, off, etc.

Example:

1. We are travelling by bus.

2. Give me the book from the shelf.

3. We are going from Bangalore to Delhi.

(Image will be uploaded soon)

Solved Solutions

Q1. Apply for, since, at, in, on, by where required in the following sentences.

1. She drinks a lot of tea _______________ the evenings.

2. It is usually much warmer ___________________ two o’ clock in the afternoon than __________ the morning.

3. The new session starts ___________ June.

4. They have lived in this city __________ 2015.

5. I have been waiting for you ____________ 6 o’clock.

6. We will finish our exams ____________ two days’ time.

7. They have lived in Bangalore ___________ six months.

8. Hari went home ______________ sunset.

9. We have been waiting ___________ over an hour.

Solution:

1. She drinks a lot of tea in the evening.

2. It is usually much warmer by two o’clock in the afternoon than in the morning.

3. The new session starts in June.

4. They have lived in this city since 2015.

5. I have been waiting for you since 6 o’clock.

6. We will finish our exams in two days’ time.

7. They have lived in Bangalore for six months.

8. Hari went home at sunset.

9. We have been waiting for over an hour.

Q2. Correct the following sentences.

1. She met me in last evening.

2. Rita is not home.

3. We drove to home early this morning.

4. The man faced the danger by courage.

5. I reached at the mall a little late.

6. The shopkeeper deals with rice.

7. The river flows through the bridge.

8. The police will investigate into the matter.

9. We met with each other in Diwali evening.

Solution:

1. She met me last evening. (delete ‘in’ before last)

2. Rita is not at home. (place ‘at’ before home)

3. We drove home early this morning (delete ‘to’ before home)

4. The man faced the danger with courage.    (replace ‘by’ with ‘with’)

5. I reached the mall a little late. (delete ‘at’ after reached)

6. The shopkeeper deals in rice. (deals in)

7. The river flows under the bridge. (under the bridge)

8. The police will investigate the matter (delete ‘into’)

9. We met with each other on Diwali evening. (replace ‘in’ with ‘on’)

Q3. Use the appropriate prepositions in the following sentences.

1. Does the headmaster live _______ the school campus? (on / in / at/ between)

2. The ground is wet. It must have rained ___________ the night. (during / at / for / through)

3. There is no cure _____________ cancer. ( of / with / for / about)

4. Students should concentrate _____________ studies (to / at / on / with)

5. The hotel is adjacent _________ the police station. ( into /  to / at / by )

Solution:

1. Does the headmaster live on the school campus?

2. The ground is wet. It must have rained during the night.

3. There is no cure for cancer.

4. Students should concentrate on studies.

5. The hotel is adjacent to the police station.

Which Prepositions Can Be Recognized?

In general, prepositions are hard to recognize because their placement in sentences is not always consistent, nor do they follow a distinctive structure or spelling. Prepositions, however, have typically short words, with most of them containing fewer than six letters. Among the methods people use to identify prepositions, one is to see them as locations where a mouse could go. There are many different types of prepositions; this can be a helpful question to ask when identifying and recognizing them. They include: above, below, next to, between, beyond, through, by, with… The English language contains about 500,00-700,000 nouns, whereas there are over 100 prepositions! No one is likely to learn so many nouns, but probably is able to master prepositions once they identify them and master them.

Муниципальное бюджетное
общеобразовательное учреждение города Новосибирска

«Средняя общеобразовательная школа №196»

ИНДИВИДУАЛЬНЫЙ ИТОГОВЫЙ ПРОЕКТ

Тема

«Многозначность предлогов в английском
языке.»

Выполнила: Коломиец Лидия Никитична

ученица 7 класса «Р» МБОУ СОШ №196

Руководитель проекта: Коломиец Анастасия
Сергеевна

учитель английского языка

Новосибирск 2021г.

Сontents

Introduction…………………………………………………………………………………………………3

§1. Preposition as a part of
speech………………………………………………………………4

§2.Types of prepositions and
features of their use………………………………………….6

§3. The polysemy of
prepositions ………………………………………………………………….8
Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………………………………10

Appendix
………………………………………………………………………….11

Reference list……………………………………………………………………………………………
.13

Introduction

When we
start learning a foreign language, it is necessary to remember that a simple
knowledge of vocabulary is clearly not enough in order to speak this language.
Learning a new foreign word, you should be very careful with its use: there are
words which can change their meaning with the help of prepositions.

                   The theme of my project
work is “The polysemy of prepositions”.
According to my point of view, this theme is actual for students or language
learners. We study them at school too. The problem of this
question lies in the fact that prepositions are one of the most difficult
linguistic phenomena to use. The specificity of English prepositions lies not
only in their polysemy and variety, but also in the high degree of generality
and abstraction of the meanings of the most of them.

         The
object of my research will be the prepositions in English language.

         The
aim: to create the informational magazine about the polysemy of prepositions.

         In
order to reach the aim, it is necessary to do the following tasks:

—
choose and organize
the necessary material from the rich volume of information

—
to study the classification of English prepositions by their structure and
lexical meaning;

—
to
systematize the information received from different sources and transform it
into the product of project work.

§1. Preposition as a part of speech

A preposition is a service part of speech
that expresses the syntactic connection between a noun, a pronoun, a numeral,
and words belonging to other parts of speech (according to the dictionary of S.
I. Ozhegov).

Preposition is
a part of speech usually coming BEFORE a noun phrase and connecting it
to another part of the sentence. It is one of the nine parts of speech.

The
name preposition (pre + position) means «place BEFORE». A preposition typically
comes BEFORE another word—usually a noun phrase. It tells us about the
relationship between the noun phrase and another part of the sentence. Some
very common prepositions are: in, of, on, for, with, at, by

• The book is on the
  round table. (relationship in space)
• We will meet in November.
  (relationship in time)
• I sent the
  information by email. (relationship
  of method)

If a preposition does not come BEFORE another word, it is still
closely linked to another word:

• Who did
  you talk to?
• To whom did
  you talk?
• I talked to Jane.

Prepositions have no particular form. The majority of prepositions
are single words, but some are two- or three-word phrases:

• one-word
  prepositions (before, into, on)
• complex prepositions
  (according to, but for, in spite of)

Since this is a service part
of speech, it does not answer any questions, does not have any independent
function, and is not a member of the sentence. But, thanks to it, we can change
the meaning of the same verb. Moreover, in combination with nouns, prepositions
in English also determine the case of a noun. For example: “Look at
her!»(accusative) or” I like to dream about her » (prepositional).

The Russian language is a
syntactic language, and the relations between words in a sentence are
established using endings. English is an analytical language, and here the same
function is performed by the fixed word order. In view of the absence of cases
in the English language, prepositions play an extremely important role.

In traditional grammatical
theory, the meaning of a preposition is defined as»relation».
However, the term «attitude» is understood differently by different
scientists. Some researchers under the «relation» understand only the
content of the syntactic function of the preposition, namely the syntactic
relations between its arguments (i.e., between nouns and their equivalents used
in the preposition); at the same time, these researchers deny the presence of a
lexical meaning in the preposition (Meshchaninov, Steblin-Kamensky, etc.). The
position of these scientists is based on the point of view that the semantic
category of relations finds its realization only at the grammatical level of
the language. Accordingly, these scientists reject the presence of a
preposition of its own lexical meaning.

Nowadays, however, the more
common view is that a preposition has its own lexical meaning. Despite the
diversity of views and positions regarding the use of prepositions in the
English language, one thing is indisputable – prepositions not only take part in
the formation of language structures at levels more complex than lexical, but
also contribute to the implementation of semantic relations within these
structures. Thus, for English, where there is no developed system of case
endings, the preposition turns out to be their functional substitute in speech.

§2. Types of prepositions and features of
their use.

According
to their form, English prepositions are divided into several types (scheme
№3).

1.
Simple
prepositions

Simple
prepositions are prepositions that cannot be decomposed into their component
parts. Examples of such prepositions: at, in, for, to, with, on, off, out, etc.
(scheme
№1)

He’s
in the office.

She
sat down on the sofa.

She’s
angry with her.

2.
Complex
prepositions

Complex
prepositions are  prepositions that are formed by word combination
(composition). Such prepositions are usually formed by adding a prefix to a
noun, adjective, or adverb. Examples of such prepositions: above, before,
behind, below, across, among, around, near, between, etc.

I
can’t live without you. I can’t live without you.

Once
upon a time there was a king.

Put
it into your bag.

3.
Compound
prepositions

Compound
prepositions are prepositions that consist of several words (as a rule, these
are combinations of prepositions with other parts of speech: nouns, adjectives,
adverbs, conjunctions, other prepositions, etc.). Examples of such
prepositions: according to, along with, because of, in front of, by means
of, on behalf of, in accordance with, in addition to, with reference to, in
spite of, etc.

She
stood in front of the window.

I’d
like to congratulate you on behalf of the whole crew.

Features
of using English prepositions

1.    
Almost
every preposition in English and Russian is polysemantic, and there is rarely a
complete correspondence between their meanings. For example, the Russian
preposition » in » even in one meaning-to express the time, is translated
into English in different ways, depending on the meaning of the noun:

в мае – in May

в пятницу – on Friday

в 2 часа – at 2
o’clock

2.
In English, prepositions can be omitted (especially in colloquial speech),
which is not typical for the Russian language.

For
example, before the words last, first, next, this —
 prepositions expressing time are omitted (scheme №1) :

I met her  last Friday. Я встречался с ней в прошлую пятницу.

We will discuss the matter next time. Мы обсудим этот вопрос в следующий
раз.       

I will visit my parents this week. Я навещу родителей на этой неделе.

There are some more examples when prepositions can be omitted:

I was here (in) the June before last.    Я был здесь в июне позапрошлого
года.        

They visited them (on) the day before yesterday.  Они навестили их позавчера.        

He left the country (on) the next day.   Он уехал из деревни на следующий
день.      

He lived there (for) three
months.      Он прожил там три месяца.

3.
Some prepositions form stable expressions with verbs, adjectives, and other
parts of speech. Such prepositions are called fixed prepositions. Some English
verbs and adjectives are used with fixed prepositions, while the same Russian
verbs and adjectives do not use them.

For example:

listen to (somebody)
– слушать (кого—либо)

wait for (somebody)
– ждать (кого—либо)

aware of (something)
– знать (что—либо)

§3.The polysemy of prepositions

Most of the prepositions have
many uses. There are some prepositions which are common in every type of
preposition as they function in a versatile way (scheme№2).

·        
Prepositions of Time

·        
Prepositions of Place and
Direction

·        
Prepositions of Agents or
Things

·        
Phrasal Prepositions

Prepositions of Time:

Prepositions of time show
the relationship of time between the nouns to the other parts of a sentence.

On, at, in, from, to, for, since, ago, before, till/until, by, etc. are the most common preposition of time.

Examples:

He started working at 10 AM.

The company called meeting on 25 October.

There is a holiday in December.

He has been ill since Monday.

Prepositions of Place and Direction:

Prepositions of place show the relationship of place between the nouns to the
other parts of a sentence.

On, at, in, by, from, to, towards, up, down, across, between,
among, through, in front of, behind, above, over, under, below, etc. are the most common prepositions of place/direction.

Example:

He is at home.

He came from England.

The police broke into the house.

I live across the river.

Prepositions of Agents or Things:

Prepositions of agents or things indicate a casual relationship between nouns and other parts
of the sentence.

Of, for, by, with, about, etc.
are the most used and common prepositions of agents or things.

Example:

This article is about smartphones.

Most of the guests have already left.

I will always be here for you.

He is playing with his brothers.

Phrasal Prepositions:

A phrasal preposition is
not a prepositional phrase, but they are a combination of two or more words
which functions as a preposition.

Along with, apart from, because of, by means of, according to, in
front of, contrary to, in spite of, on account of, in reference to, in addition
to, in regard to, instead of, on top of, out of, with regard to, etc. are the most common phrasal prepositions.

Example:

They along with their children went to Atlanta.

According
to the new rules, you are not right.

In
spite of being a good
player, he was not selected.

I’m going out of the city.

Conclusion.

English language learners whose native
language is Russian should first realize that there are significant differences
between the systems of the two languages. Although structurally similar
features can be noted in English and Russian (for example, the allocation of
mostly identical parts of speech, the coincidence of many grammatical
categories, the presence of structural and semantic parallels, etc.),
nevertheless, it is the differences in the ways of expressing the same thought
in these two languages that present tangible difficulties in understanding and
producing English speech; and it is they who should be paid special attention
to when studying the grammar of this language.

Prepositions and prepositional phrases, due
to their significant dissimilarity with the Russian language, are the most
difficult to understand and assimilate.

As you know, prepositions of the English
language are difficult to learn, and even those who speak English well enough
make mistakes when using prepositions.

Having in many cases an abstract meaning, prepositions are often
used by native speakers automatically. Since all the automated elements of the
language are poorly understood by the speakers, there is an identification of
English prepositions with their correlates in the native language.

After considering and analyzing the polysemy and generality of
prepositions in English, we can conclude that knowledge and correct use of
objects and prepositional phrases is a guarantee of the correctness of the
language.

APPENDIX 1

Scheme №1. Simple
prepositions and their polysemy

APPENDIX 2

Scheme №2. Prepositions
of time, movement and place

Scheme №3. Types of
prepositions

Reference list

1. Bagramova N.V.,
Blinova S.I. Practice of the English language (teaching vocabulary). St.
Petersburg: Soyuz, 1998 — 144 p.

2. Questions of
Linguistics No. 3, Moscow: Nauka, 2001-160 p.

3. Dobronetskaya E. G.
Grammatical difficulties of the English language.

Publishing house of Kazan
University, 2004, 198 p.

4. Kachalova K. N.
Izrailevich E. E. Practical grammar

of the English language.
Moscow: Unves, 1995 — 555 p.

5. Lebovic G. P. Jump in
the English edition No.2. Mn.: Savigar, 2000

g-224 p.

6. Leach D., Svartvik Ya.
Communicative grammar of the English language

as: A manual for teachers
(in English). — Moscow: Prosveshchenie,

1993-304 p.

7. https://www.englishclub.com/grammar/preposition-what.htm

Prepositions form a small but important word class, being very frequently used. In fact, the prepositions to, of, in, for, on, with, at, by, from are all in the top 25 words in English. Helping students understand and correctly use prepositions contributes greatly to their fluency. In this article, Josef Essberger, author of English Prepositions List, summarizes some of the key points to understand when teaching prepositions and offers tips to make your teaching more effective.

What do prepositions do?

A clear understanding as to what prepositions are actually for is essential for the teacher, although it may not be necessary to go in detail into the grammar points below at all levels.

Function of a preposition

The function or “job” of a preposition is to express the relationship between two words in a sentence, specifically between a noun, verb or adjective and a noun or pronoun*:

• the woman beside John
• ran into the shop
• happy with you

A preposition is typically (not always) followed by a noun or pronoun (the “prepositional object”) and together they form a “prepositional phrase” (beside John, into the shop, with you).

*Strictly speaking this can be a noun (including proper noun), pronoun, noun group or gerund (verb in noun form):

• noun (dog, table, love) – They are in love.
• proper noun (Bangkok, Mary) – I went to Bangkok.
• pronoun (you, him, us) – She spoke to him.
• noun group (my first job) – I was poor before my first job.
• gerund (swimming) – She is passionate about swimming.

Function of a prepositional phrase

A prepositional phrase functions as an adjective or adverb to modify a noun, verb or adjective:

• the woman beside John (“beside John” functions as an adjective modifying the noun “woman”)
• He works before lunch. (“before lunch” functions as an adverb modifying the verb “works”)
• happy with it (“with it” functions as an adverb modifying the adjective “happy”)

Forms of prepositions

Prepositions have no particular form. The majority of prepositions are one-word prepositions, but some are two- or three-word phrases known as complex-prepositions:

• one-word prepositions (before, into, on)
• complex prepositions (according to, but for, in spite of, on account of)

“Complex prepositions” (on account of) should not be confused with “prepositional phrases” (on the table, on account of his age).

Types of prepositions

Many prepositions have more than one meaning. The meaning can be literal (in the box) or metaphorical (in love). The literal meanings fall into several categories, for example:

• place — under the bed
• time — on Sunday
• movement — towards the horizon
• manner — by train
• means — with a blunt instrument
• accompaniment — without a job
• possession — a friend of mine
• purpose — done for charity

Note that many prepositions belong to more than one category (eg on the table/on Monday, with her friend/with a screwdriver).

A pronoun following a preposition should be in object form

The noun or pronoun that follows a preposition forms a ‘prepositional object’.  If it is a pronoun, it should therefore be in the objective form (me, her, them), not subjective form (I, she, they):

• This is from my wife and me.
• That’s between him and her.
• Mary gave it to them.

Teach by “meaning” category

While you could in theory teach prepositions in alphabetical order, it is generally more helpful to teach them in categories based on meaning, for example:

• prepositions of place — in the box, behind you, over my head
• prepositions of time — on Monday, in 1948, during the day, at night
• prepositions of movement — past the door, through the fence, across the road

By limiting a lesson to prepositions of space, for example, learners can compare, contrast and comprehend the meanings directly (on/under, inside/outside). This works better than trying to teach the various meanings of individual prepositions (on the table, on Monday, on purpose, on time).

Say farewell to the “end of a sentence” myth

Some people claim that a preposition must always come before its object. Although a preposition usually precedes its object, it can sometimes come after its object. Take the very common “Where are you from?” and “I am from England.” The object of from is clearly Where and England. While one could theoretically say “From where are you?”, no-one actually does say that. Normal English usage is “Where are you from?”

There are four main cases where a preposition may naturally fall at the end of a sentence or clause:

• who, where, what questions — What are you interested in?
• relative clause — the plan (that) they are working on
• infinitive — Do you have someone to go with?
• passive — She hates being stared at.

pre-position means place before

The name “preposition” indicates that prepositions come before something:

• I put it in the box.

But even when a preposition does not come before its object, it is still closely linked to its object:

• Who(m) did you talk to?
• I talked to Jane.

Many prepositions can also be adverbs

It may help your more grammar-oriented students to recognize the difference between a preposition and an adverb. A preposition always has an object. An adverb does not have an object.

• They are in the kitchen. (preposition in has object the kitchen)
  Please come in. (adverb in has no object)
• There was a doorway before me. (preposition before has object me)
  I had never seen it before. (adverb before has no object)
• I will call after work. (preposition after has object work)
  He called soon after. (adverb after has no object)

Good news. Prepositions are limited in number

Although prepositions may seem difficult to learn, the task is not insurmountable. There are only 150 prepositions and only about 70 of these are commonly used. What’s more, all single-word prepositions are “closed-class”, meaning they are unlikely to be added to. 

to preposition vs to infinitive

The infinitive particle “to” (to sing, to live) often befuddles English learners who may confuse it for the preposition “to” (to London, to me).

to as preposition

• I look forward to lunch
  I look forward to seeing you
  I look forward to see you
• They are committed to the project.
  They are committed to keeping the price down.
  They are committed to keep the price down.
• I am used to cars.
  I am used to driving.
  I am used to drive.

to as infinitive particle

• They used to live in Moscow.
• They love to sing.

Use simple illustrations

Help students understand prepositions of place and movement with simple illustrations.

Where appropriate, try to find contrasting pairs to make the meaning clearer.

Illustrations from English Prepositions List

Use preposition activities

Try to use fun activities in teaching your students and checking their understanding. You can find many preposition games and quizzes that can be used online or offline. The ebook English Prepositions List includes printable preposition quiz sheets (with answers) ideal for classroom use.

Be aware of first-language interference

Be aware that some languages may use a preposition where English does not. So, depending on a student’s first language, you may hear for example:

• Will you marry with me? (marry me)
• He entered to the room. (entered the room)
• I hate from that. (hate that)
• They discussed about the problem. (discussed the problem)
• I have paid for the bill. (paid the bill)

Or, conversely, some languages use no preposition where English requires one:

• She reminds me my childhood. (of my childhood)
• He is waiting the bus. (for the bus)
• She likes to listen music. (to music)

Explain the preposition rule

There is one very simple rule about prepositions. And, unlike most rules, this rule has no exceptions.**

Rule: A preposition is always followed by a “noun”. It is never followed by a verb. By “noun” we include:

• noun (dog, table, love) – This is food for dogs.
• proper noun (Bangkok, Mary) – I went to Bangkok.
• pronoun (you, him, us) – She spoke to him.
• noun group (my first job) – I was poor before my first job.
• gerund (swimming) – She is passionate about swimming.

A preposition cannot be followed by a verb. If we want to follow a preposition by a verb, we must use the “-ing” form which is really a gerund or verb in noun form.

**You didn’t really believe that, did you? Actually, it’s more accurate to say “A preposition is always related to a noun.” Normally the “noun” comes after the preposition, but occasionally it may come before it (What country do you come from?). But before or after, it is always a “noun”. And “always followed by a noun” is useful at lower levels.

Try this mini preposition quiz

The rule says “a preposition is always followed by a noun”. In the following sentences, why is the preposition “to” followed by a verb? That should be impossible, according to the rule above.

1. I would like to go now.
2. She used to smoke.

The answer is that in “I would like to go now” and “She used to smoke”, the word “to” is not a preposition. It is part of the infinitive (“to go”, “to smoke”). In 1 it is fairly obvious. In constructions like “used to do” it is less obvious.

Give contextual examples

When giving examples, and where possible, try to show prepositions in context by writing full sentences. This makes it far easier for your students to understand or deduce the meaning.

Have students use prepositions in sentences of their own

You can also test understanding by getting your students to use specific prepositions in their own original sentences. Only in this way can you know if they have fully grasped both the concept of prepositions in general and the meaning of particular prepositions.

Illustrations from English Prepositions List

See also:

How to Teach Prepositions of Position to Young Learners