Demystifying Prepositions

by Alokparna Das, MA Tutor / ESL Specialist

Prepositions, those little words that come before nouns and noun phrases (e.g., “on the table”) can often seem confusing to non-native writers, especially those whose native language follows a different word order and uses post-positions that come after the subject (e.g., in Hindi, “mez par,” and in Mandarin, “zhuozi shang,” both literally translate to “table on”).

The native English speaker can recognize misplaced prepositions because they “sound” wrong, but the non-native speaker cannot judge by the sound test.  How then can non-native writers be sure that they are using prepositions correctly?  

Prepositions act as links, connecting nouns, pronouns, and phrases to other words in a sentence.  They usually denote time and place, but they also can denote direction, cause, manner, and amount.  Adding to the writer’s woes, some prepositions work dually.

She put the book on the table at 5:00 o’clock — “on” denotes place and “at” expresses the time. 

She was at home on Sunday — “at” denotes place and “on” expresses time. 

So how does the writer figure out when to use which one?  The table below shows  some rules of thumb for using these common prepositions.

Prepositions can be divided into three groups:

1. Simple one-word prepositions: in summer, at work,  for her, etc.
   
2. Complex two–word prepositions:  according to the manual, ahead of the group, etc.
   
3. Complex three-word prepositions (preposition-noun-preposition sequence): in spite of the warning, in front of the cinema, etc.

The best way to learn to use prepositions correctly is through practice.  Many websites offer practice tests, such as the GMU writing center’s online grammar guides and the Purdue University Online Writing Lab. With practice, prepositions will start to “sound right” in sentences.