Nouns
Prepositions, Conjunctions, and Interjections
A preposition shows the relationship between a noun or pronoun and another noun or pronoun.
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The cat under the fence.
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The cat between the fence and the house.
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Everyone except the girl in the blue dress.
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A letter about us.
The italicized words in the preceding phrases are prepositions; the underlined words are objects of the prepositions. When the object is a pronoun, remember that the pronoun should be in the objective case.
Recognizing prepositions
How do you recognize a preposition? It's sometimes not easy. Prepositions aren't as obvious as nouns and verbs. Look for a word that establishes a certain kind of relationship with another word. For example, in the previous phrases, how is
cat related to
fence? The cat is
under the fence. How is
Everyone related to the
girl? The
girl is left out of the group
Everyone. How is
girl related to
dress? She is
in it. Table
1 shows several words commonly used as prepositions.
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Some prepositions, called compound prepositions, are made up of more than one word, such as according to, because of, in front of, instead of, in spite of, and next to.
Confusing use of prepositions
The unnecessary use of prepositions is a common error. Be careful not to use a preposition where it isn't needed.
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Where have you been?
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not Where have you been at?
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Where is Robert going?
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not Where is Robert going to?
Also, don't use two prepositions when you need only one.
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Don't go near the water
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not Don't go near to the water.
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The book fell off the table.
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not The book fell off of the table.
Ending a sentence with a preposition can cause problems. The rule that a sentence should never end with a preposition is no longer strictly enforced. Still, many writers avoid ending sentences with prepositions, which is generally a good idea. But use your own judgment. If you feel ending with a preposition makes a particular sentence more natural, do so and don't worry about it.
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It is a comment to which I will not respond.
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compared to It is a comment I will not respond to.
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I bought a pen with which to write.
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compared to I bought a pen to write with.
