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preposition Definition

prepo·si·tion (prep′ə zis̸h′ən)

noun

  1. in some languages, a relation or function word, as English in, by, for, with, to, etc., that connects a lexical word, usually a noun or pronoun, or a syntactic construction, to another element of the sentence, as to a verb (Ex.: he went to the store), to a noun (Ex.: the sound of loud music), or to an adjective (Ex.: good for her)
  2. any construction of similar function (Ex.: in back of, equivalent to behind)

Etymology: ME preposicioun < L praepositio (< praepositus, pp. of praeponere < prae-, before + ponere, to place: see pre- & position): transl. of Gr prothesis, prothesis

preposition Related Forms
prep′o·si′·tional adjective prep′o·si′·tion·ally adverb
preposition Synonyms

preposition

n.

part of speech, word of relationship, conjunctive word, copulative element, prefixed element, function word, form word; see also grammar, word 1.

preposition Usage Examples

Converse of object

  • follow: Direct object pronouns follow prepositions: " you can say what you want to me " .
  • use: Can you count the number of prepositions used in the preceding sentence?
  • have: In some expressions English has no preposition where one may be used in another language; in other expressions the opposite is true.
  • include: Activities on the top included, prepositions, prayers and birthdays, and Margaret clocked 60 th on the peak of Mount Sinai.
  • choose: Instead, during developmental learning subjects tend to choose only one preposition to describe a scene.
  • take: The reason for this is that the parser takes any preposition before the direct object and makes it part of the verb.

Converse of subject

  • follow: The pattern is built around a number followed by a preposition.
  • head: See the Reference Manual Adverbial clauses headed by a preposition.
  • precede: If they are preceded by a preposition they also are referred to as prepositional phrases, ( PP ).
  • introduce: Adverbial phrases are often introduced by a preposition ( see below ) to tell of where, when or how an action occurs.

Adjective modifier

  • spatial: In addition, the four output units for the spatial prepositions will encode the rating values given by subjects.
  • compound: With feminines it is labeled ADJ and treated as part of a compound preposition, whether it precedes or follows the NP.
  • English: The Singer Nelly - Our Top Picks common English preposition.
  • correct: To control your balloon, use the correct preposition from the top to go forward and the correct preposition from the bottom to stop.
  • appropriate: Even the most fluent speakers and writers would probably confess to an occasional uncertainty as to the most appropriate preposition.
  • different: At the same time, different prepositions can have very similar uses ( in the morning, on Monday morning, at night ).

Modifies a noun

  • meaning: The first word is an early example of et as a preposition meaning ` with ' .
  • r: It, of course, must be an infinitive, if that is the case, since it comes after a preposition r.

Preposition: of

  • place: This is a lively activity to practice prepositions of place: " Let's play basketball!

Preposition: with

  • pronoun: In some cases, use of " en " is optional and can be replaced by using the correct preposition with the disjunctive pronoun.