Tugas AWLE Day 3 Prepositions

PREPOSITION

What is a preposition?

A preposition is a word used to link nouns,  pronouns, or phrases to other words within a sentence. Prepositions are usually short words, and they are normally placed directly in front of nouns. In some cases, you’ll find prepositions in front of gerund verbs. 

There are two very important rules to remember when using prepositions. Because they are somewhat vague, learning about prepositions and using them correctly in sentences takes practice. Because 1:1 translation is often impossible when dealing with propositions, even the most advanced English students have some difficulty at first.

• The first rule is that certain propositions must be used to make the relationships between words in a sentence clear. Most prepositions are interchangeable but only to a certain extent.
• The second rule for using prepositions is that these words must be followed by nouns.

There are over 100 prepositions in English. The most common single-word prepositions are:
About, above, across, after, beside, despite, except, for, from, near, off, on, onto, opposite, past, to, towards, under, until, up, via, with, and etc.

Although most prepositions are single words, some pairs and groups of words operate like single prepositions:

They were unable to attend because of the bad weather in Ireland.

Jack’ll be playing in the team in place of me.

The most common prepositions that consist of groups of words are:
Ahead of, apart from, because of, due to, except for, in front of, inside of, near to, out of, such as, thanks to, up to, and etc.

Prepositions or conjunctions?

Some words which are prepositions also function as conjunctions. When we use a preposition that is followed by a clause, it is functioning as a conjunction; when we use a preposition that is followed by a noun phrase, it stays as a preposition. Among the most common are after, as, before, since, until:

After I’d met him last night, I texted his sister at once. (conjunction)

After the meeting last night, I texted his sister at once. (preposition)

Prepositions or adverbs?

Several words which are prepositions also belong to the word class of adverbs. These include: about, across, around, before, beyond, in, inside, near, opposite, outside, past, round, through, under, up, within:

There were lots of people waiting for a taxi outside the club. (preposition)

A:

Where’s your cat?

B:

She’s outside. (adverb)

Prepositions and abstract meanings

Common prepositions that show relationships of space often have abstract as well as concrete meanings.

Compare :

 

1.  That map you need is behind the filing cabinet. (basic spatial sense or position)
2. Everyone is behind the government. (behind = gives support

Some common prepositions such as at, in and on can have abstract meanings:

I think you will both need to discuss the problem in private.

All three singers were dressed in black.

Prepositions and adjectives

We commonly use prepositions after adjectives. Here are the most common adjective + preposition patterns.

1. Adj : different, prep: from -> Is Javanese different from Sundanese?
2. Adj : wrong, prep : with -> What's wrong with you?

Prepositions and nouns

Many nouns have particular prepositions which normally follow them:

There’s been a large increase in the price of petrol.

Does anyone know the cause of the fire?

Prepositions and verbs

Many verbs go together with prepositions to make prepositional verbs. These always have an object:

I just couldn’t do without my phone.

Robert accused her of stealing his idea.

Phrasal-prepositional verbs contain a verb, an adverb particle and a preposition (underlined). We cannot separate the particle and the preposition:

The taxi is due any minute. Can you listen out for it?

I can’t put up with this noise any longer.

Prepositions: position and stranding

Traditional grammatical rules say that we should not have a preposition at the end of a clause or sentence. However, we sometimes do separate a preposition from the words which follow it (its complement). This is called preposition stranding, and it is common in informal styles:

She was someone to whom he could talk. (formal)

She was someone who he could talk to. (informal)

If we leave out words that are clear from the context (ellipsis), we can use wh-questions with a wh-word + stranded preposition:

A:

The office is moving next year.

B:

Really, where to?

A:

I’m going to buy some flowers online.

B:

Who for?

A:

My mother.

TIME PREPOSITIONS :

1. On is used to express days of week and special days of religions. On can also be used to show an exact time with date and month
2. In is used to express general time. When someone does not know the exact time of something, use preposition in to represent it
3. At is used to express a specific time, especially relating to time/clock

Example, On sunday, On May 16th, On Idul Fitri, In july, In August, At 4 o'clock, and etc.

PLACE PREPOSITIONS :

1. On is used to point of surface
2. In is used to point of surroundings
3. At is used to point of specific

Example : On the table, on the road, in the kitchen, in the garden, at the gym, at the airport, and etc.



Sources : 

1. http://www.gingersoftware.com/content/grammar-rules/preposition/
2. https://dictionary.cambridge.org/grammar/british-grammar/prepositions
3. Materials from AWLE