Prepositions - Small, But Important, Words!

WHAT IS A PREPOSITION?

According to the Merriam-Webster Learners Dictionary, a preposition is: “a word or group of words that is used with a noun, pronoun, or noun phrase to show direction, location, or time, or to introduce an object”.

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Prepositions express relationships such as space (place, position, direction), time, or figurative location. A preposition always has an object (usually a noun or pronoun). The preposition and its object (and any modifiers) are together called a prepositional phrase.

For example:

• The preposition “on” in “The flask is on the lab bench” shows location.
• The preposition “in” in “The centrifuge will finish in 3 hours” shows time.

WHY ARE PREPOSITIONS IMPORTANT?

Prepositions are often called the biggest small words in English because although they are generally short words, they are very important to the meaning of the sentence. A misused preposition can make a big difference between a clearly stated sentence and a confusing jumble of words. When used properly, however, prepositions provide the glue between parts of a sentence that allows you to share your scientific research more precisely and professionally.

Prepositions are used to connect nouns, pronouns, or phrases (called the object of the preposition) to other words within a sentence. They reveal the temporal, spatial, or logical relationship of their object to another word or part of the sentence. For example:

• The flask is on the lab bench. (space)
• The waste basket is below the lab bench. (space)
• The centrifuge is beside the lab bench. (space)
• The fume hood is across from the lab bench. (space)
• He broke the flask during the experiment. (time)

In each of these examples, the preposition (bold) is used to show the relationship in space or time of one noun (red) to another noun (blue). The second noun (blue) is called the object of the preposition. Note that a preposition can comprise multiple words (e.g., across from).

HOW DO I USE PREPOSITIONS?

Prepositions are usually short words, and are normally placed directly in front of nouns, noun phrases, or pronouns. Because they are somewhat vague, learning about prepositions and using them correctly in English sentences takes practice. Here are some rules for using prepositions:

• Prepositions are followed by a noun, and never by a verb.
• A prepositional phrase begins with a preposition and ends with the preposition’s object (either a noun or pronoun).
• The subject of the sentence cannot be part of a prepositional phrase.
• Verbs cannot be part of a prepositional phrase.

There are hundreds of prepositions in the English language. Understanding how to use each one may seem a bit daunting. Most of these prepositions fall into one of three categories: those denoting space (place, position, or direction), time, or other relationships. Some prepositions are formed using two or three words – like “across from” or “in front of.”

 

 

The following three tables provide examples of the use of many commonly used prepositions (source: https://www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/grammar/prepositions).

 

Prepositions – Space (Place, Position, and Direction)
English	Usage	Example
in	room, building, street, town, country	in the kitchen, in London
	book, paper, etc.	in the book
	car, taxi	in the car, in a taxi
	picture, world	in the picture, in the world
at	meaning next to, by an object	at the door, at the station
	for table	at the table
	for events	at a concert, at the party
	place where you are to do something typical (watch a film, study, work)	at the cinema, at school, at work
on	attached	the picture on the wall
	for a place with a river	London lies on the Thames.
	being on a surface	on the table
	for a certain side (left, right)	on the left
	for a floor in a house	on the first floor
	for public transport	on the bus, on a plane
	for television, radio	on TV, on the radio
by, next to, beside	left or right of somebody or something	Jane is standing by / next to / beside the car.
under	on the ground, lower than (or covered by) something else	the bag is under the table
below	lower than something else but above ground	the fish are below the surface
over	covered by something else	put a jacket over your shirt
	meaning more than	over 16 years of age
	getting to the other side (also across)	walk over the bridge
	overcoming an obstacle	climb over the wall
above	higher than something else, but not directly over it	a path above the lake
across	getting to the other side (also over)	walk across the bridge
	getting to the other side	swim across the lake
through	something with limits on top, bottom and the sides	drive through the tunnel
to	movement to person or building	go to the cinema
	movement to a place or country	go to London / Ireland
	for bed	go to bed
into	enter a room / a building	go into the kitchen / the house
towards	movement in the direction of something (but not directly to it)	go 5 steps towards the house
onto	movement to the top of something	jump onto the table
from	in the sense of where from	a flower from the garden
Prepositions – Time
English	Usage	Example
on	days of the week	on Monday
in	months / seasons	in August / in winter
	time of day	in the morning
	year	in 2006
	after a certain period of time (when?)	in an hour
at	for night	at night
	a certain point of time (when?)	at half past nine
since	from a certain point of time (past till now)	since 1980
for	over a certain period of time (past till now)	for 2 years
ago	a certain time in the past	2 years ago
before	earlier than a certain point of time	before 2004
to	telling the time	ten to six (5:50)
past	telling the time	ten past six (6:10)
to/till/until	marking the beginning and end of a period of time	from Monday to/till Friday
till/until	in the sense of how long something is going to last	He is on holiday until Friday.
by	in the sense of at the latest	I will be back by 6 o’clock.
	up to a certain time	By 11 o'clock, I had read five pages.
Other important prepositions
English	Usage	Example
from	who gave it	a present from Jane
of	who/what does it belong to	a page of the book
	what does it show	the picture of a palace
by	who made it	a book by Mark Twain
on	walking or riding on horseback	on foot, on horseback
	entering a public transport vehicle	get on the bus
in	entering a car  / Taxi	get in the car
off	leaving a public transport vehicle	get off the train
out of	leaving a car  / Taxi	get out of the taxi
by	rise or fall of something	prices have risen by 10 percent
	traveling (other than walking or horseback riding)	by car, by bus
at	for age	she learned Russian at 45
about	for topics, meaning what about	we were talking about you

 

One important guideline for using prepositions is that they are usually followed by nouns (any form of noun, including noun phrases and pronouns). Examples of forms of nouns acceptable for this purpose are:
	Noun	scientist, article, hypothesis
	Proper Noun (name)	Einstein, Albert
	Pronoun	you, him, us
	Noun group	our current research
	Gerund	swimming
Many prepositions are also used idiomatically, meaning that there is no specific rule to guide you but that some expressions must be memorized, such that certain verbs and adjectives are followed by specific prepositions. Here are some examples:
	applied to
	depend on
	identical to
	opposed to
	preoccupied with
	prohibited from
	recover from
Avoid using unnecessary prepositions. If the meaning of the sentence is not changed by omitting the preposition, then the preposition is not necessary.
	Incorrect: We discussed about the experiment.
	Correct: We discussed the experiment.
	Incorrect: She entered into the room.
	Correct: She entered the room.

Prepositions serve as a bridge, connecting thoughts and phrases so your reader can follow your writing more easily. When used correctly, they will enhance your scientific articles, linking details that explain and amplify your written content.