SIR EHSAN ULLAH SALAR.

M. PHIL ENGLISH LINGUSTICS SPECAIAL INSTROCTOR OF ENGLSIH,

GRAMMARIAN

 Why are prepositions so confusing?

 How to tackle this dubious POS?
 DEFINITION TO PREPOSITION.
What is a preposition?
 A preposition is a word used to link nouns, pronouns, or phrases to other
words within a sentence. They act to connect the people, objects, time and
locations of 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.

 A nice way to think about prepositions is as the words that help glue a
sentence together. They do this by expressing position and movement,
possession, time and how an action is completed.
 Indeed, several of the most frequently used words in all of English, such
as of, to, for, with, on and at, are prepositions. Explaining prepositions can
seem complicated, but they are a common part of language and most of us
use them naturally without even thinking about it.
 In fact, it’s interesting to note that prepositions are regarded as a ‘closed
class’ of words in the English language. This means, unlike verbs and nouns,
no new words are added to this group over time.
 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 prepositions, even the most advanced English
students have some difficulty at first.
 The first rule is that to make sentences clear, specific prepositions are
needed. For example, the preposition in means one thing and the
 preposition on cannot substitute for it in all cases. Some prepositions are
interchangeable but not always. The correct preposition means one
particular thing and using a different proposition will give the sentence a
very different meaning. I want to see you in the house now, Bill! means
something very different from I want to see you on the house now,
Bill! In the house means Bill should go through the door, walk inside, and
stand in the hall or living room. On the house means Bill would need to get
a ladder and climb to the roof where he would be on top of the house
 The second rule for using prepositions is that prepositions are generally
followed by nouns or pronouns. There was a time in the past when
teachers held strictly to this rule, but it made for some clunky sentences. I
am seeking someone I can depend on ends with the preposition on, so
people who insisted that sentences shouldn’t end with a preposition would
be forced to use convoluted and unnatural phrasing. To avoid ending that
sentence above with a preposition, you’d have to say, someone I can
depend on is whom I am seeking.
 There are more than 100 prepositions in the English language. In addition,
there are endless possibilities for creating prepositional phrases, phrases
that begin with a preposition and end with a noun or pronoun
 

 Types of Prepositions
 There are three types of prepositions, including time prepositions, place
prepositions, and direction prepositions.
Prepositions of Time
Basic examples of time prepositions include: at, on, in, before and after. They are
used to help indicate when something happened, happens or will happen. It can
get a little confusing though, as many different prepositions can be used. A
 AT “”
AT IS USED with fixed timing of clock times.
 1. The bus leaves at 7 o’clock. The train arrives at 5; 30. The meeting will
finish at 6pm. The class will be started at 2; 30.

 2. It is used with period of days.

 He does not like go out at night. I go to market at lunch time. He reads book at
bed time. I will be there at noon.
 3. At is used with festival.
I get new dress at ‘Eid. They will go to London at Christmas. He died at
Ramadan.
 On’
 1 . It is used with days. My birthday is on Sunday. He came here on Monday.
They left on Friday. I have no work on Sunday.
 2. It is used with dates.
 He was born on 18th November. he went to Karachi on 12th Dec
 3. On is used with special days.
 I gave it him on his birthday. She received it on her marriage anniversary.
 4. It is used with parts of days, when they are modified.
They came here on hot afternoon. He bought it on pleasant morning.
 In”
 In is used with months.
I have a party in May. I will go there in March. I called him in April. I called him
in Aug.
 2. with sessions, winter summer. She visited this place in winter.
 They bought a new coat in a rainy sessions.
 3, with years.
She was born in 2006. I called her in 2019. We established this academy in
2020,
 4...General parts of the days.
 He came here in the evening, the theft took place in afternoon. we were
playing in morning

 When we say last, next, every, this we do not also use at, in, on.
 I went to London last June. (not in last June)
 He's coming back next Tuesday. (not on next Tuesday)
 I go home every Easter. (not at every Easter)
 We'll call you this evening. (not in this evening

 By

By in sense of time. Gives the meaning to till. In Urdu it sounds tak .

 It is generally used in future tenses, in order to show the deadline timing of

any action.
I will complete this project by Monday. By 5 p. m I will reach there.
By the end of next month I will be there you.

During.
Used when something happens within the time something else is
happening means when something happens during the particular
period of time. Months, years, sessions, centuries.
During can refer to something that happened while the main event was taking
place. In such contexts, during means ‘at some unspecified point in time’ and is
more common than in:
What was that noise I heard during the night, I wonder? or … in the night. (I
heard a noise at an unspecified point in the night.)
One day, during the Second World War, her father just disappeared. (He
disappeared at an unspecified point.)

Ex, during the class using mobile is not allowed.

 During the war many people were killed.
 We work during the day. I tried to call him during the January.
 Nobody spoke during the presentation.
 Since vs for.
Since is used with the point of time, whereas for is used with the
period of time.
She has been waiting since Monday. They had been calling us for 2
months.
They are used with the actions which have been started in past and
then going on for time.
She will have been waiting since Monday.
 From.
From A to B. FROM ONE TIME TO END.
They worked from morning to evening.

 From & TO

This is a combo you always need together. Just think of a screenshot when you
are writing an e-mail, there are two boxes you must fill out: FROM –where you
write the address of the one who sends the message- and TO –where you write
the address of the person receiving the message. Origin and destination. Alpha
and Omega. Beginning and end. Thus, “From” and “To” work together to indicate
when the action begins and when it ends. “We performed a Harlem Shake from
2:30 p.m. to 2:32 p.m. and we were exhausted, both physically and intellectually”.

 Till and until

 Until indicates when something will happen, begin, or end. Till
means the same thing as until. Till is not an abbreviation of
until—it's actually older than until—and it should not be written
with an apostrophe.
I was there until there. I am here till Monday. He was at home
until 5 pm
I will call you until Monday.
 Still.
We use still to show that something continues up to a time in
the past, present or future. It goes in front of the main verb:
Even when my father was 65, he still enjoyed playing tennis.
It's past midnight but she's still doing her homework.
 Still is usually used at beginning sentences.
 Still she did not come. Still he is unmarried
 Before.

as a preposition (followed by a noun): We moved to London before the

war.
They came before 6 o’ clock.
We went to Quetta before our marriage.
I will be there before Sunday.
 After. Later
Letter than something.
I will wake up after 7o’clcok.
I will meet you later
We do not use anything after later, but we do use time
after, after.
 When we say last, next, every, this we do not also use
at, in, on.
• I went to London last June. (Not in last June)
• He's coming back next Tuesday. (Not on next Tuesday)
• I go home every Easter. (Not at every Easter)
• We'll call you this evening. (Not on this evening)

Prepositions of place.
 Preposition of place describe the location of a person or thing.
A preposition of place is a preposition which is used to refer to a place
where something or someone is located.
 At vs in
At is used to show exact location of a specific point of any place.
With the name of small places. Villages, towns.
Name of large places. City country.
He lives in Quetta. He lives at saryab road.
He lives at Quetta in Baluchistan.

at
Specific point or place
We can use “at” to describe a very specific point or place. Examples:

There is a dog at the top of the steps.

There is a woman at the bottom of the steps.

The postman is at the door.

There is a supermarket at the end of the street

ALI lives at 55 Oxford Street.

An exact address
An exact address is an address with the name of the street and also the
number of the street. Example:

 At college
 At home
 At reception
 At school
 At the bottom
  At the cinema
 At the corner
 At the crossroads
 At the desk
 At the dinner
 At the door
 At the end of the lane
 At the end of the road
 At the entrance
 At the exit
 At the front desks
 At the side
 At the top
 At the top of the page
 At university
 At work

Events

We use the preposition “at” to describe being present at an event. Examples:

I was at a party last night.

Where is David?
He is at a concert.

Buildings where an event or activity takes place

We use “at” if somebody has gone to a building, and we want to describe
generally and roughly where the person is. When we use “at” in this context it
is not important if the person is currently inside the building or outside the
building. We are simply describing where the person has gone. It is not
specific. Examples:

Mark: Hello David. Is Jane here?

David: Jane isn’t here. She’s at the library with her friends
Conclusion, for buildings, we use “at” for a general description of where
somebody has gone and we use “in” to specifically say the person is inside
the building.

. She is at the bus station .he was at cinema.

I am at hospital. They lived at prince road. He lives at Balochi Street.
 Specific point of location of place.> He is at door. He is at the end of street.
He is at the corner of room.
 At is used to describe an event. Exhibition, seminar.
She is at the party. I was at the seminar. He was at concert.
 Any building. They are at library. I am at safa shopping mall.
 In.
In means inside. That place has bounders or that is enclosed area.
The ball is in the box. I am in class. He was in the car. The pen is the bottle.
She lives in a village, I’m at bisima village. His books are in the bag. I live in
Pakistan

in
Enclosed space / a large place with boundaries
We use the preposition “in” for an enclosed space or a place which is
surrounded by boundaries. Examples:

The dog is in the garden.

Towns or cities
A very common use of the preposition “in” is for towns and cities. In english,
we do NOT use “at” for towns and cities:

I was born in Manchester.

Jane lives in London.
Jane lives at London.
 In the ground. There is a big tree in the middle of ground
 Book paper, pic . Sky, street hotel, line, bed, persons. Rain etc. . . . it was
written in my book
It was instructed in Quran. In cup.
In car. Inside the car. In room. Inside the car. I was in the car.

 In a taxi
 In the sky
 In the building
 In a row
 In the newspaper
 In the garden
 In a boat
 In Germany
 In the store
 In the kitchen
 In a car
 In my pocket
 In the room
 In Oxford Street
 In the book
 In a building
 In the park
 In a lift
 In London
 In a helicopter
 In a box
 In the picture
 In Park Street
 In the bathroom
 In the world
 In my bag
 In the magazine
 In the tower

on
For a surface
The preposition “on” is often used to describe a surface. Examples:

There’s a clock on the wall there’s a bag on the floor.

My books are on the table. My phone is on the table.
You can see a painting on the wall behind me.
We live on the fourth floor of the building.
Can you write it on that piece of paper? I will come on stage.

I will come on tv .on the bus train. She applied oil on the face.

 On the way
 On the radio
 On the page
 On a bicycle
 On a ship
 On a horse
 On a train
 On the right
 On the floor
 On the menu
 On the left
 On the cover
 On the rug
 On an elephant
 On the table
 On the bus
 On the carpet
 On a page
 On a plane
 On the wall
 On the television
he
Attached to
If something is physically attached or joined to something else, then we use
the preposition “on”. Example:

She is wearing a ring on her finger

On + Communications
Examples:

On the radio

On the television

On the phone

On the Internet.

Above vs over.

 Above. Higher position .the fan is above the bed. Not exact
 Over. Exactly higher. The fan is the over my head. Exact
 Over, more than number. There are over 20 students in this
class. She has over 10 pens inside her bag. Your weight is
over 90 kg.
 Above= better than. Her performance was above my
expectation . this pen is above yours in sense of look. This
class was above that in sense of brightness. His style is
above yours.
 Over=to cover put the blanket over the baby. You should
put a hand over your mouth when you cough. Put some
clothes over the plate.
Over=oper se. he jumped over the rope. The stone just
went over. I will jump over the wall.
Over +there += same. I met him there or over there.
What are you doing over here?
 Under vs below underneath beneath
Under. Should be covered. We are under the roof. He was
standing under a tree, I hid his phone under the pillow.
Under the sofa

Below. Temperature. the temperature is below 5 degree .

One thing is lower than other and no touching.
 Between vs among amongst

When in a sentence we want to express something in the middle of two or more

people, we either use between or among. Most of the English speakers often
make a common mistake while using these two words, as they are not known
about the basic rule. While between is used when there is something in the
middle of two objects, among is used to mean something which is a part of a
group.

 I divided the cold drink between the two kids, but not among others.
 She was among the dancer’s group, who called me to
meet between 1:00 PM to 2:00 PM.

Definition of Between

Basically, we use the word ‘between’ in our sentences when we want to

express something being in the middle of two persons, places, objects, etc.
It is a preposition but can be used as an adverb also. Now we will discuss
where to use between in our sentences:
1. To imply space separating two things: group.

 There is a small hut between the two buildings.

2. It may also mean something between the two amounts, which is
more than the first amount but less than the second one:
 Her weight is between 60 and 65 kilograms.
 All the candidates between 21 to 30 years, can apply for the
post.
3. It demarcates two different time periods or events:
 You should take the medicines between 2:00 PM and 3:00 PM.
 He stood between his mother and his father
 It should be only between you and me.
 It should be among them.
 It should be amongst us.
 Distribute these notes between girls and boys?

You can call me between 9am to 6pm?

She can be between.60 to 60kg?

At nigh

 From and to.

From is used with the starting point of place whereas, to is used

to show the last point of travel

I will come from academy.

I will go to academy.

 Beside vs besides.
"Beside" is a preposition that means "close to" or "next to." "Besides" is
also a preposition that means "in addition to" or "apart from."

Be+ side. She is beside me. His house is beside mine.

Besides. Additional. The shops remains open Sunday besides

Friday.

 Instead of
 Across.
 
 To vs towards
To destination >> I am going to station. They are going to
academy
Towards. Direction >> he is going to academy. Ali went
towards my home.
 To vs for.
Go. Get come return, send somebody, send something +place
We generally use to preposition.
My father is going for Karachi. She has come for office
 Leave , start +place .+for
He left for academy. Let’s start for station
 Concept of home.
I am going to home. They are going to my home.
When is home used as adverb and when it is used as
noun.