Types and Positions of Prepositions

In this article, we will see the various types of prepositions, and also see the various positions that prepositions can have in a sentence.

Types of Prepositions

Type 1: Simple Prepositions

at, by, for, from, in, of, off, on, out, through, till, to, up, with.

Type 2: Compound Prepositions

They are generally formed by prefixing a preposition (usually a = no or be = by) to a noun, an adjective or an adverb.

• about, above, across, along, amidst, among, amongst, around
• before, behind, below, beneath, beside, between, beyond
• inside, outside, underneath, within, without.

Type 3: Phrase Prepositions

These are groups of words used with the force of a single preposition.

according to; in accordance with; in place of; in addition to; in reference to; along with; in (on) behalf of; in regard to; away from; in case of; in spite of; because of; in comparison to; instead of; by dint of; in compliance with; in the event of; by means of; in consequence of; on account of; by reason of; in course of; owing to; by virtue of; in favour of; with a view to; by way of; in front of; with an eye to; conformably to; in lieu of; with reference to; for the sake of; in order to; with regard to

Type 4: Participle Prepositions

Present participles of verbs, are used absolutely with out any noun or pronoun being attached to them. For all practical purposes, they have become prepositions, and are sometimes distinguished as Participial Prepositions.

For example: barring, concerning, considering, during, notwithstanding, pending, regarding, respecting, touching.

Considering the locality, the price of this house is pretty high. (considering = taking into account)

A comet was seen during last night’s match.

Notwithstanding the roadblocks he faced in his career, he became a successful architect. (notwithstanding = in spite of)

Positions of Prepositions

A preposition can be used anywhere in the sentence. (i.e. at start, in mid or at last)

Why are you looking at me? (at – in mid)

To which address should I send this letter? (to - at start)

Please give me a chair to sit on. (on – at end)

Prepositions at end

Generally the object of a preposition (noun/pronoun/noun phrase) comes after that preposition, but sometimes it may come before too. It generally happens when the preposition is placed at the end.

Let’s see an example.

What does it depend on? (here the preposition ‘on’ links to the pronoun ‘What’, the object of the preposition)
We can rephrase the above as : It depends on what?

Now, let us see all those cases wherein the object of a preposition is placed before that preposition.

• When the object is the relative pronoun ‘that’, the preposition is always placed at the end.
  
  Here is the book that you were looking for. (for – preposition; that – relative pronoun, which is the object of the preposition)

• Sometimes the object is placed first for the sake of emphasis.
  
  This the customer is insisting on. (on – preposition; this – pronoun, which is the object of the preposition)
  Nicole Kidman is known all the world over. (over – preposition; world – noun, which is the object of the preposition)

Extra Books and Tools

If you prefer to learn via books, or want some good English Grammar books for reference purposes, you may read this article which enlists some of the books recommended by us.