Prepositions

Prepositions

A preposition is a word that normally goes before a pronoun, noun, or noun phrase.
It gives more information about the pronoun or noun, such as the location, or time.

There are a few types of prepositions:

(a)		Prepositions of place/position
(b)		Prepositions of time
(c)		Prepositions of direction

11.1

Prepositions of Place/Position

Prepositions	Explanations
At	Is used when no specific point of a place is being referred to. Examples: (a) ...at the hospital... (b) ...at the school...
In	1. Is used to refer to an enclosed area. Examples: (a) ...in the cafe... (b) ...in the mall... 2. Is used for large territories such as continents, countries, states, etc. (For smaller areas, at is used) Examples: (a) ...in Thailand... (b) ...in Kampung Cahaya...
At and In	Both can be used for buildings. The difference is that 'at' refers to a building as an institution while 'in' refers to the building as a structure. Examples: (a) Sarah works at a hospital. (b) Sarah works in a hospital.
On	Is used to show that a particular place is located along a road, river, coastal line, etc. Examples: (a) ...on Jalan Donggongan... (b) ...on Sungai Kinabatangan...

11.2

Prepositions of Time

Prepositions	Usage & Examples
at	at + a specific time on the clock at + night (a) We have a class at nine o'clock. (b) We sleep at night.
in	in + periods longer/shorter than a day (a) My birthday is in July. (b) I was born in 1996.
on	on + a specific day of the week on + a specific date (a) I have badminton training on Sunday. (b) I was born on August 16, 1995.
from...to	from (a specific time) to (a specific time) (a) We have an extra class from 1.05 p.m. to 2.30 p.m. (b) I have a piano lesson from 8.00 a.m. to 12.00 p.m.
before	Used when the first event mentioned happened first (a) Siti took off her shoes before entering the house.
after	Used when the first event mentioned happened next (a) We had lunch after the meeting.

11.3

Prepositions of Direction

Prepositions	Usage	Examples
from	Used to show the place where someone or something starts.	The wind is coming from the North.
through	From one point to the next.	The river runs through the woods.
into	To the inside or middle of a place, container, area, etc.	Let's go into the garden.
towards	In the direction of, or closer to someone or something.	She stood up and walked towards him.
up	Towards a higher position.	Put those books up on the top shelf.

	Example of prepositions used in the passage.

	Children's Day is celebrated worldwide, but in Japan, it is called Girls' Day and Boys' Day. Girls' Day is also called the Doll Festival. On 3 March, a girl's parents prepare a special table. They put steps on the table and then put 15 dolls on the steps. This festival is usually celebrated over several days. During the period of the festival, the girls wear traditional kimonos and have tea parties with their friends. Two months after that is Boys; Day. On this day, boys put up fish banners on their houses. The oldest boy in the household would have the largest fish, which was placed above the other smaller fish belonging to his younger brothers. Inside the house, they display swords or Boys' Day dolls. They also put iris leaves around the table with the dolls. This is because the leaf of the iris flower looks like a sword.

11.4

Phrasal Verbs

	Phrasal verbs are pairs of words consisting of either:

	verb + preposition or verb + adverb

Examples:

Phrasal Verbs	Meaning	Sentences
Break into	Force an entry	Two raiders break into his home.
Break down	Get into a mechanical problem	The old van breaks down.
Beat up	Hurt	They threatened to beat him up if he didn't hand over the money.
Call at	Go to a place for a small purpose	The ship calls at the port.
Bring up	Raise children	She was partly brought up by her maternal grandparents.