This document discusses the different types and uses of prepositions in the English language. It begins by defining a preposition as a word placed before a noun or pronoun to show its relationship to another word. It then provides examples of common prepositions like "on", "in", "to". The majority of the document focuses on explaining special or less common uses of various prepositions through examples, such as "between/among", "beside/besides", "in/into", "on/upon", and others. It concludes by summarizing some of the most common uses of specific prepositions like "by", "for", "at", and "on".

1. B Y N I T E S H R A J M U R A R I K A R
Prepositions

2. PREPOSITION
 A preposition is a word which is placed before a noun
or a pronoun to show that the relation for that noun
or pronoun and another word in the sentence.
[A preposition means that which is placed before.]
Ex : 1. The book is on the table.
2. A pen is in the book.
3. A book was given to me.
4. She is suffering from fever.

3. Special Cases of Preposition
1) Between, Among:-
i) “Between” is used with two persons or things.
ii) “Among” is used with more than two persons or
things.
Ex: i) The two brothers shared their amount between
themselves.
ii) The four thieves shared their amount among
themselves.

4. Special Cases of Preposition
2) Beside ; Besides :-
i) “Beside” means “by the side of”
ii) “Besides” means “in addition to”.
Ex: i) Ravi sat beside me.
ii) He has a car besides a van.
iii) The house was beside the river.
iv) He plays Tennis besides cricket and hockey.
v) Besides being a good speaker, he is also an
excellent actor.
vi) He knows Hindi besides Telugu.

5. Special Cases of Preposition
3) In; Into:-
i) “In” denotes “position”.
ii) “Into” denotes “movement” or “motion”.
Ex:- i) Ravi is in the office.
ii) She is running into the house.
iii) Akhil jumped into the river.
iv) Ganesh is in the bedroom.

6. Special Cases of Preposition
4) On; Upon:-
i) “on” denotes “position”.
ii) “upon” denotes “motion” or “movement”.
Ex:- i) The book is on the table.
ii) He sat on a chair.
iii) The cat jumped upon the rat.

7. Special Cases of Preposition
5)In; At :-
i) “In” is used with the names of countries, large
cities, districts, states etc.,
ii) “At” is used with the names of small towns, villages
and addresses.
Ex:- i) Ganesh lived at Uppal in A.P
ii) He lived in America
iii) We shall meet Ravi at the club in the evening.

8. Special Cases of Preposition
6) By; With :-
i) “With” often denotes the “instrument”
ii) “By” often denotes the “agent” or “person”
Ex:- i) He was killed by his servant.
ii) He was killed with an axe
iii) He killed two birds with one shot
iv) The land was ploughed by the farmer with a
tractor.

9. Special Cases of Preposition
7) Since; For:-
i) “Since” is used for “Point of time”.
ii) “For” is used for “Period of time”.
Ex:- i) He has been reading the poem since 8am
yesterday, the morning, the evening, the afternoon.
ii) I have been living here since 2005.
iii) I have been living here for two years.
iv) She has been playing chess for four hours.

10. Special Cases of Preposition
8)Till; To:-
i) “Till” is used of “time”.
ii) “to” is used of “place”.
Ex:- i) He slept till 9’O clock.
ii) He walked to the end of the street.
9) In; Within:-
i) “In” before a noun denoting a period of time means “at
the end of”
ii) “within” means “before the end of”
Ex:- i) He will return in an hour.
ii) He will return within an hour.

11. Special Cases of Preposition
10)Since; From:-
i) ”Since” is used for “point of time” and preceded by a
verb in the present perfect tense and present perfect
continuous tense.
ii) “From” is also used for “point of time” and place but
it used with all tenses.
Ex:- i) He has been ill since last Monday.
ii) I have not seen him since last week.
iii) He will join school from tomorrow.
iv) I commenced work from 10th November.

12. Special Cases of Preposition
11)Against :-
Against denotes opposition of some kind
Ex:- One should not act against the orders.
12)Beyond :-
Beyond means “out of”
Ex:- This is beyond my understanding.
13)Through:-
Through denotes across the interior of anything.
Ex:- i) She has passed through many troubles.
ii) That is the mountain through which a tunnel is
being bored.

13. Special Cases of Preposition
14)Along:-
Along means in the direction of or length of.
Ex:- He walked along the road.
15) Towards:-
Towards means in the direction of but not necessarily reaching a
place.
Ex:- He walked towards the bus stand.
16) Than:-
Than is usually a conjunction but it is used sometimes as a
preposition.
Ex:- i) He does not accept less than five hundred rupees for his radio.
ii) I speak of Milton than whom there is no one greater as an epic
poet

14. Special Cases of Preposition
17) But:-
But is a conjunction when used as a preposition it
means ‘except’.
Ex:- i) He solved all problems but one.
ii) None but the brave deserves the fair.
18) Of:-
“Of” is used
a) To expresses cause
Ex:- She died of fever.

15. Special Cases of Preposition
b) To indicate relief
Ex:- He was cured of fever.
c) To express partition or measure.
Ex:- i) One of my friends is in Bombay.
ii) I want a sheet of paper.
(Similarly a piece of, some of, many of, metre of, a kilo
of)
d) To express relation
Ex:- Fear of war, writer of books, the death of a leader.

16. Special Cases of Preposition
19) To:-
a) “To” is used to express motion (In the direction of)
Ex:- i) Come to me.
ii) Let us go to the park.
b) To indicate direction
i) He turned his chair to the sun.
ii) They walked to the park
(Similarly to the left of him, to the bright of him, to the
north of the Himalayas etc.,)

17. Special Cases of Preposition
c) To express the ideas of comparison and reference.
Ex:- i) India won by six goals to three.
d) To indicate extent
Ex:- i) I tried to help him to the best of my ability.
ii) The national debt runs to thousands of crores
of rupees.
20) At:- “At” is used
a) For a certain point in time.
Ex:- At 3:45PM, at noon, at sunset, at night, at midnight, at
the end of the play, at the beginning of the lesson etc.,

18. Special Cases of Preposition
b) For festivals which mark a point in the year
Ex:- at Christmas, at Diwali, at Easter etc.,
c) For age
Ex:- at Sixteen, at Seventeen, at Five etc.,
d) For a state of condition
Ex:- at Rest, at War, at Peace etc.,
e) For a place
Ex:- at the market, at college, at meeting etc.,
f) For villages and smaller towns
Ex:- Abdul Kalam was born at Rameswaram

19. Special Cases of Preposition
g) For activity
Ex:- at work, at play, at dinner etc.,
h) For a particular place or house or residence
Ex:- i) He stayed at Apsara Hotel.
ii) The Prime Minister lives at North Safdarjung
Road
i) For rate
Ex:- at twenty rupees a dozen, at a loss, at a profit, at
cost etc.,

20. Special Cases of Preposition
21)In :- “In” is used
a) To indicate a period of time.
Ex:- In 1994, In summer, In spring etc.,
b) For names of countries, continents, large areas,
capital cities and large towns
Ex:- i) They live in America.
ii) Smith lives in Kolkata.
c) For dress
Ex:- i) She was dressed in silk
ii) The officer came in disguise

21. Special Cases of Preposition
d) For residence when no specific place is mentioned
Ex:- in a bungalow, in a modern house, in a flat, in a hotel,
etc.,
e) For place of work (if it is a building)
Ex:- i) John works in a bank.
ii) Lucy works in a shop.
22) On:- “On” is used
a) For a specific day
i) Date ii) Day of the week iii) special day
Ex:- i) Indira Gandhi was born on Nov, 19th 1917.
ii) I will come on Monday.
iii) He went to London on Christmas day

22. Special Cases of Preposition
b) For a specific part of any day
Ex:- i) They came here on Friday afternoon.
ii) He left for Madras on the night of August 4th.
c) Condition
Ex:- i) Vinoba went to Hyderabad on foot.
ii) He is on duty.
d) To indicate position in relation to another object.
Ex:- i) The book is on the table.
ii) The boy sat on the bench.

23. Special Cases of Preposition
23)By:- “By” is used
a) To mean near
Ex:- i) come and sit by me
b) In the passive voice
Ex:- The snake was killed by him
c) In the sense of during
Ex:- i) He travels by night.
ii) Look for me by moon light.
d) To denote the latest time by which something is to be done
Ex:- i) The work should be finished by next Sunday.
ii) You must be home by 8’O clock.
e) For mode of travel
Ex:- by bus, by train, by air.

24. Special Cases of Preposition
24) “for” is used
a) To show the lapse of time
Ex:- i) It rained for three hours.
ii) I haven’t seen her for a week.
b) To express purpose
Ex:- i) He shouted for help
ii) Let us go for a walk
c) To indicate direction
Ex:- i) They started for Madras.
ii) We sailed for Ceylon.
iii) He left for Mumbai.

25. Special Cases of Preposition
d) To express cause
Ex:- i) It is for this reason he came here.
ii) I want some money for my pocket expenses.
e) After the words like anxious, fit, inclined, ready etc.,
Ex:- He is anxious for promotion.
f) In the sense of (or) in place of
Ex:- He will act for you.
g) For has various other uses
Ex:- i) He asked for twenty rupees.
ii) She paid ten rupees for the ticket
iii) I left it for you.