CAT 2025 Lesson : Parts of Speech - Prepositions

8. Prepositions

Prepositions are words that are used to add additional information (e.g. place or time). They are also used to connect nouns/pronouns to the verb or adjective.

Example: about, above, across, after, along, below, behind, beneath, beside, between, during, except, for, from, in, on, onto, opposite, out, till, to, towards, under, underneath, until, with, within, without, etc.

Prepositions, like adverbs, answer questions such as where something takes place (at my house), why something takes place (because today is a holiday), when something takes place (during the day, after lunch) or provide general information about the subject or object (the girl with the dragon tattoo).

(The prepositions are underlined in the above examples).

In these examples, the preposition, along with the phrase after it, form the prepositional phrase.

Example:
We all laughed at him.
We visited the museum after class.
I hid behind the tree.
He smiled as he watched them.
Make sure to be on time.
During the game, the audience never stopped clapping.

The prepositional phrase is underlined in the examples. The first word of the prepositional phrase is the preposition (at, after, behind, as and during).

Be careful with prepositions – you must use the right preposition. Many Sentence Correction questions in MBA entrance tests will provide a sentence with incorrect prepositions. Focus on prepositions while reading and you will soon pick up the correct preposition to be used. Start with these:

Use of prepositions:

He sat down on the couch.
The pen fell off the counter.
The pen is still under the table.
He lost control of the car and it drove off the bridge.
That bag belongs to me.
She lives near her workplace.
Even though she lives close to her workplace, she still reaches office late everyday.
I could not hear my friend on the phone when our bus went through a tunnel.
I have been wearing the same shoes since last year.
Please put the flowers by the window.
Please place the food on the table.
She sat across from me in the exam.
I will ensure that he is on time from now on.
He succeeded with a little help from the rest of us.
Please hand in your papers now.

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