86 Introduction
Prepositions are words normally placed before nouns or pronouns (but see 87 about possible alternative positions). Prepositions can also be followed by verbs but, except after but and except, the verb must be in the gerund form:
He is talking of emigrating.
They succeeded in escaping.
The student has two main problems with prepositions. He has to know (a) whether in any construction a preposition is required or not, and (b) which preposition to use When one is required.
The first problem can be especially troublesome to a European student, who may find that a certain construction in his own language requires a preposition, whereas a similar one in English does not, and vice versa: e.g. in most European languages purpose is expressed by a preposition + infinitive; in English it is expressed by the infinitive only:
/ came here to study.
The student should note also that many words used mainly as prepositions can also be used as conjunctions and adverbs. Where this • is the case it will be pointed out in the following paragraphs.
87 Alternative position of prepositions
A Prepositions normally precede nouns or pronouns. In two
constructions, however, it is possible in informal English to move the preposition to the end of the sentence:
1 In questions beginning with a preposition + whom/which/what/ whose/where:
To whom were you talking? (formal)
Who were you talking to? (informal)
In which drawer does he keep it? (formal)
Which drawer does he keep it in? (informal) It used to be thought ungrammatical to end a sentence with a preposition, but it is now accepted as a colloquial form.
2 Similarly in relative clauses, a preposition placed before whom/which can be moved to the end of the clause. The relative pronoun is then often omitted:
the people with whom I was travelling (formal) the people I was travelling with (informal) the company from which I hire my TV set (formal) the company I hire my TV set from (informal)But in phrasal verbs the preposition/adverb remains after its verb, so the formal type of construction is not possible, that children I was looking after could not be rewritten with after + whom and Which bridge did they blow up? could not be rewritten with up + which. play, sing can be used with to or for:
play to us play for us sing to us sing for us
8 Omission of to and for before indirect objects
1 A sentence such as I gave that book to Tom could also be expressed I gave Tom the book, i.e. the indirect object can be placed first and the preposition to omitted.
We can use this construction with the following verbs: bring, give, hand, leave (in a will), lend, offer, pass ( = hand), pay, play (an instrument/piece of music), promise’, sell, send, show, sing, take, tell ( = narrate, inform):
/ showed the map to Bill – / showed Bill the map.
They sent £5 to Mr Smith = They sent Mr Smith £5.
2 Similarly / ’II find a job for Ann could be expressed I’ll find Ann a job (putting the indirect object first and omitting for). This construction is possible after book, tuild. buy, cook, (bake, boil, fry etc.). fetch, find, get. keep, knit, leave, make, order, reserve:
I’ll get a drink for you =• I’ll get you a drink.
I bought a book for James = I bought James a book.
B Normally either construction can be used. But:
1 The construction without preposition is preferred when the direct object is a phrase or a clause:
Tell her the whole story.
Show me what you’ve got in your hand.
2 The construction with preposition is preferred:
(a) When the indirect object is a phrase or a clause:
We kept seats for everyone on our list/for everyone who had paid. I had to show my pass to the man at the door.
(b) When the direct object is it or them. Sentences such as They kept it for Mary. She made them for Bill, We sent it to George cannot be expressed by a verb + noun + pronoun construction.
If the indirect object is also a pronoun (7 sent it to him) it is sometimes possible to reverse the pronouns and omit to (I sent him if), but this cannot be done with for constructions and is better avoided. This restriction does not apply to other pronoun objects:
He gave Bill some. He didn 7 give me any.
He bought Mary one. I’ll show you something.
C promise, show, tell can be used with indirect objects only, without to:
promise us show him tell him read, write can be used similarly, but require to: read to me write to them
89 Use and omission of to with verbs of communication
A Verbs of command, request, invitation and advice, e.g. advise, ask, beg, command, encourage, implore, invite, order, recommend, remind, request, tell, urge, warn, can be followed directly by the person addressed (without to). + infinitive:
They advised him to wait.
I urged her to try again. (See 244.)
The person addressed (without to) can be used after advise, remind, tell, warn with other constructions also:
He reminded them that there were no trains after midnight.
They warned him that the ice was thin/warned him about the ice. But note that recommend (•> advise) when used with other constructions needs to before the person addressed:
He recommended me to buy it but He recommended it to me. He recommended me (for the post) would mean ’He said I was suitable’.
When ask is used with other constructions the person addressed is often optional. The preposition to is never used here:
He asked (me) a question.
He asked (me) if I wanted to apply.
She asked (her employer) for a day off.
B call (- shout), complain, describe, explain, grumble, murmur, mutter, say, shout, speak, suggest, talk, whisper need to before the person addressed, though it is not essential to mention this person:
Peter complained (to her) about the food.
She said nothing (to her parents).
He spoke English (to them), snout at can be used when the subject is angry with the other person:
He shouted at me to get out of his way.
Compare with He shouted to me which means he raised his voice because I was at a distance.
90 Time and date: at, on, by, before, in A at, on
at a time:
at dawn at six at midnight at 4.30 at an age:
at sixteen/at the age of sixteen
She got married at seventeen.
on a day/date:
on Monday on 4 June on Christmas Day
9 Prepositions
Exceptions at night at Christmas, at Easter (the period, not the day only)
on the morning/afternoon/evening/night of a certain date:
We arrived <m the morning of the sixth. It is also, of course, possible to say:
this/next Monday etc., any Monday, one Monday
by, before
by a time/date/period – at that time or before/not later than that date. It often implies ’before that time/date’:
The train starts at 6.10. so you had better be at the station by 6.00. by + a time expression is often used with a perfect tense, particularly the future perfect (see 216):
By the end of July I’ll have read all those books. before can be preposition, conjunction or adverb:
Before signing this . . . (preposition) .
Before you sign this . . . (conjunction)
I’ve seen htm somewhere before, (adverb) (See 195 B, 342.)
on time, in time, in good time
on time = at the time arranged, not before, not after:
The 8.15 train started on time. (It started at 8.15.) in time/in time for + noun = not late; in good time (for) = with a comfortable margin:
Passengers should be in time for their train.
I arrived at the concert hall in good time (for the concert). (Perhaps
the concert began at 7.30 and I arrived at 7.15.)
on arrival, on arriving, on reaching, on getting to
on arrival/on arriving, he … – when he arrives/arrived, he … on can also be used similarly with the gerund of certain other verbs (chiefly verbs of information):
On checking, she found that some of the party didn ’t know the way.
On heanng/Heanng that the plane had been diverted, they left the
airport. The on in the last sentence could be omitted. (See 277.)
at the beginning/end, in the beginning/end, at first/at last at the beginning (of)/at the end (of) = literally at the beginning/end:
At the beginning of a book there is often a table of contents.
At the end there may be an index.
in the beginning/at first = in the early stages. It implies that later on there was a change:
In the beginning/At first we used hand tools. Later we had machines in the end/at last = eventually/after some time:
At first he opposed the marriage; but in the end he gave his consent.
9 Prepositions
91 Time: from, since, for, during A from, since and for
1
B
from is normally used with to or till/until:
Most people work from nine to five. from can also be used of place:
Where do you come from?
since is used for time, never for place, and means ’from that time to the time referred to’. It is often used with a present perfect or past perfect tense (see 185-8, 194).
He has been here since Monday, (from Monday till now)
He wondered where Ann was. He had not seen her since their
quarrel. since can also be an adverb (see 37, 185-8):
He left school in 1983. I haven’t seen him since. since can also be a conjunction of time:
He has worked for us ever since he left school.
It is two years since I last saw Tom =
/ last saw Tom two years ago/1 haven’t seen Tom for two years. (For since with other types of clause, see 338.)
for is used of a period of time: for six years, for two months, for ever:
Bake it for two hours.
He travelled in the desert for six months.
for + a period of time can be used with a present perfect tense or past perfect tense for an action which extends up to the time of speaking:
He has worked here for a year. (He began working here a year ago
and still works here.)
for used in this way is replaceable by since with the point in time when the action began:
He has worked here since this time last year.
during and for
during is used with known periods of time, i.e. periods known by
name, such as Christmas, Easter or periods which have been already
defined:
during the Middle Ages during 1941
during the summer (of that year)
during his childhood
during my holidays
The action can either list the whole period or occur at some time within the period:
It rained all Monday but stopped raining during the night, (at some
point of time)
He was ill for a week, and during that week he ate nothing. for (indicating purpose) may be used before known periods:
/ went there/1 hired a car/I rented a house for my holidays/for the
summer.
9 Prepositions
for has various other uses:
He asked for £5. I paid £1 for it.
I bought one for Tom. (See 88.) for can also be a conjunction and introduce a clause (see 330).
92 Time: to, till/until, after, afterwards (adverb)
A to and till/until
to can be used of time and place; till/until of time «o^. We can use from … to or from . . . till/until:
They worked from five to ten/from five till ten. (at jive to ten would
mean’at 9.55’.) But if we have no from we use till/until, not to:
Let’s start now and work till dark, (to would nj>t« passible here.) till/until is often used with a negative verb to empqastfe, lateness:
We didn 7 get home till 2 a.m.
He usually pays me on Friday put last week fe afcfw’/ pay me till the
following Monday. till/until is very often used as a conjunction of flow?
We’ll stay here till it stops raining.
Go on till you come to the level crossing. But note that if ’you come to’ is omitted, the till mdM)tft replaced by to:
Co on to the level crossing.
B after and afterwards (adverb)
after (preposition) must be followed by a noun, pronounltfKgenmd:
Don’t bathe immediately after a meal/after eating.
Don’t have a meal and bathe immediately after it. If we do not wish to use a noun/pronoun or gerund, we cannot use after, but must* use afterwards (- after that) or then:
Don’t have a meal and bathe immediately afterwards.
They bathed and afterwards played games/played games afterwards or
They bathed and then played games.
afterwards can be used at either end of the clause and can be modified by soon, immediately, not long etc.:
Soon afterwards we got a letter.
We got a letter not long afterwards. after can also be used as a conjunction:
After he had tuned the piano it sounded quite different.
Travel and movement: from, to, at, in, by, on, into, onto, off, out, out of
We travel from our starting place to our destination: Tkty flttf/drovt/cycltd/toaUud from Paris to Rome. When an you coming back to England?
9 Prepositions
We also send/post letters etc. to people and places. (But see note on home below.)
B arrive at/in, get to, reach (without preposition)
We arrive in a town or country, at or in a village, at any other destination:
They arrived in Spain/in Madrid.
I arrived at the hotel/at the airport/at the bridge/at the crossroads. get to can be used with any destination, and so can reach:
He got to the station just in time for his train.
I want to get to Berlin before dark.
They reached the top of the mountain before sunrise. get in (in – adverb) can mean ’arrive at a destination’. It is chiefly used of trains:
What time does the train get in? (reach the terminus/our station) Note also get there/back (there, back are adverbs).
C home
We can use a verb of motion etc. + home without a preposition:
// took us an hour to get home.
They went home by bus.
But if home is immediately preceded by a word or phrase a preposition is necessary:
She returned to her parents’ home.
We can be/live/stay/work etc. at home, at + . . . + home or in + . . . + home. But in cannot be followed directly by home:
You can do this sort of work at home or at/in your own home.
D Transport: by, on, get in/into/on/onto/off/out of
We can travel by car (but in the/my/Tom’s car), by bus/train/ plane/helicopter/hovercraft etc. and by sea/air. We can also travel by a certain route, or by a certain place (though via is more usual):
We went by the M4. We went via Reading. We can walk or go on foot. We can cycle or go on a bicycle or by bicycle. We can ride or go on horseback. We get into a public or private vehicle, or get in (adverb). We get on/onto a public vehicle, or get on (adverb). But we go on board a boat (= embark). We get on/onto a horse/camel/bicycle. We get out of a public or private vehicle, or get out (adverb). We get off a public vehicle, a horse, bicycle, etc., or get off (adverb).
get in/into/out/out of can also be used of buildings, institutions and countries instead of go/come/return etc. when there is some difficulty »n entering or leaving, in and out here are used as adverbs.
I’ve lost my keys! How are we going to get into the flat/
to get in:’(adverb)
The house is on fire! We had better get out! (adverb) t
It’s difficult to get into a university nowadays.
•
96
97
9 Prepositions
Giving directions: at, into, to etc. (prepositions), along, on (prepositions and adverbs) and till (conjunction):
Go along the Strand till you see the Savoy on your right.
The bus stop is put round tkt corner.
Turn right/left at the Post Office/at the second traffic lights.
Go on (adverb) last the post office.
Turn right/left into Fleet Street.
Take the first/second etc. turning on/to the right or -on/to your right.
Go on (adverb) to the end of the road, (till could hot be used here.)
Yvu mil find the bank on your left halfway down the street.
When you come out of the station you wilt find the bank opposite
you/in front of you.
Get out (of the bus) at the tube station and walk on (adverb) till you
come to a pub.
Get off (the bus) and walk back (adverb) lilt you come to some
traffic lights. Be careful not to confuse to and till (see 92 A).
94 at, in; in, into; on, onto
A at and in
(For arrive at/in, see 93 B.)
at
We can be at home, at work, at the office, at school, at university, at an address, at a certain poiiu e.g. at the bridge, at the crossroads, at the bus-stop.
in
We can be in a country, a town, » village, a square, a street, a room,
a forest, a wood, a field, a desert or any place which has boundaries or
is enclosed.
But a small area such as a square, a street, a ream, a field might be
used with at when we mean ’at this point’ rather than ’inside’.
We can be in or at a building, in means inside only; at could mean
inside or in the grounds or just outside. If someone is ’at the station’ he
could be in the street outside, or in the ticket office/waiting room/
restaurant or on the platform.
We can be in or at the sea, a river, lake, swimming pool etc.
in here means actually in the water:
The children are swimming in the river.
at the sea/river/lake etc. means ’near/beside the sea’. But at sea means ’on a ship’.
B in and into
in as shown above normally indicates position. into indicates movement, entrance:
Thty climbed into the lorry. I poured the beer into a tankard.
Thieves broke into my ktmst/My house was broken into.
9 Prepositions
With the verb put, however, either in or into can be used:
He put his hands in/into his pockets. in can also be an adverb:
Come in – Enter. Get in (into the car). on and onto on can be used for both position and movement:
He was sitting on his case. Snow fell on the hills.
Hts name is on the door. He went on board ship.
onto can be used (chiefly of people and animals) when there is movement involving a change of level:
People climbed onto their roofs. We lifted him onto the table.
The cat jumped onto the mantelpiece. on can also be an adverb:
Go on. Came on.
95 above, over, under, below, beneath etc. A above and over
above (preposition and adverb) and over (preposition) can both mean ’higher than’ and sometimes either can be used:
The helicopter Hovered above/over us.
Flags waved above/over our heads.
But over can also mean ’covering’, ’on the other side of, ’across’ and ’from one side to the other’:
We put a rug over him.
He lives over the mountains.
There is a bridge over the river. all over + noun/pronoun can mean ’in every part of:
He has friends all over the world. above can have none of these meanings. over can mean ’more than’ or ’higher than’. above can mean ’higher than’ only.
Both can mean ’higher in rank’. But He is over me would normally mean ’He is my immediate superior’, ’He supervises my work’, above would not necessarily have this meaning.
If we have a bridge over a river, above the bridge means ’upstream’. over can be used with meals/food/drink:
They had a chat over a cup of tea. (while drinking tea) In the combination take + a time expression + over + noun/pronoun, over can mean ’to do/finish’ etc.:
He doesn ’t take long over lunch/to, eat-hiftunch. He took ages over the job. (He took ages to finish it.)
above can also be an adjective or adverb meaning ’earlier’ (in a book, article etc.):
the above address (the previously mentioned address)
see B above (the previously mentioned section B)
9 Prepositions ^^^K
miH
below and under •
below (preposition and adverb) and under (preposition) can both HI mean ’lower than* and sometimes either can be used. But under can indicate contact:
She put the letter under her pillow.
The ice crackled under his feet. With below there is usuaDy a space between the two surfaces:
They live below us. (We live on the fourth floor and they live on
the third.)
Similarly: We live above them. (See A above.)
below and under can mean ’junior in rank’. But He is under me implies that I am his immediate superior, below does not necessarily have
this meaning.
(Both over and under can be used as adverbs, but with a change of
meaning.)
beneath can sometimes be used instead of under, but it is safer to”
keep it for abstract meanings:
He would think it beneath htm to tell a lie. (unworthy of him) She married beneath her. (into a lower social class)
> beside, between, behind, in front of, opposite
Imagine a theatre with rows of seats: A, B, C etc., Row A being nearest the stage.
Row A RowB
Tom
•Ann
Mary
Bob
Jane
This means that:
Tom is beside Ann; Mary is beside Bob etc.
Ann is between Tom and Bill; Bob is between Mary and Jane.
Mary is behind Tom; Tom is in front of Mary.
But if Tom and Mary are having a meal and Tom is sitting at one side of the table and Mary at the other, we do not use in front of, but say:
Tom is sitting opposite Mary or Tom is facing Mary. But He stood in front of me could mean either ’He stood with his back to me* or ’He faced me”.
People living on one side of a street will talk of the houses on the other side as the houses opposite (us) rather than the houses in front of us. With other things, however, these restrictions do not apply:
She put the plate on the table in front of him.
She sat with a booh in front of her.
Where’s the bank? – There it is, just in front of you!
There’s a car-park in front of/at the back of the hotel.
Don’t confuse beside with besides, beside – at the side of: . We camped beside a lake.
100
9 Prepositions
besides (preposition! = in addition to/as well as:
/ do all the cooking and besides that I help Tom.
Besides doing the cooking I help Tom. besides (adverb) means (a) ’in addition to that/as well as that’:
I do the cooking and help Tom besides and (b) ’in any case/anyway’:
We can’t afford oysters. Besides, Tom doesn ’t like them. (See 327.)
F between and among
between normally relates a person/thing to two other people/things, but it can be used of more when we have a definite number in mind:
Luxembourg lies between Belgium, Germany and France. among relates a person/thing to more than two others; normally we have no definite number in mind:
He was happy to be among friends again.
a village among the hills
G with could also be used instead of among in the last sentence above. Also, of course, with a singular object:
He was with a friend. Examples of other uses:’
He cut it with a knife.
Don’t touch it with bare hands.
The mountains were covered with snow.
I have no money with me/on me.
He fought/quarrelled with everyone. In descriptions:
the girl with red hair
the boy with his hands in his pockets
the man with his back to the camera/with his feet on his desk
but and except (prepositions)
These have the same meaning and are interchangeable.
but is more usual when the preposition + object is placed immediately
after nobody/none/nothing/ncuihert etc:
Nobody but Tom knew the way.
Nothing but the best is sold in our shops.
except is more usual when the preposition phrase comes later in the sentence:
Nobody knew the way except Tom and after all/everybody/everyone/everything/everywhere etc. but is more emphatic than except after anybody/anything/ anywhere etc.:
You can park anywhere but/etcept here. (You can’t park here.) but and except take the bare infinitive (see 98). (For but for in cc:.Jiuonal sentences, see 226. For but as a conjunction, see 326.)
101
9 Prepositions
96 Prepositions used with adjectives and participles
Certain adjectives and past participles used as adjectives can be
followed by a preposition + noun/gerund. (For verbs + prepositions,
see 97.)
Usually particular adjectives and participles require particular
prepositions. Some of these are given below; others can be found by
consulting a good dictionary, which after any adjective will give the
prepositons that can be used with it.
about, at, for, in, of, on, to, with used with certain adjectives and
participles:
H
i\if
absorbed in according to accustomed to (sefe 163) afraid of (278,271) anxious for/about (27 C) ashamed of aware of (27 F) bad at/for capable of confident of due to/for (27 A) exposed to fttfor fond of
frightened of/at good at/for interested in
involved in keen on liable for/to nervous of owing to (27 A) pleased with prepared for proud of ready for responsible/or/to scared of
sorry for/about (27 B) successful in suspicious of terrified of tired of used to (163)
He was absorbed in his book. She is afraid/frightened/scared of the dark. According to Tom it’s 2.30. (Tom says it’s 2.30.) He is bad/good at chess, (a bad/good player). Running is bad/good for you. (unhealthy/healthy) They are very keen on golf. Drivers exceeding the speed limit are liable to a fine. The management is not responsible for articles left in customers’cars.
I’m sorry for your husband. (I pity him.) I m sorry for forgetting the tickets. I’m sorry about the tickets. (For good/kind etc. + of, It was kind of you to wait, see 26 B.)
9 Prepositions
97 Verbs and prepositions
A large number of verb + preposition combinations are dealt with in chapter 38. But there are a great many other verbs which can be followed by prepositions and some of these are listed below. More can be found in any good dictionary.
accuse sb of
apologize (to sb) for
apply to sb/for sth
askfrr/about
attend to
begfor
believe in
beware of
blame sb for
charge sb with (an offence)
compare sth with
comply with
conform to
consist of
deal in
depend on
dream of
fight with sbfor
fine sbfor
hope for
insist on
live on (food/money)
long for
object to
occur to
persist in
Prefer sb/sth to sb/sth
prepare for
Punish sbfor
quarrel with sb about
refer to
rely on
remind sb of
resort to
succeed in
suspect sb of
think of/about
wait/or
warn sb of/about
wish for
Do you believe in ghosts?
They were charged with receiving stolen goods.
You haven’t complied with the regulations.
For tt week she lived on bananas and milk.
It never occurred tome to insure the house.
They persisted in defying the law.
When arguments failed he resorted to threats.-
Notice also feel like + noun/pronoun – feel inclined to have something:
Do you feel lihe a drinh/a meal/a rest? feel like + gerund – feel inclined to do something:
I don’t feel like walking there. (For like used in comparisons, sec 21 G-I.) Passive verbs can of course be followed by by + agent; but they can also be followed by oth*r prepositions:
Tht rtftfte was booed by the crowd.
The rtftns was booed for his decision/for awarding a penally.
^,3fe38/-?
&~ ” » *•”» –
”• JT T ^ s-
B
It has already been stated in 86 that verbs placed immediately after prepositions must be in the gerund form:
He left without paying his bill.
I apologue for not writing before.
She insisted on paying for herself.
Before signing the contract, read the small print. (See also 259.) A few noun + preposition + gerund combinations may also be noted:
There’s no point in taking your car if you can’t park.
What’s the point of taking your car if you can’t park?
Is there any chance/likelihood of his changing his mind?
Have you any objection to changing your working hours?
I am in favour of giving everyone a day off.
The only exceptions to the gerund ruje are except and but (preposition), which take the bare infinitive:
/ could do nothing except agree.
He did nothing but complain.
However, if but is used as a conjunction, it can be followed directly by either full infinitive or gerund:
Bang idle sometimes is agreeable, but being idle all the time might
become monotonous.
To be idle sometimes is agreeable, but to be idle all the time etc.
99 Prepositions/adverbs
Many words can be used as either prepositions or adverbs:
He got off the bus at the corner, (preposition)
He got off at the corner, (adverb)
The most important of these are above, about, acroM, along, before, behind, below, besides, by, down, in, near, off, on, over, past, round, since, through, under, up:
They were here before six. (preposition)
He has done this sort of work before, (adverb)
Peter is behind us. (preposition)
He’s a long way behind, (adverb)
She climbed over the wall, (preposition)
You ’II have to climb over too. (adverb)
When the meeting was over the delegates went home, (adverb; here
over m finished)
The shop is just round the corner, (preposition)
Come round (to my house) any evening, (adverb)
He ran up the stairs, (preposition)
He went up in the lift, (adverb) Many of these words are used to form phrasal verbs (see chapter 38):
The plane took off. (left the ground)
He came round, (recovered consciousness)