Introduction

Prepositions are a closed set of function words that express a variety of meanings. Their relative smallness disguises the fact that they cause learners enormous difficulty. This unit addresses some of these difficulties before going on to look at how prepositions and adverbs combine with verbs to form ‘multi-part verbs’.

Tasks

1 Prepositions

Identify the prepositions in this text.

2 Meanings of prepositions

Prepositions link two elements in a sentence and express a relationship between them. The relationship can be one of place (including direction), time (such as points in time and periods of time), addition, agency, purpose and means, as well as relations of referring and belonging – among many others.

In the text in Task 1, can you find an example of each of the above relationships? For example: addition: with his main interest being fishing and baseball. Note that some of the prepositions have ‘transcended’ their literal meaning and are used figuratively.

3 Prepositional phrases

Prepositions are followed (or complemented) by a noun phrase to make up a ‘prepositional phrase’. For example: in Zanesville, Ohio; by his mother’s family. Identify all the prepositional phrases in the above text.

4 Prepositions of place

• a Can you complete this chart by putting a common preposition in each box?

• b What factors determine the choice of preposition, according to this chart?

5 Prepositions of time

According to cognitive grammar (see Unit 3), in order to talk about time – which is invisible and intangible – we conceptualize it metaphorically as a kind of space, having points, lines and surfaces, and area or volume, like a container. Hence we use many of the same prepositions for time as we do for space.

Test this theory on these film titles. What do they suggest about the way we construe time?

6 Teaching prepositions

There are many ingenious ways for illustrating prepositions of place. Here is one:

There are also many engaging activities for practising prepositions. Here is one:

What other ways could prepositions of place be both illustrated and practised?

There are many ingenious ways for illustrating prepositions of place.

7 Dependent prepositions

There are many adjectives and verbs that take particular prepositions, and which, because they are not always literal in meaning, can cause learners a lot of difficulty.

Correct these errors from the Cambridge English Corpus.