Prepositions

Understanding prepositions is helpful in mastering proper grammar and other essential grammar concepts. This page will quickly give you a foundation in prepositions. A preposition is a hook for a noun or pronoun to hang on.


Definition

Prepositions

A preposition is a hook for a noun or pronoun to hang on. It usually precedes the noun or pronoun which hangs, or depends upon it, as indicated by its name which is derived from the Latin pre-before and pono-I place.

John is behind the press.
I shall work until Sunday.

 

A preposition shows the relation of a noun or pronoun used as its object to some other word or words in the sentence or, as it has been otherwise stated, makes the noun or pronoun to which it is joined equivalent to an adjective or an adverb. The expression "John is behind the press" is equivalent to an adjective describing John. That is, he is "John behind-the-press." Prepositions are governing words and the words governed by or depending on them are always in the objective case.