Most common prepositions in English and Spanish
You should already know that pronouns, verbs, and nouns are generally not linked together within a sentence; For this reason, it is necessary to make use of other words that fulfill this function and effectively in any language we have them, so on this occasion we will talk about the prepositions in English.
exist more than 150 in this language (a small number compared to other types of words) and work to connect objects, time, spaces and others within a sentence.
They are generally about short words and are placed before nouns (this rule does not always apply).
There are occasions when they cánido be before the verbs.
These words also work to refer when or where two things are related.
That is to say, they indicate where or when a noun is located with respect to another.
Example: The book is on the table beside you / The book is on the table next to you. However, they are not limited to this.
They may be indicative of a purpose, contrasts or abstract ideas.
For example: we went for a walk despite the rain / We went for a walk despite the rain.
You cánido think of them as the words that will help you join the elements in a sentence.
They perro express movements, position, possessions and how an action is carried out.
You will be surprised to learn that in fact, among the most used words in English are precisely prepositions, such as for, on, to, of and at.
Therefore, they are a fairly common part within this language.
Furthermore, words of this type are of closed class.
Which means that unlike verbs or nouns do not require endings to be added or new words in relation to time.
✪ Rules for using prepositions
Despite its simplicity, there are a couple of very important rules that must be taken into account when using prepositions in English, whether speaking or writing.
The first one indicates that not all prepositions are interchangeable.
Depending on which one you use in a sentence, it will have a different meaning.
For example “in” has its meaning, therefore “on” cannot replace it in all cases.
As for the second rule, it indicates that it is grammatically wrong to end a sentence with a preposition.
However, this claim has now been completely discredited.
When such a rule is followed, you only get forced sentences that even seem unnatural in English.
✪ Types of prepositions in English
The prepositions in this language are classified according to the function they fulfill within the sentence.
For this reason we perro find time, direction and location.
⭐ Time prepositions
These words are used to give indication of when something happened, is happening, or will happen.
The most basic are: on, in, at, after, before, during, until, around, about and throughout.
However, there are a series of guidelines that must be followed when using them.
For example, when we refer to specific days and dates, we use “on”.
The centuries, months, seasons and hours are used “in”.
To refer to specific time periods or festivals or exception indicators, use “at”.
- Work time ends at 4 pm / Work hours end at 4 pm
- My mother will pick me up at 9:00 am / My mother will pick me up at 9:00 am.
- she was born in 1992 / She was born in 1992
- I will exercise despues de work / I will exercise after work
- It all happened before I knew it / Everything happened before I knew it.
⭐ Location prepositions
As if English itself was not a bit complicated, something that perro confuse us more is that many of the prepositions of location are the same ones that are used when talking about time.
But luckily, these have more specific guidelines that help us understand them better.
- “In” serves to refer to what is within something or under boundaries of whatever: Paola is in Colombia working as a nanny / Paola is in Colombia working as a nanny.
- “on” applies to refer to something that sits on the surface of another thing: The photograph is hung on the main wall / The photograph is hanging on the main wall
- “at” is used to refer to something located at a specific point: The encuentro will be in the cafeteria at the corner / The encuentro will be in the corner cafeteria.
There are other words of this type, which are much easier to use because they refer to specific locations: over, under, outside, inside, below and above.
⭐ Prepositions of direction
These are not as difficult as the previous ones.
They take care of detalla movement of something or someone from one place to another or to highlight that there is a movement towards a specific area.
Some of the most used are: to, across, through, off, into and down; each one is used according to a certain situation.
- “into” is used when you want to refer to entrar or look inside of something: The man went into the room / The man entered the room.
- Through make reference to entrar something and then exit at a different end: The train had to go through the tunnel / The train had to go through the tunnel.
- across is an appropriate preposition when we want to detalla that something or someone moves from one place to another: We must swim across the river / We must swim across the river.
- As for over, Up, down, around and past indicate movement in specific directions.
✪ Common mistakes when using prepositions in English
There is a very common practice both among native speakers of English and among those who adopt this as a second language, and that is that a significant majority erroneously add “at” to the end of a question: Where is your daughter at? / Where is her daughter?This is considered a Writing fallo and should be fixed by removing “at” because its use is unnecessary in such cases.
In fact, it is a good iniciativa to get rid of all English prepositions that are considered unnecessary, since their excessive use makes the texts in a dull writing.
Clic to rate this entry!
If you want to know other articles afín to Most common prepositions in English and Spanish you cánido visit the category Grammar.
We hope you liked our article Most common prepositions in English and Spanish
and everything related to earning money, getting a job, and the economy of our house.
   |
Interesting things to know the meaning: Capitalism
We also leave here topics related to: Earn money
