B. The General Concept of Preposition
Preposition is a part of speech, it is very important in the sentences to indicate something is located.
1. The Definition of Preposition
John E. warriner says “reposition is a useful little word”
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. Meanwhile A S Homby says “Preposition is a words or group of word such as in, from, to, out, of,
on behalf of
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. Although preposition is only a little word or a group of word, preposition has important role in a sentence. With preposition we can see the link
between other words in the sentence. For the example, the words “He lives” with the word “Jakarta” have a meaning the place that he lives is Jakarta. In the other
word the main role of the preposition is to indicate the relationship between words in a sentence. It made us easier to understand the meaning of the sentence.
Preposition always goes with a noun or pronoun which is called the objective of the preposition. And the preposition of preposition is always before
the object of the preposition noun or pronoun. As A S Homby says “Preposition is a word or a group of words such as in, from, to, out, of, on behalf of, used
before a noun or pronoun to show place, position, time or method. The combination of preposition and the object of preposition called a
prepositional phrase. It means that preposition never stands alone, and preposition only has a meaning when it combined. For example, in the sentence “the cat
sleeps on the sofa”, the word “on” is a preposition, introducing the prepositional phrase “on the sofa”.
According to Jeans Yeats, preposition is followed by one or more patterns, which indicate the word order appropriate for the definition. “
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The researcher summarizes that preposition connects one part of speech with another. Preposition always followed by noun or pronoun which is called the
object of preposition. The preposition is always before the noun or pronoun when
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John E. warriner, Warriner’s English Grammar and Composition, New York : Harcout Brace Javanovich, Inc., 1982.p.71.
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A S Homby, Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary of Current English, New York : Oxford University Press, 1987.p.996.
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Jean yates, The Ins and Outs of Prepositions, NewYork : Barron’s Educational Series, Inc, 1999, p. 3.
the preposition combines with noun or pronoun, the combination called a prepositional phrase.
A preposition is used in a prepositional phrase to indicate place, position, time, or method.
2. Type of prepositions
There are many kind of preposition. According to Marcella Frank there are two types of prepositions: preposition of time and prepositions of place – position
and direction.
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a. The common preposition is used to talk indicate the times are:
On
On is used to indicates the days of the week, that and special holidays. Examples:
I am going to swim on Sunday. On is used with a day of the week I buy this bag on 30 November. On is used with a day of the month
I saw him on your birthday. On is used with a special holiday
At
At is used to indicate the specific times. Examples:
The test will start at five o’clock. At is used with an hour of the day I will call you at 9 AM.
The shop closes at midnight. At is used with a part of the day considered as a point
In
In is used to indicate part of the day, year, months, seasons, and duration.
b. Proposition of Place-Position and Direction
There are two kinds of prepositions that show the position and direction, they are:
1. Position
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Marcella Frank, “Modern English a practical reference guide”, New Jersey: Practice hall, inc., 1972 p. 163.
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