2. Types of Preposition
There are many kinds of prepositions. Some of them are the simplest form. Many of them are monosyllabic such as in at, up, to, by, of,
out, with, from, down, over, into, after, before, since, behind, above, etc. According to Mahmud in his book English for Muslim University Students
there are types of preposition as follows: 1
Preposition of Location The common preposition used to indicate location or places are:
In being surrounded by something
E.g. In the house At
presence, around E.g. at the house
On in contact with the surface of another object
E.g. On the table Across
Opposite from E.g. across the street
Around near or all sides of
E.g. around the house Between
in the space separating two things E.g. Mona is shitting between Mom and Dad
Among with or surrounded by
E.g. Mona was standing among the boys Throughout in all parts, all over
E.g. Mona looked for her book throughout the room Overabove higher than up in perpendicular direction from
E.g. The sky is over above our head Under
lower than, down in perpendicular direction from Beneath
E.g. Under the table Below
at the point lower than
E.g. below the sea level
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2 Preposition showing place or Position
There are three kinds of prepositions that show the place or position,
there are: a.
The point it self
In or inside Hang your coat in the closet In gives the area of
something enclosed-a container, a drawer, a building
There was no one inside in the house. Inside emphasizes the containment
On put the dishes on the table on indicates the surface
of something- a floor, a wall, a ceiling He‟s standing on top of the desk. On top of
emphasizes the uppermost horizontal surface. It is used with an object that has some height
At I‟m at school. At refers to general vicinity. Were
presence at the place is indicated. At is also used for addresses with streets numbers
– He lives at 200 Park Avenue but he lives on Park
Avenue
b. Higher or lower than a point
1 Higher
Over The plane flew over the mountains. Over is felt to
be generally higher than a point. Above
He lives on the floor above us above is felt to be directly higher than a point.
This distinction between over and above is not always carefully observed.
2 Lower
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Drs. Nasrun Mahmud, English for Muslim University Students, Jakarta: Pusat Bahasa dan Budaya Universitas Islam Negeri, 2003, p. 89