A preposition is a word which precedes a noun (or a pronoun) to show the noun's (or the pronoun's) relationship to another word in the sentence. (The word preposition comes from the idea of being positioned before. It is not true to say that a preposition always precedes a noun or a pronoun, but it does most of the time.)
The following are all prepositions:
above, about, across, against, along, among, around, at, before, behind, below, beneath, beside, between, beyond, by, down, during, except, for, from, in, inside, into, like, near, of, off, on, since, to, toward, through, under, until, up, upon, with and within.
Role of a Preposition
Prepositions are important when constructing sentences. A preposition sits before a noun to show the noun's relationship to another word in the sentence.
Examples:
- It is a container for butter.
(The preposition for shows the relationship between butter and container.)
- The eagle soared above the clouds.
(The preposition above shows the relationship between clouds and soared.)