Prepositions and Their Objects 

Read the following sentences: 

1. There are some books on the table. 
2. Some books are there in the shelf.    
3. There is a clock hanging on the wall. 

In the above sentences, a close look will show us words like in and on being used there. Words like these are called prepositions. 

A preposition is a word or a phrase that comes before a noun, a pronoun, or a noun phrase to indicate direction, time, place, location, spatial relationships.  

They help in introducing an object. To put it in simple words, a preposition helps us indicate the relationships between the other words in a sentence. Words like in, at, on, of,to, off, etc. are some examples of prepositions. 

The noun or pronoun that we use with a preposition and follows it is called its object. In other words, the object of a preposition is a noun, noun phrase, or pronoun that follows a preposition and completes its meaning. 

Examples: 

• There is an apple on the table. 
• I am at the library. 
• The cup fell off the table. 

The different kinds of prepositions are: 

Prepositions of direction: 

The prepositions of direction are to, in, into, on and onto. They are used to refer to a direction, like: 

• I went to the store. 
• The cops barged into the house. 
• Mark drove on the grass and parked his vehicle there. 

Prepositions of time: 

The prepositions of time are in, at, and on.  

In should be used with months, years, seasons, and parts of the day where a specific time is not given, like: 

• I work out in the evening. 
• We left Detroit in 2000. 
• My friend’s wedding is in May. 

At should be used to refer to the time of a day. It can be used with noon, night, and mid-night as well, like: 

• The match begins at 8PM. 
• We will meet at noon/ night/ mid-night. 

On should be used to refer to days and specific dates, like: 

• The movie is releasing on Friday. 
• We are going to Vegas on the 8^th. 

Prepositions of place: 

When it comes to prepositions to be used for locations, we should use the preposition in to refer to the exact point itself, at to refer to the general vicinity, on to refer to the surface, and inside to refer to something that is contained, like: 

• My father is in the kitchen right now. 
• The book is on the table. 
• They are waiting at the corner. 
• The wallet is inside the drawer. 

We should use over and above to refer to objects that are at a higher place/position than a given point, and should use below, beneath, under and underneath to refer to objects that are at a lower place/position than a given point, like: 

• A plane went over the house. 
• The jar isabove the saucer in the cupboard. 
• We were resting under the tree. 
• There is a store room underneath the floor at my home. 
• The kitty is hiding beneath the bed.