- [Instructor] Hi everybody.
Today I'm going to teach you about prepositions.
You can print the worksheet in the description of this video
to take notes as you watch
and practice the question at the end.
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This video is part one in a three-part video series series.
So, what is a preposition?
A preposition is a word that shows a connection
or a relationship between other words in a sentence.
Here are several examples of common prepositions in English.
There are other prepositions
but these are the ones that you'll see most often.
Also note that some prepositions have more than one word
such as, along with, because of, in addition to, and so on.
Let's look more closely at examples of prepositions
and what they tell us in a sentence.
A preposition tells details like time, place, direction
and other information.
Prepositions that tell us time explain
when something happened or will happen in a sentence.
Examples of these include; after, at, before, by, during,
and so on.
There are several others, these are just a few.
Prepositions that tell place
explain where something is located or happened
in a sentence.
Examples include; across, above, around, at, behind, below,
and so on.
Prepositions that tell us direction
tell us where something is going or coming from
in a sentence, versus just where it's located.
Examples of these include away, down, from,
into, off, onto, and so on.
Some prepositions don't neatly fit into the category
of time, place or direction.
So I'll put these under the category of other.
Examples include against, along with, because of,
by, despite, due to, and so on.
Remember, some prepositions fall under different categories.
For example, the preposition at
can tell us time in a sentence
if we have a phrase like at three o'clock.
But at can tell us the place
if we have a phrase like at the library.
And there are several other prepositions
that fall into more than one category.
Now let's talk about the very important topic
of objects of prepositions.
A preposition has a partner.
This is a noun or pronoun after the preposition.
We call this partner an object of the preposition.
Let's look at this example, we went on Thursday.
Do you see the preposition?
The preposition is on.
And what about after the preposition?
We have a noun, Thursday.
This now is the object of the preposition on.
The girls in the park are playing.
Do you see the preposition?
The preposition is in.
Now, after in, do you see the noun or pronoun?
The noun is park,
and park is the object of the preposition in.
Here's an example that's a little more tricky.
Everyone walked past the new library and us.
Do you see the preposition?
In this sentence, the preposition is past.
Now, what about the noun or pronoun after the preposition?
There are two objects of this preposition.
We have the noun, library, and then we have the pronoun, us.
Both of these are objects of this preposition.
Now I'm going to show you lots of examples
of objects of prepositions.
Remember these prepositions that we looked at before.
After each preposition, I've added an object
and underlined the object in orange.
A preposition plus its object plus words in between
form what we call a propositional phrase.
I talk about prepositional phrases in another video
but in this video, let's stay focused
on prepositions and their objects.
Now that you've seen several examples of prepositions,
let's talk a little bit about tricky prepositions.
Some words can be a preposition
or a conjunction or an adverb.
How do you know the difference?
To know the difference, you look at what follows the word.
Let's look at the tricky group of words;
but, after, as, since, before, and until.
This group of words is tricky
because each of them can be used as a preposition
or a conjunction.
How do you know the difference?
You know because of what comes after the word.
When these words are used as a preposition,
they're followed by an object, which is a noun or pronoun.
When they're used as a conjunction,
they're followed by a subject and a verb.
Here's an example.
Everyone wants pizza but you.
In this sentence, but is a preposition.
How do we know that?
Because it's followed by the pronoun, you.
So you is the object of the preposition but.
Look at this example.
Everyone wants pizza but you want spaghetti.
In this sentence, but is a conjunction.
How do we know that?
We know that because of what comes after it.
In this sentence, but is followed by a subject, you,
and the verb want.
Conjunctions can be and often are followed
by subjects and verbs,
but prepositions are not followed by subjects and verbs.
Prepositions are followed by objects.
So, we know that in this sentence,
but is being used as a conjunction and not as a preposition.
We go to school after breakfast.
In this sentence, after is a preposition.
We know that because it's followed by the noun, breakfast.
Breakfast is the object of the preposition after.
This sentence is a little similar.
We go to school after we eat breakfast.
But in this sentence, we see that after is followed
by the subject and verb we eat.
Because there's a subject and verb that directly follows it,
we know that it's not a preposition in this sentence
and therefore is a conjunction.
She works as a professor.
In this sentence, as is a preposition.
And we know that, why?
Because it's followed by a noun, professor.
Professor is the object of that preposition.
Look at this example.
I opened my book as a professor entered the room.
Again, we see that as is followed by professor,
but a little further, we see that verb, entered.
Because the word as is followed by a subject and verb,
we know that it's a conjunction in the sentence
and not a preposition.
Here's another group of words that can be confusing.
This group includes by, past, up, down, inside,
and other words that describe verbs.
They're confusing because sometimes these words are used
as a preposition and other times they're used as an adverb.
How do you know the difference?
We know because of what comes after them.
When these words are used as a preposition,
they'll be followed by an object which is a noun or pronoun.
When they're used as an adverb,
they won't be followed by an object.
Here's an example.
They drove by the school.
In this sentence, we know that by is a preposition, why?
Because it's followed by the noun, school.
Here, school is the object of the preposition by.
We see that by the school does describe the verb drove.
Usually, adverbs describe verbs.
But in this situation, we see that object
and we know that by is a preposition.
Here's another example.
They just drove by.
Here, by is an adverb.
How do we know that?
Because it's not followed by an object.
Again, by does describe the verb drove.
It tells where they drove.
But because there's no object,
we know it's an adverb and not a preposition.
Here's another example.
They ran inside a building.
Here, the word inside is a preposition.
How do we know that?
Because it's followed by the noun, building,
which is the object of that preposition.
It does describe the word, ran.
Inside a building tells us where they ran,
but here it's a preposition and not an adverb
because of that object.
In this example, they ran inside.
We see that there's no object after the word inside
and so we know it's an adverb and not a preposition.
One more situation that gets a little confusing
is when we see the word to followed by another word.
This can be confusing because to can be a preposition
but it can also be part of the infinitive of a verb.
So how do we know the difference?
We know because when to is a preposition,
like all prepositions, it will be followed by an object
which is a noun or a pronoun.
But when to is used as part of an infinitive,
it will be followed by a verb.
Here's an example.
Give the book to me.
In this sentence, we know that to is a preposition, why?
Because it's followed by a pronoun, me.
Me is the object of the preposition, to.
But look at this example.
I need to read a story.
Here, to is not a preposition.
How do we know that?
Because it's not followed by a noun or pronoun.
It's followed by a verb, read.
When to is followed by a verb,
that means it's part of the infinitive of the verb.
They will walk to the library.
In this sentence, the word to is a preposition.
Again, how do we know?
Because it's followed by the noun, library.
Library is the object of the preposition, to.
Look at this sentence.
We want to you go there today.
Here, again, to is not used as a preposition.
It's used as part of the infinitive.
How do we know that?
Because of what comes after it, the word go.
The word go is not a noun or pronoun, it's a verb.
So we know that to is an infinitive in this sentence.
Now, let's practice what we've learned.
In these sentences, circle the preposition
and underline the object.
Each sentence might have more than one preposition.
Pause the video as you work
and we'll check the answers in a few moments.
Are you ready to check the answers?
Now let's check our answers.
As we go, let's keep in mind the hint
that a preposition has a partner or object.
That's a noun or pronoun that comes after it.
Look at sentence one.
After I finish school, I go to the library.
This sentence has one preposition.
What is it?
That preposition is to.
And what is the object?
The object of this preposition is the noun library.
Now, how do we know that after is not used as a preposition
in the sentence?
Because sometimes, after is used as a preposition.
We know that after is not a preposition in this sentence
because it's followed by the subject and verb, I finish.
Prepositions are not directly followed
by subjects and verbs.
Sentence two.
Is that email from a teacher or a parent.
This sentence has one preposition.
The preposition is from.
And what is the object?
There are two objects, teacher and parent, both are nouns.
How do we know that the or
is not a preposition in this sentence?
It's a small word, and it's followed by the noun, parent.
We know that or isn't a preposition
because or only works as a conjunction.
Sentence three.
I see many fish around the boat in the lake.
This sentence has two prepositions, around and in.
And what are the objects of these prepositions?
The object of around is boat, and the object of in is lake.
Sentence four.
During the day, we always study for science class.
This sentence has two prepositions.
What are they?
During and for.
And what are the objects?
The object of during is the noun, day,
and the object of for is the noun, class.
Now, science is sometimes a noun.
How do we know that science is not the object
of the preposition for?
We know because in this sentence, science is not a noun
but is used as an adjective that describes class.
The object of a preposition cannot be an adjective,
and must be a noun.
Therefore, we know
that the object of the preposition for is class.
Sentence five.
The video game works at the moment.
This sentence has one preposition, that is, at.
And what's the object?
The object of at is the noun, moment.
Sentence six.
It has rained here since last Saturday at 2:00 PM.
This sentence has two prepositions,
since and at.
What are the objects?
The object of since is the noun Saturday,
and the object of at is the time 2:00 PM.
Sentence seven.
This morning, the test took over 30 minutes to finish.
This sentence has one preposition.
What is it?
Over.
And what's the object of this preposition?
The object of over is the noun, minutes.
Now, how do we know that 30
isn't the object of the preposition over?
We know that because 30 is an adjective
that describes the word, minutes.
An adjective can not be the object of a preposition.
So we know that 30 is not the object
but minutes is the object of the preposition over.
What about to and finish?
Why isn't to a preposition?
In this sentence, because two is followed by a verb, finish,
we know that this is an infinitive verb form
and not a preposition.
And what about, this?
This is followed by the noun morning.
Why isn't this a preposition?
The word, this, never functions as a preposition.
It functions sometimes as an adjective
and sometimes as a pronoun
but you'll never see this used as a preposition.
Sentence number eight.
Early today, a girl put money into the empty wallet.
This sentence has one preposition, into.
And what is the object of into?
Wallet.
How do we know that empty isn't the object of into?
We know that because empty is not a noun.
It's an adjective that describes the noun wallet.
The object of the preposition has to be a noun,
so it's wallet.
And what about early?
Early is followed by today, and today is a noun.
So why isn't early a preposition?
The word early never functions as a preposition.
Early is an adjective or adverb.
And in the sentence, it describes today,
making it an adjective.
We're all finished.
This is the end of the video on prepositions.
If you have questions, leave them in the comment section
and I'll do my best to answer them.
Thank you for watching.