In her video, Prepositions: Rules of Thumb, Lauren has suggested some general principles for remembering the ways that English Prepositions behave. Please watch her suggestions and use them in connection with the suggestions here.
Prepositions rarely translate smoothly across languages in the same way that many nouns or verbs do. They exist in the murky, twilight space between the sunlit world of words with a definite definition and the somewhat darker, more mysterious subterranean realm of idiom. To make things even more challenging and frustrating, not all English dialects and regions use the same prepositions in the same situations. As an American, if I wanted to know the location of my child, I might ask my spouse “Where’s Sam at?” As a Newfoundland-Canadian, my partner often asks the same kind of question this way: “Where’s Sam to?” It’s important to understand that you’ll hear these variations if you are working or socializing with a mix of English-speakers, as they may well come from a range of regions and linguistic backgrounds. And be gentle with yourself if you use a preposition in the ‘wrong’ way: there really isn’t necessarily a ‘right’ way, just local and regional conventions.
As a result, I find it useful to simply memorize certain phrases that you might need, even as I move between different English dialects. If you come across a sentence that includes a preposition, try to understand the sense of the preposition as Lauren suggests. But also try to get a sensory feel for the sentence or clause as a whole by learning certain key phrases by heart. In other words, when it comes to prepositions, try to avoid translating individual words directly back into your native language.
To that end, I’ve prepared 10 common preposition uses that you can try to memorize. Memorizing them should give you not just an intellectual feel for what the prepositions mean; it should allow you to begin the long process of physically imprinting their meaning on your tongue and brain.
Common Preposition Sentences. I’ve put the prepositions in bold to highlight their use, but keep in mind that in most of these situations English speakers would not put any extra stress on these syllables when speaking. Rather the opposite: prepositions often are extremely unstressed to highlight the nouns and verbs that they are connecting. Prepositions are facilitators and backstage staff: they exist to help linguistic stars shine. Keep in mind that certain verbs are often followed by certain prepositions. In the side note, I try to highlight these tendencies.
Lauren’s rules of thumb will help you understand why you’re using these prepositions. But, as you memorize certain sentences, try to go beyond why: instead pay attention to how the sentence feels on your mouth and sounds in your ear.
- I work at the grocery store. (If you work at a location, you often work at that location).
- I have been working for Radio Canada for ten years. (If you are discussing your employer rather than a location, you work for someone).
- Yes, I am going to the Zoom party on Saturday night. (Go almost always demands a to).
- No, I have not heard from her since last Tuesday. (You hear from people).
- I will be driving to Quebec Tuesday night. (driving, flying, sailing often—like ‘go’—requires a to).
- My brother never has any free time. It’s like he’s married to his work. (You are married to someone, or when used as an expression, something).
- I’m on it. (Meaning: I will attend to this matter immediately. This phrase likely comes from the idea that our attention is often on things.)
- Dr. Thompson will be attending to you soon. (Almost as often, our attention is given to things).
- You can always depend on Francine to do a good job. (We depend on someone or something)
- I will be thinking about the matter of your raise over the weekend. (When our attention is given to something for a duration of time, we often say ‘I’m thinking about it.’ When specifying the duration, we might say ‘over’ for shorter periods, but ‘during’ or ‘for’ for longer periods like months or years.
Parting Reminder: Memorize the preposition’s meaning, but memorize the physical feel of the sentence or phrase as well. As you watch television in English and read in English, occasionally focus your attention on how the prepositions are being used. The goal is to always become more and more familiar with the sound of the preposition in context.
by Nathan R. Elliott