Basic Details
Word: Preposition
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: A word such as in, on, under or between that shows how a noun or pronoun is linked to another word.
Word origin: From Latin praepositio, a putting before.
How to Spell Preposition
Syllables: prep - o - si - tion
Tricky part: There is one s, as in position, and the ending is tion. Students sometimes write prepossition or preposision.
Watch out for: prepossition, preposision, prepasition
Memory tip: Preposition is pre + position: it is a word put in position before a noun, as in under the table.
Usage Examples
Example 1: In the phrase on the roof, on is a preposition.
Example 2: Our teacher drew a box and asked us to describe the ball's place with a preposition.
Example 3: Behind, beside and beneath are all prepositions.
Fun Fact
An old school rule said a sentence must never end with a preposition, but modern grammar books call it a myth: What are you looking at? is perfectly good English.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Makeup
Only one of these words can follow the prefix below to make a real word. Choose it:
pre
a) position
b) courage
c) appear
d) cover
Show answer
a) position. Pre + position gives preposition; the others take different prefixes: recover, disappear, encourage.
Spell-o-Spell
Read the four words. Choose the meaning of the only correctly spelt word:
1. vocabulery 2. preposition 3. paragragh 4. dictionery
a) a word such as in or under that shows how things are related
b) a group of sentences about one idea
c) all the words that a person knows
d) a book of words and their meanings in alphabetical order
Show answer
a) a word such as in or under that shows how things are related. Vocabulary and dictionary both end in ary, and paragraph ends in ph.
Word Cookie
Find the misspelt word in the sentence:
In the sentence The kite is stuck between two branches, the word between is a prepossition that tells us exactly where the kite is.
a) between
b) prepossition
c) exactly
d) branches
Show answer
b) prepossition. Position inside it has one s, and so does preposition.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Which word in this sentence is a preposition: The cat slept under the bed?
a) under
b) slept
c) cat
d) bed
Show answer
a) under
2. Choose the correct preposition: She is good ____ chess.
a) on
b) in
c) of
d) at
Show answer
d) at
