Parts of Speech in Urdu
Parts of Speech in Urdu
Parts of Speech in Urdu
Classification of word is called parts of speech. There are eight parts of speech in whole English.
1. Noun اسمض
2. Pronoun ف اسم می ر
3. Adjective ف ص
ت
4. Verb عل تع ف
5. Adverb م ل ق ص ت
6. Preposition حرف ج ار
7. Conjunction وصل۔ج وڑ خ
8. Interjection مدا لت
Adjective:
“A word that tell us some about noun or pronoun فکت is called Adjective”ف ظ ئ ئ ئ ف
ب
ے
ےہ جس ل ظ سے کسی چ یز کی اچ ھا ی ی ا برا ی ی ا کو ی ھی ص ت اہ ر ہ و اسے اسم ص ت ہ
Example:
Humaira is intelligent girl. ے حمی راب ہت ذہ ی ن لڑکی ہ
She is intelligent. ے
وہ ب ہت ذہ ی ن لڑکی ہ
Kinds of Adjective:
1. Proper Adjective
2. Adjective of Quality
3. Adjective of Quantity
4. Demonstrative adjective
5. Interrogative adjective
6. Possessive Adjective
7. Adjective of number
Proper Adjective:
"It is formed for a proper noun” ئ ت ف ین
ے
ن
ع ی اسم معر ہ سے ب ا ی ج ا ی ہ
Example:
NOUN ADJECTIVE
Pakistan Pakistani
India Indian
China Chinese
Adjective of Quality:
“An adjective that shows the quality of noun or pronoun is called adjective of quality” ت
عریف کرے۔ ج و کسی اسم کی
Example:
Small, White, Cloudy, Sharp, Black, etc.
Adjective of number:
“A numeral adjective shows number of a persons or things” ت ظ ت ش ش ف
ے
ہ ی کر ر ہا کو عداد کی اص خ ی ہ اسم ص ت ا ی اء وا
Example
· Three boys
· Four caps
· Some girls
· Many flowers
Adjective of Quantity
“An adjective that shows the quantity of noun or pronoun is called تAdjective
ظ قof quantity”
ش ق ف
ے
ہ ی کر ر ہا کو دار داری ا ی اءکی م ص تم
Example:
There is a chair in the class.
There are no chairs in the class.
There are many students in the class.
There is much air in the class.
Here is one chair in the class an airplane.
Demonstrative Adjective:
“An adjective that point out of noun or pronoun is called demonstrative
ت Adjective” ش
ش ش ش
ے
اسم ا ارہ ا ی اء ا خ اص کی طرف ا ارہ کر ا ہ
Example:
This that
There those
Interrogative Adjective:
“An adjective that ask the question is called Interrogative Adjective” ت ت ت
ے ا ا ا ک عمال س ا ھ سا کے اسم ا صف ت سواالت وچ ھ ن
یج ہ پ
Example:
· What time is it?
· How are you?
· Which shirt do you like?
· Where do you go?
A Possessive Adjective:
A possessive adjective is used with noun to show possession. ظ ف
اسم اض ا ی سے مراد ایس
ے اسم ج و کسی چ یز کی ملکی ت کو ایر کری ں۔
Example:
· My Pen
· Our books
· Your school
Example
Hit = hitting = hitter
Run = running = runner
Drop = dropping = dropper
Cut = cutting = cutter
Shop = shopping = shopper
Swim = swimming = swimmer
Big = bigger = biggest
Note:
Vowels (a,e,i,o,u) 100%
Semi vowels (w,y) 50%
Quarter vowels (x) 25%
Degrees of Adjective:
There are three degree of adjective.
1) Positive degree
2) Comparative degree
3) Superlative degree
Rules:
No: 1
“Great many adjective form their comparative degree by adding “er” and their superlative by adding
“est” to the positive.
Example:
Example
Example:
Positive Comparative Superlative
Fine Finer Finest
Large Larger Largest
No: 4
“If the adjective end in “y” usually change “y” into “i”.
Example:
No: 5
“Adjective of three or more than three syllables we use “more” for comparative and most for superlative
before the positive degree.
Example:
No: 6:
“The following adjectives are compared irregularly.
Example:
Positive Comparative Superlative
Positive Degree
“With the positive degree we use “as” before the adjective and “as” after it.
Example:
As tall as
As intelligent as
As fat as
Shaheen as talkative as shazia
Mehvish as chetty as sehrish
Faiza as chemmy as saeeda
Comparative Degree:
“With comparative degree we use “them” after the adjective.
Example:
Tall then
More then
Fatten then
Shazia taller than Rabia .
Fakhra more intelligent than Sehrish .
Faiza fatter than Riffat.
Superlative Degree:
“With superlative degree we use “the” before the adjective and “of” after it.
Example:
The tallest of
The most intelligent of
The fattest of
=================================================================================
Verb:
“Word that express action or presence is called verb”
Or
“A verb is a word that shows تan action of فfor saying something
ع ت ظabout
ن نsome person or thing”
ن
ف
ی ع کت
ے ع ی ج ب کسی کام کا کر ا ی ا ہ و ا اہ ر ہ و و اس کام کو ہ ی ل ی ا ورب کہا ج ا ا ہ
ے ےہورب ل کو ہ
Kinds of verb:
There are two kinds of verbs. Jفعل کی اقسام
1) Transitive verb فعل متعدی
2) Intransitive verb فعل الزم
Transitive verb
“Verb that needs object is called transitive verb”
متعدی"کہالتے ہیں۔ ایسے فعل جن کا مفعول یعنی آبجیکٹ ہو "فعل
Example:
Eat, Speak, Meet, Etc.
Intransitive Verb:
“Verb that does not need object is called Intransitive verb”
باال تینوں جملوں میں فعل تو ہے لیکن مفعولJفعل الزم ایسے فعل ہوتے ہیں جن کا کوئی مفعول نہ ہو مندرجہ
نہیں۔
Example:
Go, Sleep, Swim, Run, etc.
Identification:
1) By what/Whom.
2) By 2nd form of the verb.
(1): By What Whom
Transitive verb:
¨ I eat =what
¨ I eat mango=complete
¨ I meet = Whom
¨ I meet my friends= complete
Intransitive verb:
1. I go = not use what whom
2. I run = not use what whom
(2): By 2nd form of the verb
Transitive verb:
1) I blamed
2) I said
3) I lied
4) I lend
Intransitive verb:
1) I went
2) I slept
3) I bought
4) I come
Example:
Action Presence
Run Is
Eat Am
Sleep Are
Drink Was
Go Were
Smoke Shall
Swim Been
Be
“Is the chief of the verb (is, am, are, was, were)
Example:
I be along now
I be going yesterday
Possessive case:
(a) Singular Noun
“The possessive of singular noun is made by putting an apostrophe’s, offer, and the noun which that
stands for possessive”
Example:
Statement Possessive form
The cat of Mary Mary’s cat
Verb Definition:
A verb is a word which shows an action.
وہ لفظ جس میں کسی کام کا کرنا پایا جائے ورب کہالتا ہے۔
Examples:
He goes to school daily. وہ روزانہ سکول جاتا ہے۔
They played cricket. انہوں نے کرکٹ کھیلی۔
The cat is running. بلی دوڑ رہی ہے۔
She will come here. - وہ یہاں آئے گی
The sun rises in the east. سورج مشرق سے نکلتا ہے۔
Goes, Played, running, come and rises are the “Verbs”.
Types of Verb
Helping verbs:
He is drinking milk. وہ دودھ پی رہا ہے۔
You were running. تم دوڑ رہے تھے۔
You may sit. آپ بیٹھ سکتے ہیں۔
You can go. آپ جا سکتے ہیں۔
They are watching T.V. وہ ٹی وی دیکھ رہے ہیں۔
“Is”, “were”, “may”, “can” and “are” are helping verbs.
More examples:
Am, is, are, was, were, has, have, had, will, shall, would, could, may, might, must, can.
Principal Verb:
There are two types of principal verb.
Intransitive verb:
The verb which does not require an object to complete its sense.
The girl sings. لڑکی گاتی ہے۔
The dogs bark. کتا بھونکتا ہے۔
The lion roars. شیر دھاڑتا ہے۔
The boy laughed. لڑکا ہنسا۔
Sings, bark, roars and laughed are intransitive verbs.
Transitive verb:
The verb which requires an object to complete its sense.
Examples:
The sun rises in the east. سورج مشرق سے نکلتا ہے۔
I take tea daily. میں روزانہ چائے پیتا ہوں۔
He helped the poor. اس نے غریبوں کی مدد کی۔
Mother loves her children. ماں اپنے بچوں سے پیار کرتی ہے۔
==================================================================================
Noun:
“Noun is the name of a person, place or thing”
Examples:
Chair, Table, Ahsan, urea, book, pen, Sania, city
More Examples:
انسان جانور
Boy لڑکا
Lion شیر
Woman عورت
Table میز
Hospital ہسپتال
Father والد
City شہر
2. Proper Noun ()اسم معرفہ:
A proper noun is a name of a particular person, place, or thing.
کہتے ہیںJ جگہ یا چیز کے نام کو اسم معرفہ،کسی خاص شخص
Examples:
Proper Noun اسم معرفہ
Lahore الہور
London لندن
3. Collective Noun ()اسم جمع:
Collective nouns refer to groups of people or things.
وہ نام جو کسی گروہ یا جماعت کے لیے استعمال ہوں
Examples:
Collective Noun اسم جمع
Committee کمیٹی
Army فوج
Class جماعت
Crowd مجمع
Set سیٹ
Government حکومت
Team ٹیم
4. Material Noun ()اسم مادہ:
Material Noun refers to a material or substance from which things are made۔
اشیا بنائی جاتی ہوںJجن سے دوسری-وہ نام جو مادی اشیا یا دھاتوں کے کیے استعمال ہوں
Examples:
Material Noun اسم مادہ
Gold سونا
Wood لکڑی
Steel سٹیل
Water پانی
Stone پتھر
Silver سلور
Wheat گندم
5. Abstract Noun ()اسم مجرد:
An abstract noun is the name of action, quality, or state.
کریںJ کیفیت یا خاصیت کو ظاہر،وہ الفاظ جو کسی چیز کے عمل
Examples:
Abstract Noun اسم مجرد
Truth سچ
Sleep سونا
Death موت
Laughter ہنسی
Honesty ایمانداری
Theft چوری
6. Compound Noun:
“A noun that is made by two or more nouns is called compound noun”
Countable and Uncountable Nouns
Countable nouns are those that can be counted. Uncountable nouns do not typically refer to things that can be
counted and so they do not regularly have a plural form.
Examples:
Countable Nouns Uncountable Nouns
Singular -
1st تPerson واحد I -میں My – میرا Me -Jمجھے
م کلم
Plural -جمع We -ہم Our – ہمارا Us – ہمیں
Singular -
2nd Person واحد You – آپ،تم Your, yours – تمہارا You – تمہیں
ض
مخ اطب/حا ر
Plural -جمع You – تم Your, yours – تمہارا You – تمہیں
Singular-
)احد(مذکر He – وہ His – اس کا Him – اسے
Singular-
3rd Person ()واحد مونث She – وہ Her – اس کا Her – اسے
غ
ائ ب
بے جان It – وہ Its – اس کا It – اسے
،تیرا
2nd person ، تم،تو ، تم،تو Your, ، تم،تو ، تم،تو Your, آپ، تمہارا،تیرا
ض You You آپ، تمہاراYou You
مخ اطب/حا ر آپ آپ Yours آپ آپ Yours کا
کا
3rd person He (وہ(مرد Him ان کے His ان کا They ( وہ(مردThe انہیں Their, ان کے
ے
اسس اس کا m Theirs ان کا
بے- وہ
It It اسے Its اس کا
جان
Hurrah آہا
Wonderful زبردست
Bravo شاباش یا واہ
Alas افسوس
Oh آہ یا آوہ
Interjection معانی
O اوہو
Really واقعی
Hello سنو یا ہیلو
Look دیکھو
Shame شرم کرو
Interjection معانی
And اور
Or
Before
یا
But پہلے
لیکن
Conjunctions معنی
Because Jکیونکہ
If اگر
Till
When
جب تک
جب
And ()اور
Ahmed is present and Talha is present too. ہے اور طلحہ بھیJاحمد حاضر
Ali and Asif went to school. علی اور آصف سکول گئے
But()لیکن
Ahmed is present but Talha is absent. ہےJ ہے لیکن طلحہ غیر حاضرJاحمد حاضر
I like milk but I don’t like tea. مجھے دودھ پسند ہے لیکن مجھے چائے پسند نہیں
That()کہ
He said that he was busy. اس نی کہا کہ میں مصروف تھا
She says that she is tired. وہ کہتی ہے کہ میں تھکی ہوئی ہوں
Therefore()اسی لیے
I am ill therefore I can’t come to school. میں بیمار ہوان اس لیے میں سکول نہیں آسکتا
He has no money therefore I paid the bill. اس کے پاس پیسے نہیں تھے اس لیے میں نے
بل ادا کیا
Otherwise / or else()ورنہ
Work hard otherwise you will fail محنت کرو ورنہ فیل ہو جاؤگے
Take care of your health or else you will fall ill. تمJاپنی صحت کا خیال رکھو ورنہ
بیمار ہو جاؤ گے
Asked……if()پوچھا آیاکہ
He asked me if I was O.K.اس نے مجھ سے پوچھا آیا کہ میں ٹھیک ہوں
He asked him if he had been there.اس نے اس سے پوچھا ایا کہ وہ وہاں تھا
)تاکہ(So that…….may
وہ محنت کرتا ہے تاکہ وہ پاس ہو جائےHe works hard so that he may pass.
میں وہاں جاتا ہوں تاکہ میں ورزش Jکر سکوںI go there so that I may take exercise.
Example:
Slowly, Beautifully, Early, Well
1- You are lazy = Adjective
2- You are working lazily = Adverb
3- He is beautiful singer = Adjective
4- He is singing beautifully = Adverb
Kind of Adverb:
“There are three kind of adverb”
1. Adverb of manner
2. Adverb of place
3. Adverb of time
Adverb of manner:
“An adverb goes with verb to tell “How” is called adverb of manner”
Example:
1-She is coming badly =How? =Badly
2-He sang beautiful =How? =Beautifully
Adverb of Place:
“An adverb goes with to tell “Where” is called adverb of place”
Example:
1-She sang a song there =Where? =There
2-They gave test here =Where =Here
Adverb of Time:
“An adverb goes with verb to tell “When” is called adverb of time”
Example:
1-He ate early =When? =Early
2-They come today =When =Today
How To Make the Adverb
No#1: Adding “Ly”
“Generally we make the adverb of an adjective by adding “Ly”
Example:
Adjective Adverb
Slow Slowly
Bad Badly
Beautiful Beautifully
Careful Carefully
Adjective Adverb
Easy Easily
Heavy Heavily
Lazy Lazily
merry Merrily
No#03: Adding or Addition
“There are some objectives that have the some form for adverb as well”
Example:
Adjective Adverb
Fast Fast
Hard Hard
Soon Soon
Good Well
================================================================
Pronoun
Pro + noun
Instead of Noun
“A word that is used Instead of noun is called Pronoun” ت ت ف ض
ے ج و کسی اسم کی ج گہ اس عمال ہ و ا ہ
ے اسم می ر وہ ل ظ ہ
Example:
He, She, It, I, We, You, They, etc.
Structure of Pronoun
I Me My/mine Myself
We Us Our/ours our self/ves
You You Your/yours Yourself/ves
They Them Their/theirs Themselves/v
es
He Him His Himself
She Her Her/hers herself
It It Its It selves
One One Ones Oneself
Example:
I beat him
This is my book
I speak English myself
================================================================
Gender
GEN SEC (in English)
Definition
“Classification of sex is called Gender” ت ن
ن س
کس کے درج ہ ب دی کو ج س کہا ج ا ا ہ
ے
Kind of Gender
1. Masculine Genderمرد کیلئے
2. Feminine genderعورت کیلئے
3. Neuter Genderاشیاء کیلئے
4. Common Genderمرد اور عورت دونوں کیلئے
Masculine Gender
“A word that is used for made is called masculine Gender”
- کہا جاتا ہےJمرد کیلیےاستعمال ہونے والے الفاظ کو ماسکیولین
Example:
Noun = Boy, Man, King, Prince Etc.
Pronoun = He, his, him etc.
Feminine Gender
“A word that is used for female is called feminine gender”
عورت کیلئے استعمال ہونے والے الفاظ کو فیمینین کہا جاتا ہے
Example:
Noun = Girl, woman, queen, princes etc.
Pronoun = She, her, hers
Neuter Gender:
“A word that is used for thing is called neuter gender”
کہا جاتا ہےJاشیاء کیلئے استعمال ہونے والے الفاظ نیوٹر
Example:
Noun = Book, Chair, Board etc.
Pronoun = It, its, etc.
Common Gender:
“A word that is used for both male and female is called common gender”
جو لفظ مرد اور عورت دونوں کیلئے استعمال ہو وہ کومن کہا جاتا ہے
Example:
Noun = Doctor, Teacher, Friend etc.
Pronoun = I, we, you, they, one etc.
====================================================
====================
Pronoun Number:
There is two pronoun numbers:
1) Personal pronoun
2) Impersonal pronoun
1) Personal pronoun:
“Pronoun which is used for person is called personal pronoun.
ذاتی چیزوں کیلئے استعمال ہونے والے الفاظ کو ذاتی ضمیر کہا جاتا ہے
Example:
I, We, You, They, He, She, One etc.
2) Impersonal pronoun:
“Pronoun which is for thing is called impersonal pronoun”
ضمیر کہا جاتا ہےJچیزوں کیلئے استعمال ہونے والے الفاظ کو امپرسنل
Example:
It etc.
Person:
“There are three kinds of person in whole world”
1) 1st person
2) 2nd person
3) 3rd person
1st person:
“The person who is speaking is called 1st person”
Example:
I, We
2nd person:
“The person who is listening is called 2nd person”
Example:
You
3rd person:
“The person who is spoken about is called 3rd person”
Example:
He, She, It, They
===============================================================
Conjunction:
“A word join together two word phrases or sentence is called conjunction.
Exa
mple:
And, But, Although, If, Until, While, Because etc.
1) Teacher and Student
2) Along the round and near the school
3) You should not talk to him until I phase you
================================================================
Preposition
A preposition is a word placed before a noun. That word relates a noun or pronoun to another in the
sentences.
اJJاہر ہوتJJاتھ ظJJاظ کے سJJرے الفJJق دوسJJا تعلJJوتے ہیں اور انکJJتعمال ہJJحروف کا کسی ناؤن یا پروناؤن کے ساتھ اس
ہیں
Example:
I live in Lahoreمیں الہور رہتا ہوں ۔
Who is at the door? دروازے پر کون ہے
The books are on the table. کتابیں میز پر ہیں
OR
A preposition is a word placed before a noun or noun-equivalent show in what relation the pronoun or
thing devoted there by stand to something due.
حروف جار وہ الفاظ ہیں جو ایک اسم کا دوسرے اسم ضمیر سے تعلق ظاہر کرتے ہیں انہی الفاظ کو حروف جار کہتے ہیں
Examples
At, under, on, in, from, to, with, by
Preposition: a word used to link nouns, pronouns, or phrases to other words within a sentence.
ج مل
Sentences-ے اردو میں ترجمعہ
گھوڑا دو درختوں کے درمیان کھڑا
The horse was standing between two trees.
تھا۔
باز درختوں سے اوپر چکر لگا رہا
The eagle is circling over the trees.
ہے۔
Key is in my pocket. چابی میری جیب میں ہے۔
Computer is on the table. میز پر ہے۔Jکمپیوٹر
The cat is under the table. بلی میز کے نیچے ہے۔
مجھے کشمیر میں دعوت دی گئی
I was invited in Kashmir.
تھی۔
Naeem was born in 1970. میں پیدا ہواتھا۔1970 نعیم
وہ شام کو آرہے تھے مگر وہ صبح
They were coming in the evening but they come in the morning .
آئے۔
He returned home after seven years. وہ سات سال بعد گھر لوٹا۔
You should come in a month. تمہیں ایک ماہ میں آنا چاہیے۔
لیلی تاالب میں چھالنگ لگا رہی
ٰ
Laila is jumping into the pool.
ہے۔
The Computer is in the shop. دکان میں ہے۔Jکمپیوٹر
Faisal has been reading since morning. فیصل صبح سے پڑھ رہا ہے۔
Maria had sleeping for two hours. ماریہ دو گھنٹوں سے سو رہی ہے۔
شاہد نے کمپیوٹر کی بجائے مجھے
Shahid gave me a book beside a Computer.
کتاب دے دی۔
نائلہ اپنی سہیلی کے پاس کھڑی
Naila stood beside her friend.
تھی۔
He caught a bird with a net. اس نے جال سے پرندا پکڑا تھا۔
The poem was writen by Nazia. نظم نازیہ نے لکھی تھی۔
Women were quarreling among themselves. عورتیں آپس میں جھگڑ رہی تھیں۔
روبینہ کی فیملی کوٹلی میں رہتی
Robina,s family lives at Kotli.
ہے۔
The army moved to Muzafarabad. فوج مظفرآباد میں چلی گئی۔
Noreen will come at 10:00. نورین دس بجے آئے گی۔
میرا سکول ساڑھے سات بجے کھلتا
My school opens at 7:30.
ہے۔
Aamna will come on Sunday. آمنہ اتوار کو آئے گی۔
Prepositions
A preposition is a word that indicates the relationship between a noun and the other words of a sentence.
They explain relationships of sequence, space, and logic between the object of the sentence and the rest of
the sentence. They help us understand order, time connections, and positions.
Example:
I am going to Canada.
Alex threw a stone into the pond.
The present is inside the box.
They have gone out of the town.
There are a few interesting linguistic facts about preposition.
First, they are a closed class of words which means no new preposition gets added to the language. We
use a fixed set of prepositions.
Second, prepositions do not have any other form. They cannot be plural, possessive, inflection, or
anything else.
Third, most of the prepositions have many different contextual and natural uses. So, it is easy to be
confused about preposition.
Fourth, sometimes a preposition works as nouns, adjectives, and adverbs.
Prepositions can be of one, two, three, or even more words. Prepositions with two or more words are
called phrasal prepositions.
There are some commonly used phrasal prepositions:
Because of, in case of, instead of, by way of, on behalf of, on account of, in care of, in spite of, on the side
of, etc.
Types of Preposition
Most of the prepositions have many uses. There are some prepositions which are common in every type of
preposition as they function in a versatile way.
Prepositions of Time
Prepositions of Place and Direction
Prepositions of Agents or Things
Phrasal Prepositions
Prepositions of Time:
Prepositions of time show the relationship of time between the nouns to the other parts of a sentence.
On, at, in, from, to, for, since, ago, before, till/until, by, etc. are the most common preposition of time.
Example:
He started working at 10 AM.
The company called meeting on 25 October.
There is a holiday in December.
He has been ill since Monday.
Prepositions of place show the relationship of place between the nouns to the other parts of a sentence.
On, at, in, by, from, to, towards, up, down, across, between, among, though, in front of, behind, above,
over, under, below, etc. are the most common prepositions of place/direction.
Example:
He is at home.
He came from England.
The police broke into the house.
I live across the river.
Prepositions of agents or things indicate a casual relationship between nouns and other parts of the
sentence. Of, for, by, with, about, etc. are the most used and common prepositions of agents or things.
Example:
This article is about smartphones.
Most of the guests have already left.
I will always be here for you.
He is playing with his brothers.
Phrasal Prepositions:
A phrasal preposition is not a prepositional phrase, but they are a combination of two or more words
which functions as a preposition.
Along with, apart from, because of, by means of, according to, in front of, contrary to, in spite of, on
account of, in reference to, in addition to, in regard to, instead of, on top of, out of, with regard to , etc.
are the most common phrasal prepositions.
Example:
They along with their children went to Atlanta.
According to the new rules, you are not right.
In spite of being a good player, he was not selected.
I’m going out of the city.
Prepositions
Prepositions are short words (at, in, on) which are used to show position, location, direction, and time in
English. This in-depth tutorial will take you from basic usage to advanced verb + preposition
combinations. It includes dozens of preposition exercises as well as the answers to common preposition
questions.
Position Prepositions
The following prepositions are used to indicate position. To help you learn the meaning of each preposition, the
images below show the position of the red ball (or bar) in relation to the blue box. (Example: The red ball
is above the blue box.) Scroll down for more example sentences and position preposition exercises.
Direction Prepositions
The following prepositions are used to indicate direction. Direction prepositions are special because they show
some type of movement. The images below demonstrate the direction of the red ball in relation to the blue
object. (Example: The red ball is rolling away from the blue box.) Scroll down for example sentences, usage notes,
and direction preposition exercises.
In the pictures above, you will notice that some prepositions are followed by an optional from, to or of. If
you want to use these prepositions with a location object, you have to use the optional from, to or of. If
there is no location object, you do not need to use the optional from, to or of.
Examples:
Sherry walked into the house. has object "the house"
He walked away. no object
With certain common expressions, we sometimes break the above rule, and we don't use the
prepositions from, to or of even when they are followed by objects. In fact, some grammar books argue
that off of is wrong! However, you cannot always skip from, to or of. Experience will teach you when and
where you can do this.
Examples:
Examples:
John walked down to Mary. John started at the top, and he walked down to Mary who was
waiting at the bottom.
Location Prepositions
The prepositions of location at, in, on and aboard are a bit more complicated than basic position
prepositions. Location prepositions are associated with specific types of locations, which must be
memorized.
Sometimes, the location prepositions are logical. For example, in a house makes sense because you are
physically standing inside the house. Other location prepositions are less logical. For example, on a
bus means inside the bus rather than standing on top of the bus. Here is a list of location prepositions and
the types of locations they are associated with. Scroll down for example sentences, usage notes, and
location preposition exercises.
Prepositio
Locations
n
enclosed spaces, buildings, organizations, regions, water, deserts, mountain ranges, forests,
in
cities, countries, continents, the sky, space, cars, groups of people, little boats
surfaces, roads, corners, shores, single mountains, islands, planets, public transportation,
on
bikes, big boats, stairs, balconies, walkways
To help you understand the types of locations listed above, here are some real-life examples of at, in and
on to get you started. There is a discussion of aboard further down the page.
At In On
It's important to remember that each preposition expresses an idea. For example, at expresses the idea of
being at a specific location, whereas in expresses the idea of being in an institution. For this reason, at
school and in school have two very difference meanings. Take a look at the examples below to understand
the difference.
Examples:
Fred doesn't have a job yet because he is still in school. enrolled in the institution of school
Again, different prepositions have different meanings. On is generally used for street locations (on Main
Street), whereas in is used to talk about standing in the middle of the street.
Examples:
The car almost hit him because he was in the street. standing in the middle of the street
As described above, you must remember the meanings of the prepositions. At the beach is referring to the
location. On the beach suggests the idea of being on the shore (standing on the sand.)
Examples:
Lisa wasn't in the ocean when she saw the shark. Luckily, she was on the beach. on the sand
Once again, the difference depends on the meaning of the prepositions. When you are in water, you are
swimming in the water. However, when you are on water, you are floating on the surface of the water in a
boat OR you are standing on the shore of that body of water. This applies to lakes, rivers, oceans and
other bodies of water.
Examples:
We were in the sea all day. swimming
The word boat is a little more complicated. When English speakers are in small boats, they feel that they
are inside something like a car, so they use the preposition in. On large boats or ships, it feels more like
public transportation and they prefer to use the word on rather than in.
The preposition aboard is usually used in more formal language with large passenger vehicles such as
planes, trains and ships and is often used to emphasize the moment you first step onto the vehicle. It is
most commonly heard in the expression welcome aboard.
Examples:
Natalie was on a cruise ship when she saw the whale. big boat
Time Prepositions
There are two types of time prepositions in English. First, we will take a look at the basic time
prepositions at, in, and on. Secondly, we will cover the functional time
prepositions after, before, by, during, for, from, in, to and until/till.
The prepositions at, in and on are associated with specific time categories, which must be memorized. For
example, we say "at 5 PM on Sunday in June" because English speakers use at with clock times, on with
days, and in with months. Study the categories and the examples below.
To help you understand the time categories listed above, here are a few real-life examples of at, in and
on to get you started.
At In On
at 3:45 PM in June on Tuesday
Both on and at are used with holidays, but the meaning is different. On is used with specific days and at is
used with holiday periods. For this reason, on Christmas means on Christmas Day (Dec. 25) whereas at
Christmas means during the Christmas season (late December). There is a similar distinction with longer
holidays, including Easter, Hanukkah, the New Year, Thanksgiving weekend, Chinese New Year etc.
Examples:
Examples:
The following time prepositions have a more functional usage and show how two or more events relate to
each other in time. For example, Lisa jogs before dinner means Lisa jogs first and eats dinner second.
These time prepositions can be hard to translate and are best learned through conversation.
from... until/till start time... end time Tony works from 9 AM until 5 PM.
during within a time During the day, Tony eats a small snack and lunch.
after later than After work, Tony goes home and eats dinner.
Both to and until express similar ideas, but there is a difference in usage between the two words. To is a
preposition, and it must be followed by a noun, most frequently a clock time such as 3:45 PM.
Until is both a preposition and an adverb, which means it is more flexible. Until can be followed by any
time noun or even an entire clause. If you are confused, you can use until and that will always be right.
Till is a short, less formal version of until. Till (also written as 'til) is more common in spoken English,
songs, and poetry.
Examples:
The following is a complete list of prepositions and related words used in our preposition tutorial
including types of prepositions and preposition example sentences.
Above position The coconut was high above our heads, so nobody could reach it.
away from direction The fireman led the people away from the burning building.
beneath position We sat beneath the tree and enjoyed the shade.
next to position The pizza parlor was next to the movie theater.
off (of) direction The cat fell off (of) the couch.
Out of direction When we walked out of the hotel, the taxi was waiting for us.
Outside location He was outside the house when the fire began.
Until time I can't wait until summer, so we can go to the beach again.
Prepositions
Prepositions are short words (on, in, to) that usually stand in front of nouns (sometimes also in front of
gerund verbs).
Even advanced learners of English find prepositions difficult, as a 1:1 translation is usually not possible.
One preposition in your native language might have several translations depending on the situation.
There are hardly any rules as to when to use which preposition. The only way to learn prepositions is
looking them up in a dictionary, reading a lot in English (literature) and learning useful phrases off by
heart (study tips).
The following table contains rules for some of the most frequently used prepositions in English:
Prepositions – Time
year in 2006
at for night at night
since from a certain point of time (past till now) since 1980
to / till / marking the beginning and end of a from Monday to/till Friday
until period of time
till / until in the sense of how long something is He is on holiday until Friday.
going to last
by, left or right of somebody or something Jane is standing by / next to /
next to, beside the car.
beside
under on the ground, lower than (or covered by) the bag is under the table
something else
below lower than something else but above ground the fish are below the surface
above higher than something else, but not directly a path above the lake
over it
across getting to the other side (also over) walk across the bridge
through something with limits on top, bottom and drive through the tunnel
the sides
for bed go to bed