Study Notes On Preposition 97

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Today, we are providing you all with "Important Rules on Preposition and their Usage". It is very important
to understand the "Usage of Prepositions" in English Grammar. These notes are helpful for all the upcoming
BBA exams viz. DU JAT, IPMAT, JIPMAT, etc exams.
• It is strictly between you & me.

• He is going to college now.
A preposition describes a relationship between other words in a sentence and is usually followed by
a determiner and/or an adjective, followed by a pronoun or noun. They tell us about the event, taking place in
time and place, or tell us when or where or under what circumstances something has happened.
Like in the first sentence “between” is a preposition telling us the relationship of “you” & “me”. While in the
second sentence it is “to” tell us the place of the event.
Note: we use the preposition at the end of the sentence.
For Example:
To whom are you living? (Put with after living)
About what are you talking? (Put about after talking)
But in this also there are some exceptions like in passive voice we say “By whom was it done?”
Some Confusing Prepositions
• AT, ON & IN (When they are referring to a place)
At is used when we see something as a point in space.

For Example:
• The car was waiting at the lights.

• There's someone at the door.
On is used to refer to a surface.

For Example:
• The book is kept on the table.

• There were lots of pictures on the walls.
In is used when we see something as all around.

For Example:
• It was cold in the room.

• I have a 10 rupees note in my pocket.
In general, we use it for a bigger place like a country or town and at for a smaller place.
For Example:
• I arrived at London in England.

• I live at Madhusala in Patna.
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AT, ON & IN (When they are referring to time)
1. We use at with a particular time such as clock time or mealtime.
For Example:
• at half-past five,
• at breakfast (time),
• at that time,
• at the moment
We also use at with periods of two or three days.

For Example:
• at Christmas,
• at Holi,
• at the weekend
2. We use it on a single day.

For Example:
• on Tuesday,
• on 7th August,
• on that day,
• on Easter Sunday
3. We use in with longer periods.

For Example:
• in the next few days

• in the summer holidays
• in spring
• in July
• in 1992
• in the 19th century
We also use it with a part of the day.

For Example:
• in the afternoon,
• in the morning
Some very Important Points to remember:
• There is some variation like, On Friday Evening, On Tuesday night.

• There is one exception that is we use before night like “I will meet you at night.”
• We do not normally use at, on, or in phrases of time with last, this, next, every, later, yesterday, and
tomorrow. Like it is wrong to say, “I received your letter last Friday”. (Remove on)
BETWEEN & AMONG
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Between is used to refer to a small number of items that are separate from each other.
For Example:
• This match is between him and me.

• This tri-series is between India, Australia & South Africa.
Among refers to a larger group.

For Example:
• I saw him among the crowd.

• Toffees were distributed among the students.
Note: 1. Between is followed by the objective case of pronoun.

For Example, this match is between him and me.
2. Each/Everyone cannot be used after between.
For Example: Between Each Boy (It is wrong)
There are 10 millimetres between each centimetre. (Remove Each)
TO & TOWARDS
We used to for a destination and towards for a direction.
For Example:
We're going to Delhi. My grandpa lives there.
We're going towards Delhi now.
DURING & OVER
We use during with an event (e.g. the festival) or a period which is a definite time (e.g. that week). It means
the whole period.
For Example:
• Nobody was working during the festival.

• The letter arrived during the festival.
But we cannot use during + length of time.

For Example: The festival went on during a week. (Replace during with for)
We can also use over for a whole period of time.
For Example:
Over a period of two months, there was a sudden rise in theft in this area.
FOR & SINCE
We use for + length of time and since + time.
For Example:
4
• for two years
• for a week
• for two days
• for a few minutes
• since 1990
• since last week
• since Monday
• since half past two
For Example:
• I just want to sit down for five minutes.

• I will stay at your place for a week.
• It has been raining since last Monday.
• I haven't seen you since September.
We do not normally use "for" before a phrase with all or whole.

It rained for the whole day. (Remove For)
Till/until
We use till/until to say when something finishes. Till is not the contracted form of until. They are usually
interchangeable.
For Example:
The government will not pass any bill till/until the next session.
I will be working in Germany till/until next April.

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1

• It is strictly between you & me.

Some Confusing Prepositions

• AT, ON & IN (When they are referring to a place)

At is used when we see something as a point in space.

• The car was waiting at the lights.

On is used to refer to a surface.

• The book is kept on the table.

In is used when we see something as all around.

• It was cold in the room.

• I arrived at London in England.

We also use at with periods of two or three days.

2. We use it on a single day.

3. We use in with longer periods.

• in the next few days

We also use it with a part of the day.

Some very Important Points to remember:

• There is some variation like, On Friday Evening, On Tuesday night.

BETWEEN & AMONG

• This match is between him and me.

Among refers to a larger group.

• I saw him among the crowd.

Note: 1. Between is followed by the objective case of pronoun.

• Nobody was working during the festival.

But we cannot use during + length of time.

• I just want to sit down for five minutes.

We do not normally use "for" before a phrase with all or whole.

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