English prepositions

What is a preposition? A preposition is a word governing, and usually preceding, a noun or pronoun and expressing a relation to another word or element in the clause. Examples: The man in the room, He came after dinner,

What is the function of prepositions? Prepositions function as connectors, relating one word to another within a sentence. Prepositions can convey information about location, time, or direction or provide details.

Time prepositions:

Arabic prepositions: Functions of prepositions in Arabic: They serve to link a noun to another noun or a noun phrase to reveal the relationship between the two. أحمد في المدرسة Ahmed is in the school. 2. They relate a noun or a noun phrase to a verb in the sentence to reveal the correlation between them. قفزت عن السور I jumped over the wall. عن relates the verb قفزت to the noun السور.

3. Arabic prepositions are served to join an adjective to a noun or a noun phrase to reveal the relationship between them. كنت قلقاً من نتائج الاختبار I was worried about the exam results.

Uses of Arabic prepositions 1. The temporal usage: Al-Marrani (2009) says that the prepositions indicating temporal relationship in Arabic are من، في، على، حتى. 1 خرجت من الفجر I went out at dawn. 2 رجعت في الساعة الخامسة I came back at 5 o’clock. 3 درست إلى الفجر I studied till/until dawn. 4 درست حتى الصباح I studied until morning.

Ibn Hisham lists: ب as in نَّجَّيْنَاهُم بِسَحَر عن as in عَمَّا قَلِيلٍ لَّيُصْبِحُنَّ نَادِمِينَ اللام as in كُلٌّ يَجْرِي لأَجَلٍ مُسَمًّى على as in وَدَخَلَ الْمَدِينَةَ عَلَىٰ حِينِ غَفْلَةٍ

The spatial usage من، في، إلى، على 1 رجعت من الجامعة I came back from the university. 2 الطالب في المدرسة The student is in the school. 3 ذهبت إلى مكة I went to Mecca. 4 وضعت الكتاب على الطاولة I put the book on the table

Prepositions expressing the notion of cause 1 – مات من الخوف. He died because of fright. 2 – جئت عن موعد. I came according to a prior appointment. 3 ذهبت لأدرس I went to study

Prepositions expressing the notion of accompaniment خرج الأمير في موكب The prince went out with his procession.

Prepositions expressing the notion of manner and instruments قابلته باتسامه I met him with a smile. كتبت بالقلم I wrote with the pen.

Compound prepositions