Many of us make mistakes when it comes to the use of prepositions. A preposition is a word or phrase that links nouns, pronouns and phrases to other words in a sentence. A preposition usually indicates the temporal, spatial or logical relationship of its object to the rest of the sentence as in the following examples: The book is on the table. The book is beneath the table. The book is leaning against the table.

There are several types of prepositions, a few of which we will look at in detail. Prepositions of time include the words at, on and in when at is used to designate specific times. Example: The bus will leave at 2 o’clock sharp. On is used to designate days and dates. Example: Seema will go to school on Monday. In is used for non-specific times of a day, month, season etc. Example: Seema goes for a walk in the morning.

Prepositions of place include the words at, on and in when at is used for a specific address. Example: Seema lives at 21 Mayfair Gardens, New Delhi. We use on to designate the names of streets, avenues, etc. Example: Vivek’s house is on Prithviraj Road. We use in for the names of towns, countries, states, continents etc. Example: Raja lives in Hyderabad. A lot of us use prepositions unnecessarily. Examples: Raja met up with Renu in the garden (up is not needed). The fork fell off of the table (of is not needed). Where did Rajan go to? (to is not needed). Where is your house at? (at is not required).