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Preposition

  Preposition

A Preposition is a word which is placed before a Noun or a Pronoun or a Noun-equivalent word or a Phrase to show its relation to another word in a Sentence.

The function of a Preposition is only to relate or link a Noun or a pronoun or a Noun Phrase (NP) to the Sentence.
It only connects an NP to a sentence like a tool word. In an English Sentence a Preposition is used to connect only a Noun or a Pronoun or a Noun Phrase, never any other Parts of Speech else. It is just like a device-word to connect or link an NP to a Sentence.

We have already known that so many Nouns, Pronouns and Noun phrases (NP?s) are used in a Sentence but maximum three of them are directly related to the Verb as a Subject, an Indirect Object and a Direct Object. The rest remain detached so long each of them is not connected with an individual Preposition.

In the Sentence:
He went to the capital city with his father by train yesterday.

The Verb ?went? is an Intransitive Verb. So it cannot take any object. So only ?He?, a Pronoun, is the Subject of the Verb here. Being an Intransitive Verb 'went' can take or connect no other Noun Phrase. But there are more Noun Phrases like ?the capital city?, ?his father?, and ?train? in the Sentence. They are three in number. They have no direct relation with the Verb ?went?. So they need three Prepositions, one for each, to be connected to the Sentence and they took the Prepositions like ?to?, ?with? and ?by? respectively.

But the very word ?yesterday? needs no Preposition to be connected because it is not a Noun. It is an Adverb. Except a Noun or a Pronoun, no other Part of Speech needs any Preposition.

Now can see what happens if we omit the Prepositions: (He went the Capital City his father train yesterday). We can now realize the importance of Prepositions as well as the necessity of Prepositions in an English Sentence.

A Verb has maximum three bonds to hold NP?s. Some Verbs have only one bond and they can hold only one NP and that is only the Subject of the Verb. In that case, the Verb is an Intransitive Verb. They never take any Object though there may be so many PrepositionalObjects.

Some verbs have two bonds to hold two NP?s and one of the NP?s is the Subject and the other one is the Object. In that case, the Verb is a Transitive Verb. There also may be so many Prepositional Objects.

Some Verbs have three bonds and that is the maximum. With the three bonds they can hold three NP?s. One of the three NP?s is the Subject of the Verb. One of the remaining NP?s is Indirect Object and the other one is Direct Object. And the Verb is also a Transitive Verb and it may be called a ?Double Object Verb?.

Now to connect other NP?s, if any besides the Subject and Objects, to a Sentence we need more bonds, one for each NP. And it is only the Preposition that creates a bond, like a Verb, to relate the NP's to the respective Sentence and also like a Verb only the Preposition can take an Object which is called Prepositional Object. Every individual Preposition always creates a single bond. So we use a Preposition to create a bond for every extra NP which is neither a Subject nor a Object of the Verb. Thus using a Preposition before each of the NP?s we can connect so many NP?s as we need and the NP?s connected by Prepositions are called ?Prepositional Objects?(P.O.).

Now we can go for logical analysis. Study the following Sentences:
?Read the above passage.?
Here, the word ?above? apparently looks like a Preposition and also is placed before a Noun ?passage? but it is not a Preposition. If we omit the word ?above? the word ?passage? do not become a detached word. It is already related to the Verb ?Read? as the Object of the Verb. So, the word ?above? does not connect it and that is why ?above? is not a Preposition here. Rather ?above? qualifies or describes the Noun ?passage?. So ?above? is an Adjective here.

Again, ?There is no roof above my head.?
Here, ?above ?is a Preposition. It connects the Noun Phrase ?my head?. If we omit the word ?above?, ?my head? becomes detached. So, ?above? is the connector of the NP here and is a Preposition.

Again, ?A helpless man wants help from above?.
Here, ?above? is a Noun as it is an Object of the Preposition ?from? and it is connected by ?from?. If we omit ?from?, it will be detached from the Sentence.

Now we can conclude:
That a preposition is placed before only a Noun or a Pronoun or a Noun Phrase to connect it to the respective Sentence.
That a Preposition never connects any other Part of Speech except Noun, Pronoun and NP?s.
That the Subject and Objects of a Verb never take any Preposition though they are also Noun or Pronoun or Noun Phrase.
That there must be a Noun or a Pronoun or a Noun Phrase after a Preposition.

In the Sentence, ?Please come in?.
Here, ?in? is not a Preposition because there is no NP after ?in?. It does not connect any NP. Rather it is an Adverb as it modifies the Verb ?come?.

Every Preposition takes an NP after it. If there is no detached Noun in a Sentence, no Preposition is needed and we should take a note that generally every Noun has a boundary limitation, material or virtual.

And I think, that is all about Preposition. But now I like to go into a common controversy to have a logical solution.

Study the following Sentences:
I go to school. (Correct Sentence)
I go to home. (Incorrect Sentence) but I go home. (Correct Sentence)
Learners are directed not to use the Preposition ?to? before ?home?. They are often told that ?to? cannot be placed before ?home?. But why? What is the logical explanation?

We know that normally a concrete Noun has a boundary limitation. But ?Home? has no boundary limitation. ?Home? is the opposite word to ?Abroad? and there is difference between ?Home? and ?House?. If we consider the both for the same, that will be a mistake. Both ?Home? and ?Abroad? are considered to be Adverbs but ?house? is a Noun. ?House? has boundary limitation. We can build a house. We can buy a house. We can sell a house. So it is a noun and an Adjective may qualify the house but no Adjective can qualify ?Home?.

Suppose a boy was born in a slum of Barisal City but he works and lives in Dhaka, the Capital city, now. Being asked he will answer that his home-land is Barisal though he has no house in Barisal. Only he was born in Barisal. ?Home? bears a concept of one?s identity. ?Home? cannot be built but house can be built or shifted.

On the other hand ?Home? comes into being with one?s birth and ends with one?s death. So ?Home? is an Adverb and an Adverb is never connected by any Preposition.

Again, in the Sentence, ?My father is at home today.? Here, ?home? has a boundary limitation. By the Sentence we can understand that he normally lives else where but now he is in the locality. He is now available in the locality. But if we say ?He is in the house?, that means ?He is in doors.? But ?He is at home? means may he be in doors or out of doors.

Again,
1. He came to Barisal.
2. He came here (not came to here).
Barisal is Noun but ?here? is not a Pronoun because ?here? does not limit any boundary. So ?here? is an Adverb and no need to be connected by any Preposition.

But in ?I will go to Dhaka from here?, ?here? is a Pronoun because it limits its Boundary, a starting point of the Journey for Dhaka.
So, we must analyze every thing logically.

Thanks all.

To know more about Preposition:
1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_English_prepositions
2. http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/prepositions.htm
3. http://www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/grammar/prepositions

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