Prepositions and Their Uses

PREPOSITIONS

◾Preposition (সম্বন্ধসূচক অব্যয়): যেসকল word বা শব্দ কোন noun অথবা pronoun এর পূর্বে বসিয়া উহাকে বাক্যের অন্য কোন পদের সহিত সম্বন্ধযুক্ত করে, তাহাদেরকে preposition বলে। যেমন- He comes to me; Put it on the table; She is in the garden etc. (to, on, in are preposition). - A preposition is a word placed before a noun or a pronoun to show its relation to some other words in the sentence.

◾Some important prepositions are given below (নীচে কিছু উল্লেখযোগ্য preposition দেওয়া হল)-

◾At, about, above, across, after, against, along, among, around, by, before, behind, below, beneath, beside, between, beyond, but, down, except, for, from, in, inside, into, on, of, over, since, through, till, to, towards, under, upon, upto, with, within, without

Some common rules for using Prepositions (Preposition বসানোর কিছু নিয়মাবলী):

At, In : Both are used to denote time and place.

At:

(i) 'At’ is used to refer to a certain moment or point of time (নির্দিষ্ট সময়ের পূর্বে বসে)।

(ii) 'At’ is also used for festivals which mark a point of time in the year. ー We have a holiday at Christmas / Diwali.

(iii) 'At’ refers to a small place or village (ছোট শহর, গ্রাম বা জায়গার পূর্বে বসে)। ー He lives at Badarpur.

(iv) 'At’ denotes a specific building or commercial concern (নির্দিষ্ট অট্টালিকা বা বাণিজ্যিক স্থান বুঝাতে) ー at the National Library, at the Union Building, at the Railway Station etc.

(v) 'At’ used before 'night’ ('night’-এর পূর্বে বসে)। ー I shall call you at night.

In:

(i) 'In’ refers to a space or period of time. ー He will come in an hour / in a few minutes, in September, in the morning, in the evening etc.

(ii) 'In’ refers to a large place, a country, or district or a large city. (কোন বড় শহর, জায়গা, মহানগরী, দেশ ইত্যাদি বুঝাতে) ー He lives in Calcutta, They live in the U.S.A., The train arrives in Delhi at 5 o’clock.

(iii) 'In’ is used before 'year’, name of month, seasons, language or subjects. (সন, মাসের ও ঋতুর নাম, ভাষা ইত্যাদির পূর্বে)। ー He was born in 2006, We visited Delhi in April last year, My friend comes to our home in winter every year, She can speak fluently in English, ('in’ is not used if there is 'every’ before the name of a month, days or season).

(iv) 'In’ is used to refer to houses and places of residence. ー in a bungalow, in a flat, in a hotel, The old man lives in a cottage.

(v) 'In’ is used to refer to names of streets and roads. ー in Chowringhee Road, in G.S. Avenue (He lives at 25, G.S. Avenue in Guwahati; but, he lives in G.S. Avenue).

(vi) 'In’ denotes the kind of place or a particular department of a business. ー in a bank, in an office, in a shop, He is employed in the Accounts Department at the GPO.

(vii) 'In’ is used to refer to position or rest inside something. মধ্যে (ব্যক্তি বা বস্তুর অবস্থান), ভিতরে বুঝাতে ব্যবহৃত হয়)। ー There is a milk in the cup, There was nobody in the room.

(viii) 'In’ refers to a future space of time (পরে অর্থে) ー He will come in a few days.

Into:

(i) 'Into’ refers to motion or change of state (অবস্থার পরিবর্তন বুঝালে) ー The girls ran into the hall, The ice melted into water.

(ii) 'Into’ is used to express from outside to inside (বাহির হইতে ভিতর অভিমুখে বুঝালে) ー He entered into the hall.

On:

(i) নির্দিষ্ট দিন, তারিখ, বিষয়ে ইত্যাদি বুঝাতে ব্যবহৃত হয়।

(ii) (কোন কিছুর সংলগ্ন থাকা) উপরে বুঝাইলে।

(iii) “পারে বা তীরে” বুঝালে ব্যবহৃত হয়।

(iv) সীমার উপরে বুঝালে ব্যবহৃত হয়।

যেমন ー They will go there on 4th May / on Sunday; He said this on oath; There is a picture on the wall; The duster is on the table; Guwahati stands on the bank of the Brahmaputra; The Himalayas are on the North of India etc.

To:

(i) গতি, স্বীকৃতি, উদ্দেশ্য, অনুপাত ইত্যাদি বুঝাতে ব্যবহৃত হয়।

(ii) কত সময় বাকি, পর্যন্ত ইত্যাদি বুঝাতে।

(iii) সীমার বাহিরে বুঝালে ব্যবহৃত হয়।

যেমন ー He goes to bed at 10:00 pm; Honey is sweet to taste; They read in the morning from 5 am to 9 am.; She sings to (not with) the harp (বীনা সহযোগে গান করা); It is five minutes to six; Death is common to all; China is to the North of India etc.

◾Senior, Junior, Superior, Inferior, Prefer, Addicted, Devoted ইত্যাদি word-এর পর সর্বদা ‘to’ ব্যবহৃত হয়।

On - সীমা বুঝাইলে।

In - ভিতরে বুঝাইলে।

To - বাহিরে বুঝাইলে।

on time - নির্দিষ্ট সময়ে।

in time - নির্দিষ্ট সময়ের পূর্বে বা মধ্যে; ঠিক সময়ে।

('on’ is used for dates and for particular days or specified parts of days; 'at’ for a point of time; 'in’ for a portion of the day. - I shall see you on Sunday at 6 o’clock in the afternoon.)

Of:

(i) কারণে, সম্বন্ধে, ইত্যাদি বুঝালে ব্যবহৃত হয়। ー He died of cholera, Do not lose sight of the fact, It was good of you to help me.

(ii) অপরিবর্তিত পদার্থ, উৎস, অধিকার ইত্যাদি বুঝাতে (‘of’ is used if the material remains unchanged in the process of manufacture) ー The chair is made of wood, He comes of a good family.

By:

(i) কাছে বা পাশে, মধ্যে দিয়ে, ক্রম ইত্যাদি বুঝাতে ব্যবহৃত হয়।

(ii) ব্যক্তির দ্বারা বুঝাতে ব্যবহৃত হয়।

যেমন ー He sits by me; They went by rail; Please come in one by one; I go to school by car; The sum was done by me; I did this work all by myself etc.

নৌকা বা জাহাজে যাওয়া - by boat, by ship, by aeroplane

ট্রেনে বা মোটরে যাওয়া - by rail, by car, by bus

But,

পায়ে হেঁটে - on foot

ঘোড়ায় চড়ে - on horseback

সাইকেলে চড়ে - on cycle

ডাকযোগে - by post, by letter, by telegram, by messenger, by telephone.

লোক মারফৎ - by hand; মন দিয়ে - by heart.

With:

(i) দিয়ে, সঙ্গে ইত্যাদি বুঝাতে ব্যবহৃত হয়।

(ii) যাহার দ্বারা করা হয় তাহা বুঝায়।

(iii) সাপেক্ষে, ভাব ইত্যাদি ক্ষেত্রেও ব্যবহৃত হয়।

যেমন ー She writes with her left hand; Nobody in the class could compete with Natasha; The beggar was trembling with hunger; He is satisfied with his job; We all sympathise with the poors.

By; With : ‘By’ denotes the agent or doer. (যে করে তাহাকে বুঝায়); 'With’ denotes to the instruments or the thing with which something is done (যাহার দ্বারা করা হয় তাহা বুঝায়)।

From:

(i) 'From’ refers to a point of time. (কোন নির্দিষ্ট সময় হইতে বা থেকে বুঝাতে) ー He came here from Shillong; He has been suffering from fever; The minister resigned from the cabinet.

(ii) 'From’ is used if the material loses its original composition in the process of manufacture. (পরিবর্তিত পদার্থ বুঝালে) ー Butter is made from milk; Steal is made from iron ores; Flour is made from wheat.

(iii) To express the impact of an action. (কারণে প্রকাশ করতে) ー He died from over work. He often suffers from illness.

For:

(i) ‘For’ refers to a space of time. (অল্প বা দীর্ঘ সময় যাবৎ বা ব্যাপিয়া, কিন্তু ইহা অনির্দিষ্ট) ー I have not seen you for many days; He has been here for a week etc.

(ii) সময়ের পরিমাণ, জন্য, পক্ষে ইত্যাদি বুঝাতে ব্যবহৃত হয়। ー It has been raining for two hours; The poem is suitable for children; I bought this pen for you etc.

(iii) 'For’ is used in negative sentences to denote a space of future time. ー The moon will not rise for five days.

Since:

(i) 'Since’ refers to a point of time, but it used only to a past point. (অতীত কালের কোন নির্দিষ্ট সময় হইতে)। ー He has been here since Monday last; They have been reading in this school since 2010.

(ii) From some past time up to now (সেই সময় হইতে বর্তমান সময় পর্যন্ত বুঝাতে) ー I met him three years ago and have known him ever since.

('Since’ and 'From’ refer to a point of time but, ‘since’ refers only to a past point, and 'from’ refers to a point of time in all tenses.)

Within:

(i) 'Within’ also refers to a space of future time. ー Do these within an hour.

(ii) 'Within’ denotes some time before the end of (নির্দিষ্ট সময়ের মধ্যে)। ー I shall go within a week.

Until, Unless: (যতক্ষণ না, যদি না)

(i) Both of these convey a negative sense and should not be used with 'not’ to express an Affirmative idea. ー Wait here until I come.; Until you work hard, you will fail.

Among:

(i) 'Among’ is used primarily to mean “surrounded by”, or associated with, more than two separate things. (সকলের মধ্যে বুঝাতে ব্যবহৃত হয়)। ー Distribute the mangoes among the children.

Between:

(i) ‘Between’ is generally used to two things. (দুটির মধ্যে বুঝাতে ব্যবহৃত হয়) ー Divide the toys between the girl and her brother.

About:

• সম্পর্কে, প্রায় ইত্যাদি বুঝালে ব্যবহৃত হয়। ー What do you know about him? I shall reach you at about 9 am. They informed me about this incident.

Above:

• উর্ধ্বে, অতি উচ্চে, উপরে ইত্যাদি বুঝালে ব্যবহৃত হয়। ー He is above meanness; Birds are flying above the trees; All above questions are very important.

After:

• পরে, পিছনে ইত্যাদি বুঝালে ব্যবহৃত হয়। ー There is none to look after the old man; Do not run after money; My friend came here after me.

Against:

• বিরুদ্ধে, ধাক্কা দেওয়া ইত্যাদি বুঝালে ব্যবহৃত হয়। ー He put a ladder against the wall; He did this against his master will; I warned him against driving so fast.

Over:

• (কোন কিছুর সংলগ্ন নয় এমন) উপরে বুঝালে ব্যবহৃত হয়। ー The sky is over our head.

Senior, Junior, Superior, Inferior, Prefer, Addicted, Devoted ইত্যাদি word-এর পর সর্বদা ‘to’ ব্যবহৃত হয়।

EXERCISE

A. - Fill in the blanks with appropriate prepositions from among those given in brackets:

01. The bridge is _____ the river. (on/above/over)

02. He is a man _____ small mean. (on/in/with)

03. Please come _____ this road. (into/by/in)

04. Come and stand _____ me. (beside/besides/between)

05. Jama Masjid is _____ Delhi. (in/on/at)

06. He will leave for London _____ the 14 th of November, 2006. (on/in/at)

07. He is not _____ home (in/at/into)

08. He came here _____ Monday. (of/on/in)

09. The sky is _____ our head. (on/in/over)

10. Ram goes to school _____ bus. (with/for/by)

11. Ajoy arrived at school _____ 7 o’clock. (by/from/at)

12. He paid the money _____ cheque. (in/by/for)

13. Everyone must struggle _____ poverty and hatred. (with/against/of)

14. He died _____ overeating. (of/by/from)

15. I can not approve _____ your action. (for/to/of)

16. They are sitting _____ their desk. (at/on/in)

17. I can not agree _____ you on this point. (with/at/to)

18. Mira is capable _____ doing hard work. (for/in/of)

19. He said he would comply _____ my request. (to/with/for)

20. I congratulated the boy _____ his success. (over/on/at)

21. Don't quarrel _____ your friends. (among/by/with)

22. She writes the letter _____ blue ink. (with/in/by)

Answers (A) : 01 over  02. with  03. by  04. beside  05. in  06. on  07. at  08. on  09. over  10. by  11. at  12. in  13. against  14. from  15. of  16. on  17. with  18. of  19. with  20. on  21. with  22. in

(Bold words of the alternatives are correct answers of the above questions)

B. - Fill in the gaps with appropriate prepositions:

23. He died _____ his country.

24. I do not approve _____ him.

25. He deals _____ rice.

26. He looks _____ and old woman.

27. You are eligible _____ the post.

28. I shall meet you _____ 4 p.m. today.

29. He will come _____ Monday next.

30. They live _____ Calcutta.

31. I have been ill _____ five days.

32. Sita always comes here _____ foot.

33. Write a letter _____ a pen.

34. What is the time _____ your watch?

35. He is blind _____ one eye.

36. I went to Silchar _____ bus.

37. The ring is made _____ gold.

38. Smoking is injurious _____ health.

39. He goes to school _____ foot.

40. Students offered him bunches _____ flowers.

Answers (B) : 23. for 24. of 25. in 26. after 27. for 28. at 29. on 30. in 31. for 32. on 33. with 34. by 35. of 36. by 37. of 38. to 39. on 40. of

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