P REPOSITIONS : A GENERAL OVERVIEW (P ART 2)

P REPOSITIONS OF LOCATION AND DIRECTION Prepositions that express spatial relationships can be divided into two groups: Prepositions of location At, In, and On Often appear with verbs describing states or conditions, especially with the verb to be The book is on the table. Prepositions of direction To, On(to), and In(to) Appear with verbs of motion Michael jumped into the pool.

P REPOSITIONS OF L OCATION Prepositions differ according to the number of dimensions they refer: Point (at) Prepositions in this group indicate that the noun that follows them is treated as a point in relation to which another object is positioned. My car is at the house. Surface (on) Prepositions in this group indicate that the position of an object is defined with respect to a surface on which it rests. There is a new roof on the house. Area/Volume (in) Prepositions in this group indicate that an object lies within the boundaries of an area or within the confines of a volume. The car is in the garage.

L OCATION : P REPOSITION “A T ” Because it is the least specific of the prepositions in its spatial orientation, it has a great variety of uses. Location: Tom is waiting for his sister at the bank. Sue spent the whole afternoon at the party. Destination We arrived at the house. The waiter was at our table immediately. Direction He threw the ball at the building. The dog jumped at my face and really scared me.

L OCATION : C HOOSING B ETWEEN "I N " AND "O N " On is used when the space is considered as a surface, and in when the space is presented as an area: Three players are practicing on the field. (surface) Three cows are grazing in the field. (area) The frost made patterns on the window. (surface) A face appeared in the window. (area)

L OCATION : C HOOSING B ETWEEN "I N " AND "O N " Several common uses of in and on occur with street. The children are playing in the street. (The street is considered as an area enclosed by the sidewalks on either side.) Our house is on State Street. (The house is one the surface of the street.) He declared bankruptcy last week, and now he's out on the street. (This is an idiom meaning that he's poor.)

L OCATION : C HOOSING B ETWEEN "I N " AND "O N " In and on are also used with means of transportation: in is used with a car, and on with public or commercial means of transportation: in the car on the bus on the plane on the train on the ship Further distinction for public modes of transportation, can be made by using in when the carrier is stationary and on when it is in motion. My wife sat in/on the bus for three hours. The passengers sat in/on the plane.

P REPOSITIONS OF D IRECTION To, into, and onto correspond respectively to the prepositions of location at, in, and on. Point (to) Prepositions in this group indicate that the noun that follows them is treated as a point in relation to which another object is positioned. Mark went to the grocery store. Surface (on/onto) Prepositions in this group indicate that the position of an object is defined with respect to a surface on which it rests. Laura stepped on the grass. Area/Volume (in/into) Prepositions in this group indicate that an object lies within the boundaries of an area or within the confines of a volume. Melissa put the books into her backpack.

D IRECTION : P REPOSITION “ TO ” It’s the basic preposition of direction, which signifies orientation toward a goal. When the goal of direction is physical, such as a destination, "to" implies movement in the direction of the goal. We flew from New York to Paris. We flew to Paris. When the goal is not a physical place, for instance, an action, "to" marks a verb; it is attached as an infinitive and expresses purpose. We flew from New York to Paris to see our father.

D IRECTION : P REPOSITION “ TO ” Verb + to + infinitive Verbs in this group express willingness, desire, intention, or obligation. Willingness: be willing, consent, refuse I refuse to read this book again. Desire: desire, want, wish, like, ask, request, prefer I want to know what will be for lunch today. Intention: intend, plan, prepare I plan to graduate this summer. Obligation: be obligated, have, need Henry had to sing at the school recital.

D IRECTION : P REPOSITION “ TO ” In other cases, "to" is used as an ordinary preposition. Verbs of communication: listen, speak (but not tell), relate, appeal (in the sense of “plead”) I listen to my iPod all day long. Evan appealed to the principal about his math grade. Verbs of movement: move, go, transfer, walk/run/swim/ride/drive/ fly, travel Mike went to the airport to pick up his sister. Landon drove his car to the basketball game.

D IRECTION : P REPOSITION “ TO ” The other two prepositions of direction are compounds formed by adding "to" to the corresponding prepositions of location. ON + TO = onto: signifies movement toward a surface The dog jumped onto the chair. IN + TO = into: signifies movement toward the interior of a volume Stephanie poured the milk into the glass. With many verbs of motion, "on" and "in" have a directional meaning and can be used interchangeably with "onto" and "into."

D IRECTION : P REPOSITION “ ONTO ” "Onto" can generally be replaced by "on" with verbs of motion. Sam put the hat on(to) his head. The book fell on(to) the floor. Some verbs of motion express the idea that the subject causes itself or some physical object to be situated in a certain place, therefore, only “in” can be used: Sara put the socks on her feet. (not “onto” her feet) Derek hung the decoration on the Christmas tree. (not "onto" the tree)

D IRECTION : P REPOSITION “ ONTO ” There are a number of verb-preposition combinations that are similar to "add on" but have the meaning "of continuing or resuming an action" when used in the imperative mood: Hang on / Hang onto the rope (continue to grasp tightly) Hold on (wait a minute) Carry on (resume what you were doing) Dream on (continue dreaming; a humorous way of saying "that is an unattainable goal") Lead on (resume or continue leading us) Rock on (continue playing rock music; continue being cool) *Except for "hang," which takes both "on" and "onto," these verbs all occur only with "on."

D IRECTION : P REPOSITION “ INTO ” With verbs of motion, "into" and "in" are interchangeable except when the preposition is the last word or occurs directly before an adverbial of time, manner, or frequency. (In this case, “in” or “inside” can be used.) The patient went into the doctor's office. The patient went in. (not "into") Our new neighbors moved in yesterday. However, in an information question, "into” can be the last word except for an adverbial when its object is questioned by a wh- word: Now what kind of trouble has she gotten herself into ? Now what sort of trouble is she in ?

D IRECTION : P REPOSITION “ INTO ” "In(to)" has two special uses with "move.” When "move in" is followed by a purpose clause, it has the sense of "approach.” The lion moved in for the kill. The police moved in to rescue the hostages inside the building. When "into" is used with move, it functions as an ordinary preposition to convey the idea of moving something from one place to another. We'll move your brother's old bed into your room.

R EFERENCES Berry, Chris, Allen Brizee, Elizabeth Angeli, “Prepositions.” Purdue Online Writing Center. Oct. 14, Web. May 18, 2011.