The place of Prepositions

In English grammar, prepositions typically come before nouns or pronouns to show the relationship between the noun or pronoun and other words in a sentence.

The placement of the preposition depends on the structure of the sentence and the specific preposition being used.

Here are two common cases:

Preposition + Noun:

In this case, the preposition comes before the noun to indicate a relationship or connection between the two.

Example:

On the table

In the car

Under the chair

Preposition + Pronoun:

Prepositions also come before pronouns to show their relationship with other words in a sentence.

Example:

She is sitting beside me.

He placed the book between us.

When a noun has an attributive adjective–

(an adjective that describes or modifies the noun), the preposition usually comes before the attributive noun phrase, including the adjective and the noun.

Example:

The book on the wooden table.

In this example, on is the preposition, and it comes before the attributive noun phrase the wooden table.

The preposition on shows the relationship between the book and the wooden table.

In direct and indirect questions-

prepositions can indeed come before the special words like which, who(m), and adverbs like where.

The placement of the preposition depends on the type of question and the specific word being used.

Direct Questions:

In direct questions, the preposition usually comes before the special word, such as which, who(m), or where.

Examples:

To which university did she apply?

(Preposition to before which)

From whom did you receive this information? (Preposition from before whom)

Where did they go to yesterday?

(Preposition to after go and where)

Indirect Questions:

In indirect questions, the word order can be different.

The preposition often comes after the special word.

Examples:

She asked me which university she should apply to.

(Preposition to after which in the indirect question)

He wanted to know from whom I received the information.

(Preposition from after whom in the indirect question)

I’m trying to find out where they went to yesterday.

(Preposition to after where in the indirect question)

When the relative pronoun is omitted in a relative clause-

the preposition typically stands after the verb in the relative clause.

This is a common structure in English, known as a stranded preposition.

Example:

Original sentence with a relative pronoun:

This is the book that I was talking about.

In this sentence, that is the relative pronoun, and the preposition about comes immediately after it.

Now, let’s omit the relative pronoun:

This is the book I was talking about.

In this revised sentence, the relative pronoun that has been omitted, and the preposition about is placed after the verb was talking in the relative clause.

The meaning remains the same, but the relative pronoun is omitted for brevity.