Prepositions & Prepositional Phrases

A preposition is a word placed before a noun or pronoun to show its relationship to another word in the sentence. • Prepositional Phrases: A prepositional phrase consists of a preposition + its object (noun, pronoun, or noun phrase) and any modifiers. - "under the shady mango tree" - "in the science laboratory" - "during the torrential rainfall" Prepositional phrases function as either: - Adjectival Phrases (modifying nouns): "The book [on the table] is mine." - Adverbial Phrases (modifying verbs): "We arrived [at midnight]."

Understanding the hierarchy from specific to general eliminates confusion with 'at', 'on', and 'in': • Prepositions of Time: - AT: Used for precise, exact clock times and specific holiday points. * at 7:30 AM, at dawn, at noon, at midnight, at Christmas. - ON: Used for specific days and dates. * on Monday, on 6th March, on Independence Day, on my birthday. - IN: Used for longer, unspecific periods (months, years, decades, centuries, seasons). * in May, in 2024, in the 21st century, in the rainy season, in the morning/afternoon/evening. • Prepositions of Place: - AT: A specific address, exact point, or location. * at the bus stop, at the entrance, at No. 14 High Street. - ON: A surface, street name, or public transport platform. * on the table, on Oxford Street, on a bus, on a train, on an airplane. - IN: An enclosed space, city, region, or country. * in the classroom, in Accra, in Ghana, in West Africa, in a car/taxi.

Certain verbs and adjectives must be paired with specific, unchangeable prepositions: • Essential Verb + Preposition Combinations: - Congratulate someone ON (NOT 'for'): "I congratulate you on your excellent BECE results." - Complain OF / ABOUT: "The patient complained of severe headaches." - Insist ON: "The teacher insisted on absolute silence." - Rely / Depend ON: "We rely on God for strength." - Prevent someone FROM: "The rain prevented us from travelling." - Accuse someone OF: "He was accused of theft" (NOT 'with'). - Prefer X TO Y: "I prefer plantains to yams" (NOT 'more than' or 'than'). • Essential Adjective + Preposition Combinations: - Good / Bad AT (skills): "She is good at Mathematics" (NOT 'in'). - Interested IN: "He is interested in computing." - Fond OF: "Kwame is fond of dogs." - Similar TO: "Her dress is similar to mine." - Different FROM: "Your answer is different from his" (NOT 'than'). - Inferior / Superior TO: "This fabric is superior to that one."

Be vigilant against the following widespread examination errors: 1. DISCUSS (No 'about'!): - Incorrect: "Let us discuss about the problem." - Correct: "Let us discuss the problem." 2. EMPHASIZE (No 'on'!): - Incorrect: "The speaker emphasized on the need for punctuality." - Correct: "The speaker emphasized the need for punctuality." (Note: The noun 'emphasis' takes 'on': "He placed emphasis on punctuality"). 3. ORDER (No 'for'!): - Incorrect: "I will order for fried rice." - Correct: "I will order fried rice." 4. DEMAND (No 'for'! as a verb): - Incorrect: "The workers demanded for higher wages." - Correct: "The workers demanded higher wages." 5. IN SPITE OF vs DESPITE: - 'In spite of' consists of three words with 'of'. - 'Despite' is a single word and NEVER takes 'of'! - Correct: "Despite the heavy rain, we went to school." (NOT 'Despite of the rain').