Common Prepositions
aboard about above across after
against along amid among around
as at before behind below
beneath beside besides between beyond
but by concerning considering despite
down during except excepting excluding
following for from in inside
into like minus near of
off on onto opposite outside
over past per plus regarding
round save since than through
to toward towards under underneath
unlike until up upon versus
via with within withoutUsage NoteNearly everyone is told in grade school that they must never end a sentence
with a preposition. They aren’t told why they must not do this, but they neverthe-
less are penalized in one way or another if they do. This prohibition is an example
of the prescriptive nature of traditional grammar. It also is an example of a prohi-
bition that does not fit the way the English language actually works. Certain
types of sentences can quite easilyand quite correctlyend with a preposition.
One of the more obvious examples are questions, such as the following:
- Won’t you comein?
English grammar allows us to truncate the prepositional phrase in some in-
stances, and this is one of them. There is only one other way to ask this question
without ending it with a preposition, and that is to include the noun phrase ob-
ject that has been dropped, giving us:
74a. Won’t you comein my house?A similar situation exists with sentences like 75:- Buggsy and his goons walkedin.
90 CHAPTER 3