Is BEFORE a Preposition? List Of Prepositions In English.

Prepositions, which are small, typically one-syllable words, are used in English to indicate the relationship of a noun or pronoun to some other word in the sentence.

The preposition indicates the beginning of a phrase or clause, with the noun or pronoun following it and completing the meaning of the preposition. There are very few strict guidelines regarding where auxiliary verbs should be placed in a sentence; regrettably, you can follow some general rules to correctly place your prepositions.

Let’s look at some examples of prepositions in use and whether they Are BEFORE a preposition. Let’s take a look at the brief discussion about this one.

What are prepositions?

A preposition is “a word or group of words used in conjunction with a noun, pronoun, or noun phrase to indicate a direction, location, or time, or to introduce an object.” As stated, prepositions are conjunctions.

Typically, these conjunctions connect a noun to an idea. This is illustrated in the sentence, “I went to the store.” “to” connects “store” to the location where the person went.

Typically, a preposition is a short word like in, on, or to. It may also be a longer, multiple, or brief phrase.

The phrase “in front of” is an example of a relatively short phrase.

Her bicycle was parked in front of the school.

Types of prepositions

Because there are so many prepositions, it is helpful to differentiate them to comprehend when and how to use them correctly.

The word that immediately follows a preposition is known as its complement, and its relationship to the preposition determines the type of preposition used.

Transitive Prepositions

A compliment must always follow a transitive preposition. For example, the preposition “amongst” is transitive.

The phrase “she lived among the wildflowers” cannot be written without complementing “the wildflowers.” According to some traditional grammar, only transitive prepositions are proper prepositions.

Intransitive Prepositions

Intransitive prepositions do not require a complement to complete the thought.

“outside” can be used without a complement in the following sentence: “she lived outside.” You could add, “She lived outside the city limits,” but it is unnecessary when used in this context. According to conventional grammar, intransitive prepositions are adverbs.

The argument for intransitive prepositions parallels the distinction between transitive and intransitive verbs. He runs as opposed to running a marathon.

Conjunctive Preposition

A clause follows this type of preposition. According to traditional grammar, these may be classified as subordinating conjunctions rather than conjunctive prepositions.

The word “because” is a typical example of a conjunctive preposition.

Complex Preposition

It is complex when two or more words combine to form a preposition. This preposition type is also known as a compound preposition.

Aside from being composed of multiple words, its function is identical to any other preposition.

As an example of a complex preposition, consider “in light of.” Due to recent traffic reports, the man took a different route to work. Other examples include in addition to, for, in the middle of, and opposite.

Most complex prepositions appear at the beginning and middle of a sentence but rarely at the end.

To determine the appropriate complex preposition, consider the relationship between the beginning and end of the sentence.

Once you have determined this relationship, identifying the correct complex preposition will be much simpler.

English postpositions:

Aslant

Apart
Aside
Away

Hence
Notwithstanding
Through

Withal
Short
On

Over
Ago

Confusing about whether BEFORE is a preposition OR not

Most people believe that before is a preposition. This could, however, be used as an adverb or a conjunction.

It’s not easy to know when to use it before and when not to use it before can be seen as two different words: before and be.

The word before may refer to time or location, while the word be could refer to existence or action. Let’s say you have five tasks you need to do.

You might say I will finish my first task before I start on my second task. In this sentence, before refers to the chronological order in which tasks are completed.

On the other hand, if you are talking about who has arrived at a party first, you would say I got here before him.

In this sentence, before refers to arriving at the party earlier than someone else. It is often hard to know whether before should be used as a preposition or an adverb, so your best bet is to keep your ears open to how native speakers use the word.

Is BEFORE a preposition?

Prepositions define the relationship between two things.

Prepositions are words that indicate location or direction. They can also indicate time, sequence, or possession. The word “BEFORE” is a preposition that indicates when something will happen.

It can also be used to indicate the relative position of two things. For example, The cat is before the dog.

This means that the cat is closer to you than the dog is. In other contexts, it can mean the opposite: He finished before me. Here it means he finished his work before I did mine.

But this does not imply anything about who finished first. We use before with a verb only when we want to show a temporal relationship between two events: You should stop smoking before you get lung cancer; My father died last year, but my grandmother died twenty years ago. You cannot say He finished first or I went first.

Prepositions give position or direction, showing the place, space, or time

Prepositions are words that give position or direction, showing the place, space, or time. They were among the most commonly used words in the English language.

Prepositions are usually short words placed directly in front of nouns or pronouns.

When two things are in front of each other, such as the chicken running into the wall, one thing is said to be in front of the other.

If you go over or under something else, you will have moved over or under it. The opposite meanings can be given by using behind and under respectively: The opposite meanings can be given by using behind and under respectively.

In this sentence, for example, if we say The dog was under the table, then we mean that the dog was on the floor (lower than) and not on top of (above) the table.

The word above describes the dog’s position relative to the table. The word below describes its position relative to the ground; The cat under the chair would mean that it is lower than but still in contact with the chair, while The man standing next to her would mean he was beside her but not touching her.

Above also has another meaning: I saw an eagle flying high above us. Here, high means higher up.

If you are driving north and someone tells you to turn left at Main Street, turn left when you reach Main Street.

Turning left after the gas station would mean turning left before reaching the station; Continue turning right when passing the bank means to continue turning right after passing the bank.

And finally, taking your first right when entering town would mean taking your first right when arriving in town.

Prepositions show dependence

Prepositions are words that help us show how two things are related. They usually come before nouns or pronouns and express the relationships between them.

For example, the word before can be used as a preposition to show that one event happened before another.

Prepositions also show direction, location, time, and other relationships.

For example, the word after can be used as a preposition to show that one event happened after another. Or it could be used as an adverb to show the amount of time after something else has occurred.

Knowing which function the preposition is serving is essential because they will have different meanings.

What is the difference between PREPOSITION and CONJUNCTION?

Prepositions are words that indicate location or direction. They can also introduce an object.

A conjunction is indeed a word that connects two phrases or ideas. They include the words and, but, and so.

*Prepositions: Before, Under, After, Over, At.
*Conjunctions: And, But, So

*Examples: The book is under the table. You know what but I think it is a shame that you did not go there with them.

I don’t know why he does not want to go there so early in the morning tomorrow (CONJUNCTION).

He went to school by car before she went to work by bus (PREPOSITION).

On her way home from work, she stopped at the grocery store for a few things (PREPOSITION).

She realized her hunger when she saw all the food there (ADVERB). How do they make these cookies so fluffy? (QUESTION MARK).

adverb: In this sentence, realized modifies she

question mark: In this sentence, How do they make these cookies so fluffy? modifies She
comma: In this sentence, She went to school by car before she went to work by bus.

List of prepositions in English

Prepositions seem to be words in a sentence that indicate relationships between other words.

In English, there are many different types of prepositions, including:

before
after
during

since
around
by

among
behind
down

from
in front of

Sometimes it can be challenging to know whether or not a word is a preposition. However, some general rules can help you figure it out.

Suppose the word has a relationship with an object and is positioned directly next to it. In that case, it’s probably a preposition.

Some examples include in front of, behind, and underneath.

Suppose the word does not have an object. In that case, it might still be considered a preposition if it indicates where something happened or when something occurred.

For example, the following sentences contain two prepositions each:

After School
We ran home.

When I came home, my mother was cooking dinner.
She cooked dinner for hours.
I helped her cook dinner for hours.

My sister slept while we were making dinner.
We ate so much food that night.
My father told me about his day at work.

He had never talked to me like this before.
This is what I’ve been waiting for all these years.
It doesn’t matter anymore because now he’ll understand.

Everything will finally make sense to him now that he knows how hard I’ve tried.
It’s been such a long time coming, and now it feels fantastic to be able to share this with him.

Some commonly used Prepositions

Prepositions are words that show relationships between other words in a sentence.

The word before is a preposition that shows time, space, or order.

What are some examples of commonly used prepositions:

above
across

along
among
around

at
after
beneath

between
by
down

during
except
for

from
in front of
inside

before (indicates time)
behind (indicates position)
below (indicates place)

beside (indicates position)

The following list contains commonly used prepositions in English Sentences.

Most of these terms are also used as adverbs:

At: To refer to the location at or in, or in proximity near
By: Referring to nearness or proximity by

For: To show the duration for
From: To indicate origin from
Into: To indicate movement or change of state into

Near: To refer to proximity near
Of: To specify possession or association of
On: To refer to a surface upon which an object rests

Out: Of To denote motion out of or exit out of
Over: To refer to spatial or temporal superiority over
Under: To refer to spatial inferiority under

Up/Down: To show spatial relation according to a height up/down
Within: To indicate inclusion within
Without: To denote exclusion without

Apart From: To specify separation apart from
Around: Referring to the area surrounding
Behind: referring to temporal, sequential, or hierarchical inferiority behind

In Front Of: Refers to spatial superiority in front of
On Top Of: Refers to spatial superiority on top of
Next To: Refers relation between objects side by side

Conclusion

Yes, the word before can be used as a preposition. It typically indicates when something will happen about something else. For example, you might say I’ll meet you before the movie starts.

The word before indicates that the meeting will occur earlier than the movie’s start. I hope you find your answer by reading this post about BEFORE a preposition or not, and also a list of prepositions in English with some commonly used prepositions.