The articles in English are A, An and The. The preposition of in English Uses of the preposition of

The English language is special, and although it has absorbed words and rules from different languages ​​(several German dialects, the language of the Franks, Romans and Celts), it turned out to be in many ways different from its sources.

Its most important difference from its ancestors was the almost complete absence of cases (with the exception of the possessive and objective), but this is incomprehensibly compensated by the controlled word order, various forms of pronouns and prepositions.

Today we will look at performing various functions, among them genitive function, which we observe when translating some sentences. Examples:

The traditions of local people are completely different- The traditions of local people are completely different

This is a car of my girlfriend- This is my girlfriend's car

The roof of the house is brown- The roof of the house is brown

When translated into Russian, in all these cases the preposition disappears.

It should be noted that often the use of constructions with the preposition of, when we are dealing with the ownership of objects, is simplified by the possessive case:

A car of my girlfriend - my girlfriend’s car(my girlfriend's car).

A day of a bear(bear's den) - a bear's day(Bear Den).

In some cases, such pairs are translated the same way, and sometimes there are some nuances.

It is interesting to use the preposition of with possessive pronouns in absolute form. Examples:

My friend - a friend of mine(translated the same way - “my friend”)

Her dress - a dress of hers(her dress)

Our dog - a dog of ours(our dog)

Also, the preposition of in English is used as a means of singling out one or more people, objects or phenomena from a group, cluster, or only-begotten mass.

A jar of water(jug of water). Three of horses(three of the horses). One of my friends(one of my friends).

It is interesting to use the preposition of when it denotes what material an object is made of. In this case, a specific substance is meant, and in some cases you need to be very careful and use the preposition from:

The sculptures on the beach were made of sand. The sculptures on the beach were made of sand (a substance).

The house is made of brick. The house is made of brick (substance). The house was constructed from 50,0000 bricks. The house was built from 50,000 bricks (bricks as individual objects).

The stable was made of wood. The stable was built of wood. (substance). The stable was constructed from logs(the stable was built from individual wooden logs).

Sentences with the preposition of in English are sometimes translated without a preposition at all, often replaced by the preposition from.

Sometimes the preposition of is used in such a way that in one sentence it is used more formally, while in the second its absence may sound neutral.

Let me invite you on a tour of the city of London. Let us invite you to see around the city of London.

Let's go to London. Let's go to London.

Now let's move on to filling out the table to consolidate the material. You need to add your own sentences to it, and at the same time take a dictionary and translate the examples given.

In English, the role of prepositions is more important than in Russian, since in English these small words are entrusted with the huge task of not only managing and coordinating between words in a sentence, but also playing the role of cases, which, oddly enough, they cope with very well.

There is also some correspondence between the cases of the Russian language and the prepositions of the English language. Of course, they are not identical, but the analogy is already good. Preposition of- one of the most important prepositions. This preposition is an indicator of the genitive case. If it comes before a noun, then when translating we put the noun in the genitive case (if you forgot, it answers the question of who? what?). In addition to the genitive case indicator, it also performs other functions. Preposition of used:

1) after words denoting quantity;

2) in combinations “who of …”, “none of …”, “many of …” in the role of “from”;

Which of them is our president?- Which one is our president?

None of Germans like frost.- None of the Germans like frost.

3) usually neighbors and cooperates with out;

He went out of the room.- He left the room.

The driver got out of the car and started running round it.- The driver jumped out of the car and ran around it.

4) is used when talking about the origin of the nobility, in the meaning of “from.”

I know that noble knight. He is Sir Charles of Perigord and Lavendor.- I know this noble knight. This is Sir Charles of Périgord and Lavendor.

Here is a series of expressions with the preposition of:

a bar of chocolate - chocolate bar

a slice of sausage - a piece of sausage (cut off)

a piece of chalk - a piece of chalk

a sheet of paper - sheet of paper

a lump of sugar - a piece of sugar

a bit of information - piece (bit) of information

a pair of gloves - a pair of gloves

a can of meat - can (American: tin) of meat

a tin of fish - a can (Br.: can) of fish

a box of cereal - box of cereal

a bottle of milk - a bottle of milk

a pint of beer - a pint of beer

a bunch of grapes - a bunch of grapes

a loaf of bread - a loaf of bread

a jar of honey - jar (glass) of honey

a tube of mustard - a tube of mustard

a pound of potatoes - a pound of potatoes

a kilo of apricots - a kilo of apricots

a cup of coffee - a cup of coffee

a glass of water - a glass of water

a group of students - group of students

a pack of wolves - a pack of wolves

a team of workers - team (team) of workers

Above you got acquainted with the accepted measures, volumes and units of measurement of various nouns. And of is present everywhere. Below is another list. This time words denoting quantity.

a great (good) deal of - large quantity (uncountable)

a lot of, lots of - a lot (countable and non-countable)

a great (large, small) amount of - large (small) amount (uncountable)

a great (large, small) number of - large (small) quantity (inc.)

plenty of - set (countable and uncountable)

a couple of - pair (original)

I would also like to mention combinations of cardinal numerals and plural nouns. In this form, they also cannot imagine their own existence without of:

hundreds of men and women- hundreds of men and women

thousands of slaves- thousands of slaves

millions of books- millions of books

billions of years- billions of years

Hello to all English language lovers!
Today I would like to touch upon such an important topic as prepositions in English and their use. Why is this topic so important? Yes, because not a single conversation, not a single conversation is complete without pretexts. Although this is a service part of speech, English prepositions serve to connect words in a sentence, which is why they help us make our speech logical and understandable to the interlocutor.

What role do prepositions play in English?

As a rule, prepositions or prepositions in English they are divided into two types:

• simple prepositions, that is, consisting of one word
• compound or complex are those that consist of two or more words.

Now let's take a closer look at English prepositions, their meaning and cases of their use. But first, remember the article English prepositions: analogy with cases

Most often, beginners use simple prepositions (SIMPLE PREPOSITIONS) in their English speech. They are easy to remember and learn because they not only consist of one word, but they are also very short. The most commonly used simple prepositions in English are:

• On - on

As a rule, this is a preposition of place:
My book is on the table. — My book is on the table.
The picture is on the wall. - Picture on the wall.
I see a beautiful carpet on the floor. — I see a beautiful carpet on the floor.
This preposition is also used if we talk about days of the week:
On Sunday, on Wednesday. - Sunday, Wednesday, etc.

• In - in

Most often the preposition of place. (prepositions of place) For example:
The children are in the classroom. — The children are in class.
My pen is in my pencil box. — My pen is in my pencil case.
This preposition is also used if we are talking about months or seasons (prepositions of months and days):
In March, in April, in summer, in spring. - In March, April, summer, spring.

• Into - in

This preposition indicates the direction and answers the question Where? (prepositions of direction) For example:
He went into the room. — He entered the room.
She has dropped her doll into the water. — She dropped the doll into the water.

• At - in

This preposition most often indicates time (prepositions of time):
At 7 o'clock we go to the cinema. — At 7 o’clock we go to the cinema.
I finished my homework at 5 o'clock. — I finished my homework at 5 o’clock.

• To - to

If we are going somewhere, we definitely use this preposition (prepositions of place and direction):
We went to the theater yesterday. — We went to the theater yesterday.
This evening I go to my friend. — I'm going to a friend's house this evening.

• Since - with

This preposition is a preposition of time:
I haven’t been to the Hermitage since winter. — I haven’t been to the Hermitage since winter

• Of- case preposition, means belonging to something (prepositions of possession)

For example: London is the capital of Great Britain. - London - Capital of the UK.
I understand the necessity of this experiment. — I understand the need for this experiment.

• With - with

It means with someone or something. (prepositions of possession) For example:
I like tea with strawberry jam. — I love tea with strawberry jam.
My mother wants to speak with me. — My mother wants to talk to me.

• For - for, for the sake of

Eg:
I am ready to do everything for you. I am ready to do anything for (for) you.

• About - oh, about, about

If we talk about something or someone, we use this preposition (prepositions of possession):
What is this text about? - What is this text about?
I want to tell you about my friend Mike. — I want to tell you about my friend Mike.

• Across - through

Most often used in the meaning of “to cross, pass” (prepositions of action):
We went across the field and saw a beautiful lake. — We walked through the field (or: we crossed the field) and saw a beautiful lake.

• Through - through, through

For example:
We saw our friends through the window. — We saw our friends through the window.

• Under - under

Prepositions of place:
My shoes are under the wardrobe. — My shoes are under the wardrobe.
The saucer is under the cup of coffee. — The saucer is under the cup of coffee.

• Above - above

Also prepositions of place:
The picture is above the bed. — The picture is above the bed.

• After - for, after

The most common prepositions of time are:
You will read the text after me. - You will read the text after me.
Repeat after me! - Repeat after me!
After breakfast we went shopping. — After breakfast we go shopping.

• Before - before

Also prepositions of time:
Before reading the text, learn the new words. — Before reading the text, learn new words.

As you can see, these prepositions are constantly used in speech; you cannot do without them.
Now let's look at complex prepositions.
The use of prepositions in English

Using difficult English prepositions

COMPOUND PREPOSITIONS usually consist of two or more words. They can consist of an article, a noun and a preposition, a preposition and an adjective, etc. Usually, for those who begin to learn English, it is quite difficult to use complex prepositions in speech, because they are a little more difficult to remember. But such prepositions are important and need to be studied and used in speech, because they will make your speech richer.

Here are some of them most often found in speech:

• In front of - before (prepositions of place)
• Because of - because (prepositions of cause)
• In accordance with - according to, in accordance with (prepositions of circumstance)
• In account with - as a result, because of (prepositions of cause)
• According to - according to (prepositions of circumstance)
• Thanks to - thanks (prepositions of cause).

Now let's trace these prepositions through example sentences:

• There is a law in front of my house. — There is a lawn in front of my house
• I didn't come to the party because of you. - I didn’t come to the party because you were there (because of you, because you were there)
• We shall proceed in accordance with our plan. — We must act according to our plan
• We didn't get our salaries in account with our manager. — We didn’t receive a salary because of our manager
• According to our plan we must manage everything. — According to our plan, we must all be in time
• I have everything thanks to you. - I have everything thanks to you.

Thus, we see that English prepositions are an integral part of the language. The use of prepositions in English is important and necessary. They help to logically connect words in a sentence and convey the correct and necessary meaning of the sentence to the interlocutor. And there’s no way to build a proposal without them!

Prepositions

Shares

Preposition (preposition)- an independent part of speech. Usually prepositions indicate place, direction or time. Prepositions are usually placed before the noun. The same preposition can be translated differently, depending on the context. For example, at the window= at the window; at 2 o'clock= at 2 o'clock. Be careful when translating prepositions into Russian (there may be a large number of options).

Prepositions of time in English.

Prepositions of place in English.

Other important prepositions in English.

1. Preposition of most often conveys the meaning of gender. case and therefore either is not translated, or the preposition from is used in the Russian sentence. Sometimes of also indicates the prepositional case, and in this case it can be translated with the preposition o, for example:
of trends - (what?) directions
of nets - (many) of (what?) networks
of facts - about (what?) facts

Preposition to conveys the meaning of the dative case and is usually not translated. But since this preposition indicates the direction to something, sometimes it should be translated as a preposition to, for example:
to things - (what?) things
to desks - to (what?) desks

Preposition for conveys the meaning of the genitive or accusative case, sometimes not translated, but usually its Russian equivalents are prepositions for, for, for example:
for tents - for (what?) tents
for nets - for (what?) networks
for steps - for (what?) actions, steps

2. It should be remembered that in the role of a definition, a noun with a preposition always comes after the word being defined, for example:
discussions of this type - discussions (what?) of this type
the problem of importance - problem (which one?) that matters
the book of interest - book (which one?) of interest
the work of help - work (what kind?) that provides assistance.

In the last three examples the preposition of, introducing a noun as a definition, as if translated by words having, presenting, rendering.

Difficulties in translation are caused by a definition expressed as a noun without a preposition. In this case, the modifier noun comes before the word it modifies (but after the article or other determiner) and is usually in the singular form. The translation of such a phrase should begin with the defined word, i.e. the last word, mentally asking the question “which one?”, for example:
a choice theory - theory (which one?) of choice
a search method - search method (which one?)
a service station - service station (which one?)

As we have already said, a noun in the role of a modifier usually has a singular form, but this does not mean that its Russian equivalent must also always have a singular form. number, for example: a game theory - theory (which?) of games (and not: theory of (one) game).
When translating nouns as a definition, you can sometimes use prepositions, for example: a book case - a cabinet (what?) for books.

In this example, the noun is a modifier book can also be translated as an adjective: bookshelf. In some cases (absolutely obvious!) this possibility is allowed, but most often, in order to avoid distortion of the meaning, the meaning of the noun should be preserved, for example:
a gold ring - gold ring, ring made of gold
But: particle velocity - particle speed (not: partial speed).

3. Such a prepositional combination of two nouns (definition and defined), it would seem, should not cause any particular difficulties. But, as practice has shown, the translation of just such a series of two words often contains errors, since the noun that plays the role of a definition is either translated by an adjective (as indicated above), which is not always acceptable, or the translation begins with the first word, which is also leads to a distortion of meaning, for example:
speed regulation - speed regulation
But: speed of regulation - speed of regulation
search methods - methods (which ones?) of search
But: search for methods - search for methods.

So, remember that if two nouns are not connected by a preposition, the translation should begin with the second word.

4. If the first word in a series is an adjective, then it usually (but not always!) refers to the last (defined) word, for example:
elementary game theory - elementary game theory
a new crystal growth method - a new method of growing crystals
a different product distribution - different product distribution
high regulation speed - high regulation speed
the main search method - the main search method
the important net parameters - important network parameters.

However, we should not forget that the adjective that comes first in a series can determine the noun that follows it, and not the last in the series, for example:
straight-line motion - movement in a straight line
digital computer design - design of digital computers.

Note! There can be several nouns in the role of definition. Therefore, when reading the text, you should remember "series rule", which can be formulated as follows:
If after an article (or other determiner) there is a whole series of words, most often nouns, in the singular and without prepositions (prepositions always interrupt the series!), then only the last of them will be the word to which the article refers and with which the translation must begin this series, mentally asking after it the question “which one?” All other words are (directly or indirectly) its definitions.

When translating a series, the connection between words is determined from their lexical meaning, while you can enter the plural, use different cases and even prepositions, but in all cases the word being defined will be the last one, for example:
control system design - design of control systems
the system reaction identification - determination of the system reaction
a parameter identification method - parameter identification method
and problem determination task is the task of determining (posing) problems
a crystal growth method - method of growing crystals
a cell growth increase - (some) increase (rate) of cell growth.