business english 2e by mary chapter 08

8
Prepositions

MARY ELLEN GUFFEY AND CAROLYN M. SEEFER

BUSINESS
ENGLISH
12e

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L E A R N I N G

O U T C O M E S

Level 1

▶. Use objective-case pronouns as objects of
prepositions.

▶. Avoid using prepositions in place of verbs and
adverbs.

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2

Commonly Used Prepositions
about

beside

in/into

above

but

like

according to

by

near

after

due to

of

along with

during

on

at

except

to

before

for

under

between

from

with

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© 2017 Cengage Learning®. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website or school-approved learning management system for classroom use.
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Prepositional Phrases



A preposition often appears in a prepositional phrase:
Preposition + Object = Prepositional Phrase



The object of a preposition is a noun or pronoun.

She placed her briefcase under her desk.
We really need to hire an intern like him.

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© 2017 Cengage Learning®. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website or school-approved learning management system for classroom use.
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Objective Case Following Prepositions



Use objective-case pronouns (me, us, you, him, her, it, and
them) as objects of prepositions.

Everyone except Leslie and her arrived early.

Just between you and me,
sales are increasing.

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© 2017 Cengage Learning®. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website or school-approved learning management system for classroom use.
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5


Typical Problems With Prepositions

 Using of for have
 Using of for from
 Using to for too

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© 2017 Cengage Learning®. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website or school-approved learning management system for classroom use.
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6


 Using of for have



Do not substitute the preposition of for the verb have.

They should have (not of ) walked to the restaurant.
We could have (not of )
received free tickets.
We would have (not of ) attended the concert if we had known
about it.

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© 2017 Cengage Learning®. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website or school-approved learning management system for classroom use.
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 Using of for from



Do not replace the preposition from with the words of or of
of.

Can I get the user data from (not of or of of ) you?
Christine borrowed the pen from (not of or of of ) Brandon.

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© 2017 Cengage Learning®. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website or school-approved learning management system for classroom use.
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8


 Using to for too



Do not use the preposition to ( “in a direction toward”) in place of
the adverb too (“additionally,” “also,” or “excessively”).

Give the cash receipts to the courier.
Sales reps received tablets and smartphones too.
The car was too small to
carry the equipment.

© 2017 Cengage Learning®. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website or school-approved learning
© 2017 Cengage Learning®. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website or school-approved learning management system for classroom use.
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9


TRY
TRY YOUR
YOUR SKILL
SKILL

Choose the correct word

1.

idea.

to complete these
sentences.

Between you and (I/me), I didn’t like his

2.

We should (have/of) arrived earlier.

3.

Suzanne borrowed some money (of
of/from) her daughter.

4.

The rent for this office space is (to/too)
high.

© 2017 Cengage Learning®. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website or school-approved learning
© 2017 Cengage Learning®. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website or school-approved learning management system for classroom use.
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10

L E A R N I N G

O U T C O M E S

Level 2

▶. Use challenging prepositions correctly.
▶. Retain necessary prepositions, omit unnecessary
ones, and construct formal sentences that avoid
terminal prepositions.

© 2017 Cengage Learning®. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website or school-approved learning management system for classroom use.
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11


Challenges With Prepositions

 Commonly Confused Prepositions
 Necessary Prepositions
 Unnecessary Prepositions
 Ending a Sentence With a Preposition

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© 2017 Cengage Learning®. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website or school-approved learning management system for classroom use.
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12


 Commonly Confused Prepositions

Among,

Beside,

Between

Besides

In, Into,
Except

In to
Like

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© 2017 Cengage Learning®. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website or school-approved learning management system for classroom use.
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Among: used to speak of three or

Among,
Between

more persons or things
Between: used to speak of two
persons or things

Profits will be divided among the nine partners.
Responsibility will be divided between the vice president and the
general manager.

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© 2017 Cengage Learning®. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website or school-approved learning management system for classroom use.
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Beside: means “next to”

Beside,

Besides: means “in addition to”

Besides

You have another option besides this one.
The carpool parking lot is beside the office.

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© 2017 Cengage Learning®. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website or school-approved learning management system for classroom use.
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Except (preposition): means “but” or

Except

excluding”
Accept (verb): means “to receive”

All pages except three must be edited.
We will accept applications for the position online.

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© 2017 Cengage Learning®. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website or school-approved learning management system for classroom use.
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In, Into,

In: indicates a position or location

In to

He is interested in underwater photography.
The event took place in the
new World Trade Center
in New York City.

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© 2017 Cengage Learning®. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website or school-approved learning management system for classroom use.

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Into (one word): means three

In, Into,
In to

things:
 Entering something
 Changing form
 Making contact

 Entering into something
She plans to go into accounting.
We will move into our new building soon.
 Changing form
He is turning into a talented musician.
The caterpillar changed into a butterfly.
 Making contact
I just ran into an old high school friend.
The player ran into the outfield wall.
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In to (two words): the adverb in

In, Into,
In to

preceding an infinitive or a
prepositional phrase

She went in to see the doctor to get her lab results. (to see is
an infinitive)
Please turn the report in to your boss on time. (to your boss
is a prepositional phrase)

© 2017 Cengage Learning®. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website or school-approved learning
© 2017 Cengage Learning®. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website or school-approved learning management system for classroom use.
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The preposition like should be used to
introduce nouns or pronouns. Do not

Like

use like to introduce clauses.

My friend looks a lot like Natalie Portman.
I wish I could sing like him.
I feel as if (not like) I don’t have enough time to complete the
project.
He looks as though (not like) he didn’t get enough sleep last

night.
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© 2017 Cengage Learning®. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website or school-approved learning management system for classroom use.
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 Necessary Prepositions



Be sure to include those prepositions necessary to clarify a
relationship.



Be particularly careful when two prepositions modify a single
object.
Our appreciation for and interest in the project remain great. (Do
not omit for.)
What style of interview suit do you prefer? (Do not omit of.)
She graduated from high
school last year. (Do not omit
from.)

© 2017 Cengage Learning®. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website or school-approved learning
© 2017 Cengage Learning®. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website or school-approved learning management system for classroom use.
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21


 Unnecessary Prepositions



Omit unnecessary prepositions.
I’m not sure when the meeting is scheduled for. (not
“scheduled for”)
The delivery was left outside of
the door. (not “outside of”)
Where would you like to meet at?
(not “meet at”)
Did that earthquake this morning wake you up? (not “wake
you up”)

© 2017 Cengage Learning®. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website or school-approved learning
© 2017 Cengage Learning®. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website or school-approved learning management system for classroom use.
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 Ending a Sentence With a Preposition



In formal writing, careful writers avoid ending sentences with

prepositions.

Less Formal

More Formal

What topic did he lecture on?

On what topic did he lecture?

Whom do you wish to speak to?

To whom do you wish to speak?

© 2017 Cengage Learning®. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website or school-approved learning
© 2017 Cengage Learning®. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website or school-approved learning management system for classroom use.
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23


TRY
TRY YOUR
YOUR SKILL
SKILL

Choose the correct word

1.

(between/among) the two of us.

to complete these
sentences.

Let’s divide the pizza evenly

2.

Dividends will be divided (between/among)
all stockholders.

3.

The break room is located (beside/besides)
the copy room.

© 2017 Cengage Learning®. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website or school-approved learning
© 2017 Cengage Learning®. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website or school-approved learning management system for classroom use.
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TRY
TRY YOUR
YOUR SKILL
SKILL

Choose the correct word

4.

us a list of references.

to complete these
sentences.

(Beside/Besides) your résumé, please send

5.

Everyone (except/accept) him was given a
raise.

6.

You should go (into/in to) see your boss
after lunch.

© 2017 Cengage Learning®. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website or school-approved learning
© 2017 Cengage Learning®. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website or school-approved learning management system for classroom use.
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