GRAMMAR - Prepositions and Adverbs

Prepositions and Adverbs: The Silent Champions.

 

Prepositions and adverbs are fundamental elements of grammar. They tend to get overlooked because of their association with other fundamental elements of grammar. And that frightful association is with nouns and verbs. Prepositions and adverbs are crucial in imparting information and enriching the meaning of the sentences. The aim of this article is to discuss the roles of adverbs and prepositions to describe their roles and distinctions with their respective illustrations.

  

What is a Preposition?  

Prepositions are the words that connect the nouns, pronouns or phrases to other words in the phrases and sentences in the forms of a phrase or a sentence. They show the relationship of a particular time, a particular place, a certain direction or a manner of doing something. From a learned perspective, correct use of prepositions is a mark of good writing and correct thinking.  

Consider the sentence:  

- “The cat is on the roof.”

The word “on” is the preposition in this sentence. It is describing the cat's location in relationship to the roof. All prepositions, including “in”- “I will stay in the car.”; “at”- “I arrived at school.”; “by”- “The school is by the chapel.”; “for”- “She is looking for a job.”; and “with”- “I like to walk with my friends.”; are common, and assist in extricating a concept that revolves around the noun.  

Consider the phrases:  

**“She will arrive at 5 PM.”

“The book is under the tables.”

“He walked in the direction of the park.”

Some prepositional phrases do exist as phrases which gives extra detail to our sentences. For instance-  

- “The kids played outside "during" the sunny afternoon.”  

Here, "during the sunny afternoon” is a prepositional phrase that tells us more information about what time the kids were playing.  

What Are Adverbs?

Unlike the other, Adverbs modify verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs. They mainly serve to indicate how, when, where, as well as to what degree an activity is performed. Adverbs serve important roles in clarifying and adding precision to the meaning of a sentence.  

As in the sentence:

- “She sings beautifully.”  

Here, the adverb **"beautifully"** describes the manner in which she sings. Let us consider more examples:  

- “He runs "quickly".  

- “They will go to the movies "later".”  

- “The dog is barking "loudly" "outside".”  

Adverbs, like prepositions, can also create adverbial phrases. For instance:  

- “He completed the project, "with great care"”  

In the above example, the phrase **"with great care."** explains what manner in which he mastered the project.

The Key Differences Between Prepositions and Adverbs:

Both prepositions and adverbs are crucial to making a sentence meaningful; however, each serves a different purpose. Prepositions attach to nouns and pronouns other words which give them a place or a time, or define direction to an action. Adverbs deal with the verbs or adjectives by first indicating the manner, time or the intensity of the action.  

In a nutshell, prepositions are the connecting words that bind a sentence together, while the adverbs provide additional information to the actions being done, feelings being expressed, or descriptions being made.  

   To anyone seeking to develop their grammar capabilities, the mastery of prepositions and adverbs is a steppingstone. The grammar constructs of adverbs and prepositions are their modifiers, which give the meaning of clarity and specific details that sharpen the statements. Recognize the different roles and practice the using them more elaborate adverbs and prepositions and use them with confidence in your writing. Appreciate grammar for what it is and let it work wonders in your sentences.