Why Study Prepositions?

Why Do We Need to Study Prepositions?

To be able to identify the correct preposition to use — because using inappropriate prepositions ruins the whole meaning of a sentence. It also makes the sentence sound awkward.

Example:

"I had lunch with a hotdog and a bun."

The sentence is incorrect. The preposition "with" is used to express connection or means towards the other elements of the sentence. Saying "I had lunch with a hotdog and a bun" is the same as saying "I had lunch with a living hotdog and bun." The hotdog and the bun are being referred to as people or characters. The speaker had lunch with them.

If the original meaning is "I had a hotdog and a bun", then the preposition "for" should be used to convey the lunchtime:

"I had a hotdog and a bun for lunch." (correct)

Here, "for lunch" is the prepositional phrase, where "for" is the preposition and "lunch" is the object of the preposition. The objects always come after the prepositions that modify them.

Now, if the speaker wants to use "with" in this sentence, it may be used to portray a connection between the hotdog and the bun. For example:

"I had a hotdog with bun for lunch."

There are two prepositional phrases in this sentence now:

1. with bun
2. for lunch

The prepositions are "with" and "for", and their objects of preposition are the "bun" and "lunch".

In reality, one can have lunch together with friends and family, but not with hotdogs and buns.