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Classification 
 
Cole, 2006, classifies prepositions in the following way: 
 
 
1 - Classification by type 
 
Simple vs. Complex 
Simple adpositions consist of a single word, while complex adpositions consist of a 
group of words that act as one unit. Some examples of complex prepositions in English 
are: 
 in spite of, with respect to, except for, by dint of (because of), next to 
 
2 - Classification by position 
 
The position of an adposition with respect to its complement allows the following 
subclasses to be defined: 
 
 Preposition - A preposition precedes its complement to form a prepositional 
phrase. 
 I am really happy for them 
 He has been sick until recently 
 
A preposição precede o seu complemento para formar uma frase preposicional. 
 Estou realmente feliz por eles 
 Ele esteve doente até recentemente 
 
 Postposition - A postposition follows its complement to form a postpositional 
phrase. 
Ago as in "five years ago", (sometimes considered an adverb rather than a 
postposition) 
Apart as in "this apart", also used prepositionally ("apart from this") 
 
 
 
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Aside as in "such examples aside", also used prepositionally ("aside from such 
examples") 
Away as in "five light years away", (sometimes considered an adverb or an adjective 
rather than a postposition) 
Hence as in "five years hence" (sometimes considered an adverb rather than a 
postposition) 
Notwithstanding (in spite of) as in “The teams played on, notwithstanding the rain.” 
On as in "five years on". 
Through as in "the whole night through". 
 
 Circumposition - A circumposition consists of two or more parts and it is 
positioned on both sides of the main word. It is usually straightforward to 
establish whether an adposition precedes or follows its complement. In some 
cases, the complement may not appear in a typical position. For example, in 
preposition stranding constructions, the complement appears before the 
preposition: 
 from now on 
 
 Ambipositions - Some adpositions can appear on either side of their 
complement; these can be called ambipositions: 
 He slept through the whole night}/{the whole night through. 
 
 Interposition - Melis (2003) proposes the descriptive term interposition for 
adpositions in the structures such as the following: 
 word for word, page upon page. 
 
 Misconception: A sentence must not end in a preposition. Mignon Fogarty 
("Grammar Girl") says, "nearly all grammarians agree that it's fine to end 
sentences with prepositions, at least in some cases." Fowler's Modern English 
Usage says that "One of the most persistent myths about prepositions in English 
is that they properly belong before the word or words they govern and should 
not be placed at the end of a clause or sentence. Preposition stranding (using 
 
 
 
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the preposition at the end of a sentence) was in use long before any English 
speakers considered it to be incorrect. 
 
Also in Cole, 2006, this idea probably began in the 17th century, owing to an essay by 
the poet John Dryden, and it is still taught in schools today. But, "every major 
grammarian for more than a century has tried to debunk" this idea; "it's perfectly 
natural to put a preposition at the end of a sentence, and it has been since Anglo-
Saxon times." "Great literature from Chaucer to Milton to Shakespeare to the King 
James version of the Bible was full of so called terminal prepositions." 
 
COLE quotes that Winston Churchill is said to have written, "This is the sort of English 
up with which I will not put," illustrating the awkwardness that would result from a 
rule against the use of terminal prepositions. 
 
However, the attribution of this quote to Churchill is almost certainly apocryphal. The 
example is also not a perfect example, because in that sentence, up is a particle of 
the verb "put", rather than a true preposition. A correct rearrangement would be 
“This is the sort of English with which I will not put up” (preposition in bold), which 
still sounds awkward, at least in casual speech. 
 
When Can a Sentence End with a Preposition? 
According to Vince, 1994, English has a type of verb called a phrasal verb. These are 
verbs made up of multiple words, and one is always a preposition. “Cheer up,” “run 
over,” “log on,” and “leave off” are all examples of phrasal verbs, and often 
sentences that use phrasal verbs end with a preposition: 
 I wish he would cheer up. 
 You should leave it off. 
 
 
It’s also OK to end a sentence with a preposition sometimes even when you aren’t 
using a phrasal verb. For example, although you could rewrite the following 
sentences to avoid ending them with a preposition, you don’t need to. 
 
 
 
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 What's this about? (Could be rewritten as “About what is this?”) 
 Which book are you referring to? (Could be rewritten as “To which book are 
you referring?”) 
 What did you step on? (Could be rewritten as “On what did you step?”) 
 
 
When Can't You End a Sentence with a Preposition? 
 
Still Vince, 1994, says that you can't always end sentences with prepositions. When 
you could leave off the preposition and it wouldn't change the meaning, you should 
leave it off. Here is a cell phone commercial: 
 Where are you at? 
The problem is that “Where are you at?” doesn't need the preposition at the end. If 
you say “Where are you?” it means the same thing. So the "at" is unnecessary. You 
should leave it off. 
 
3 - Classification by semantic 
 
Cole, 2006 says that adpositions can be used to express a wide range of semantic 
relations between their complement and the rest of the context. The following list is 
not an exhaustive classification: 
 
 Spatial (place) relations: location (inclusion, exclusion, proximity), direction 
(origin, path, endpoint): About, above, across, amid (amidst), among 
(amongst), at, against, be low, beneath, beside, between , beyond, by, in, on, 
over, under (underneath), upon, round or around, without, behind, up, 
throughout, to, towards, down, from (away from, down from, from out, etc.), 
off, out of, at the back of, at the bottom of, at the top of, in the corner of, in 
the middle of, next to, to the left of, on the other side of, to the right of, on 
the side of, on top of, opposite, in, within, into 
 Temporal (time) relations: After, during, pending, till or until; at, between, 
by, about, on, within, etc. 
 
 
 
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 Comparison (similarity): like 
 Material: of, with 
 Agent: by, with 
 Instrument or means: of, with, by, through (the wormhole, the manhole) 
 Manner: by, on, in, with 
 Source or cause: Because of, by reason of, on account of, for, from 
 Purpose: to, for 
 Reference: Concerning, respecting, regarding 
 Measure: by, of 
 Opposition: Against 
 Exclusion or separation: Besides, but, except, save, without, excepting 
 Duration: For, while, during, since, till, by, between, throughout 
 Concession: In spite of, despite 
 Accompaniment: with 
 Association: of 
 In the capacity of: as 
 
Other Examples: 
 The book is on the desk.(place or position) 
 The boy ran toward the house.(direction) 
 The man arrived at ten o'clock.(time) 
 He travels by train. (manner) 
 The book was written by him.(agent) 
 This poem was written by Walt Whitman. (agent or instrument) 
 The new wing of the building is almost completed. (association) 
 I want three quarts of milk and a pound of cheese. (measure) 
 We heard the news of your promotion from Bill. (association) 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 6Subclasses of spatial adpositions 
 
Cole, 2006 refers to Spatial adpositions, which can be divided into two main classes, 
namely directional and static ones. A directional adposition usually involves motion 
along a path over time, but can also denote a non-temporal path. Examples of 
directional adpositions include to, from, towards, into, along and through. 
 Bob went to the store. (movement over time) 
 A path into the woods. (non-temporal path) 
 The fog extended from London to Paris. (non-temporal path) 
 
A static adposition normally does not involve movement. Examples of these include 
at, in, on, beside, behind, under and above. 
 Bob is at the store. 
 
Directional adpositions differ from static ones in that they normally can't combine 
with a copula to yield a predicate, though there are some exceptions to this, as in Bob 
is from Australia, which may perhaps be thought of as special uses. 
 Fine: Bob is in his bedroom. (in is static) 
 Bad: *Bob is to his bedroom. (to is directional) 
 
Directional spatial adpositions can only combine with verbs that involve motion; static 
prepositions can combine with other verbs as well. 
 Fine: Bob is lying down in his bedroom. 
 Bad: *Bob is lying down into/from his bedroom. 
 
 
When a static adposition combines with a motion verb, it sometimes takes on a 
directional meaning. The following sentence can either mean that Bob jumped around 
in the water, or else that he jumped so that he ended up in the water. 
 Bob jumped in the water.