Prepositions

🟢 Lite — Quick Review (1h–1d)

Rapid summary for last-minute revision before your exam.

Prepositions — Quick Facts A preposition is a word that shows the relationship between a noun/pronoun and another word in the sentence. Prepositions indicate time, place, direction, manner, cause, and possession.

Types of Prepositions

• Time: at, in, on, during, before, after, by, until
• Place/Position: at, in, on, under, over, between, among, behind, in front of, beside
• Direction: to, from, toward(s), into, out of, through
• Manner: by, with, without, like
• Cause/Reason: because of, due to, owing to, thanks to
• Possession: of

⚡ Exam Tip: The most tested JAMB pattern is choosing the correct preposition after specific verbs and adjectives. “Consist of,” “capable of,” and “interested in” are fixed — memorise them as collocations.

---

🟡 Standard — Regular Study (2d–2mo)

Standard content for students with a few days to months.

Preposition of Time — At, In, On

Preposition	Use	Example
At	Exact time points, festivals	at 9 o’clock, at Christmas, at noon
In	Months, years, seasons, long periods	in March, in 2024, in the morning*, in winter
On	Specific days, dates	on Monday, on 15th March, on Independence Day

*Note: “In the morning/afternoon/evening” but “At night”

Preposition of Place — At, In, On

• At = a specific point: at the door, at the bus stop, at the top of the page
• In = an enclosed space: in the room, in Lagos, in the box
• On = a surface: on the table, on the wall, on the ceiling

Key Collocations (Verb + Preposition)

• Arrive at (a place) / Arrive in (a country/city)
• Knock at the door
• Laugh at someone
• Look at / Look after / Look forward to
• Listen to
• Depend on
• Believe in
• Consists of
• Die of (disease) / Die from (injury)
• Married to / Engaged to
• Good at / Bad at
• Proud of / Afraid of
• Keen on / Similar to / Different from

⚡ JAMB Trap: “Arrive in Nigeria” (country) but “arrive at the stadium” (specific place). Students lose marks here regularly.

---

🔴 Extended — Deep Study (3mo+)

Comprehensive coverage for students on a longer study timeline.

Complex Prepositions (Two or Three Words)

• In front of, instead of, because of, due to, owing to, according to
• With respect to, with regard to, in reference to, on behalf of
• Prior to, subsequent to, adjacent to, relative to

Prepositional Verbs vs. Phrasal Verbs Prepositional verbs always take a preposition before their object:

• Look after the children (after = preposition)
• Run into an old friend (into = preposition)
• Come across a problem (across = preposition)

Phrasal verbs have a particle (not a preposition) that changes meaning:

• Look up (search for information)
• Turn down (reject)
• Break down (stop functioning)

“Due to” vs. “Owing to” Both mean “because of,” but traditionally “due to” follows a linking verb (be):

• The cancellation was due to rain. ✓
• Due to rain, the match was cancelled. ✗ (use “owing to” here)

Common JAMB Error Patterns

1. “I am interesting in studying” → “I am interested in studying”
2. “He insisted to go” → “He insisted on going”
3. “I will meet you in Monday” → “I will meet you on Monday”
4. “She lives at Lagos” → “She lives in Lagos”
5. “He succeeded through hard work” → ✓ (through is correct here — means “by means of”)

Standard JAMB-Style Questions on Prepositions

1. “The book is ___ the table.” → on (surface)
2. “She arrived ___ Lagos yesterday.” → in (city/country)
3. “The lecture begins ___ 9:00 a.m.” → at (exact time)
4. “He is good ___ Mathematics.” → at
5. “I depend ___ you for support.” → on

⚡ Previous Year JAMB Focus: Preposition questions appear in both the Use of English (60 marks) and as supporting vocabulary in comprehension passages. The collocation patterns (verb + preposition, adjective + preposition) are the most frequently tested format. Past questions show 3-5 preposition MCQs per paper.