What do the prepositions in the following sentences connect, and what relations do they express?—
1. I came during the night. 2. He lives at home. 3. Our friends came by train. 4. The oar of the boat was broken.
Prepositions express a great variety of relations. The most common relations are as follows:—
1. =Time=; as, The scholars go home _after_ school.
2. =Place= or =direction=; as, He sat _upon_ a stone.
3. =Agency= or =means=; as, John cut his finger _with_ a knife.
4. =Possession=; as, The call _of_ the shepherd was heard by his flock.
5. =Separation=; as, James took the book _from_ his brother.
6. =Association=; as, A man _with_ an axe in his hand came in.
8. =Object=; as, The love _of_ pleasure destroys many a life.
9. =Cause=; as, They did it _through_ ignorance.
_Note._—There are many phrases which have the use of prepositions and are treated as such; as, We stood _in front of_ the building. A woman came _out of_ the house. He lived _according to_ his light.
=Model.=—I stood _on_ the bridge _at_ midnight.
_On_, a preposition, connecting the noun _bridge_ with the verb _stood_, and showing the relation of _place_.
_At_, a preposition, connecting the noun _midnight_ with the verb _stood_, and showing the relation of _time_.
Parse the prepositions in the following sentences:—
1. The old man was killed by a falling tree. 2. The perfume of the rose is sweet. 3. A child fell into the river. 4. My brother went instead of me. 5. Without a moment’s hesitation, he and his men dashed at the height. 6. Now see him mount once again Upon his nimble steed, Full slowly pacing o’er the stones, With caution and good heed.—_Cowper._ 7. Richard surveyed the Nubian in silence as he stood before him, his looks bent upon the ground, his arms folded on his bosom, with the appearance of a black marble statue of the most exquisite workmanship, waiting life from the touch of a Prometheus.—_Scott._ 8. Beside yon straggling fence that skirts the way, With blossomed furze unprofitably gay, There, in his noisy mansion, skilled to rule, The village master taught his little school.—_Goldsmith._
Point out in the following examples conjunctions that connect sentences or parts of a sentence of equal rank, and those that connect sentences that are not of equal rank:—