A preposition is a short word used before nouns or gerund verbs. Prepositions are used to convey the idea of movement, location, time, cause or consequence among many others. The English languages contains over a hundred prepositions. Numbers vary depending on who is counting and what they consider to be a preposition.The article located at
. http://www.writingcentre.uottawa.ca/hypergrammar/preposit.html perfectly explains what a preposition is and what is can be used for. Before memorizing a list of prepositions, one should understand their use better. Most people use prepositions without even thinking about it, but it might be a good idea to take the time to read more about their grammatical function and meaning to improve one's writing style or speaking skills.The website http://www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/grammar/prepositions has a good list of prepositions with a short description of their common usage along with examples. It might be hard for non-native speakers to fully master prepositions, as they are often impossible to translate literally in another language. Examples might be needed to create a context for the prepositions.There is another detailed list at http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/594/01/. This website seems to have more prepositions listed and establishes more nuances in their use.Because there are so many prepositions and their use is closely linked to context, practice is the only way to learn them. There is a test available at http://www.better-english.com/grammar/prepositions.htm. Native speakers should be able to get good results on this test: even if most people are not conscious that they are using prepositions, this exercise does not require a lot of reflection. It might help schoolchildren become aware of what they are using prepositions for and how a different preposition can change the meaning of a sentence.Prepositions are relatively easy to understand and memorize, but choosing the best preposition can be tricky in some cases. Practice helps writers and speakers who wish to develop a better style.More reference links: http://www.towson.edu/ows/prepositions.htm http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/prepositions.htm
