INTRODUCTION
Background of the study
English is one of the most widely spoken languages globally, facilitating communication with people from diverse countries and enhancing job prospects After high school, I chose to pursue English studies at Phenikaa University, where I have developed a keen interest in various subjects, including vocabulary, phonetics, and translation However, my greatest passion lies in grammar, which captivates me the most during my four years of study.
One of the most challenging aspects of English grammar is the use of prepositions, which define the relationships between nouns, pronouns, and other words in a phrase English learners often struggle with prepositions due to the lack of detailed rules governing their usage This difficulty is particularly evident among Vietnamese learners, who frequently make errors when using prepositions.
As the result, the name of subject of my graduation paper is “A study on the English prepositions, some difficulties that Vietnamese learners have got when learning and solutions”.
Aims of the study
- An over view of prepositions
- The function, classification, and usage of prepositions
- Some difficulties that Vietnamese learners have got when learning and solutions.
Scope of the study
Prepositions can be challenging in English grammar Due to constraints in time and knowledge, the researcher focuses on providing an overview rather than an in-depth analysis of all types of prepositions.
2 some difficulties that cause a big problem to Vietnamese learners and some solutions.
Methods of the study
This study is based on a variety of sources, utilizing the internet for information and photographs related to the topic Additionally, reference books and materials on prepositions proved to be valuable resources during the research process.
The researcher utilized interpretive approaches to synthesize key hypotheses from various linguists after collecting ample data Subsequently, a survey questionnaire was administered to 86 students at Phenikaa University to gather meaningful and accurate data relevant to the implications of the research.
Organization of the study
My study is divided into three main parts:
PART ONE: The introduction, including background, aim, scope, methods and organization of the study
PART TWO: The development, including three chapters
Chapter I: The theoretical background, which consists of overview of preposition and its classification
Chapter II: The use of English Prepositions, which includes the position of the preposition and the difference between the preposition and adverb particle
Chapter III: Some difficulties (Vietnamese learners have got) Some solutions PART THREE: Conclusion
THEORETICAL BACKGROUND
An overview
A preposition is a word that usually comes before a noun or noun phrase, creating a prepositional phrase or group It serves as a function word that pairs with a noun or pronoun to illustrate its relationship with other words in a sentence.
(A Grammar of the English Language , 2015)
A preposition is a word or group of words that precedes a noun, pronoun, or noun phrase, serving to indicate direction, time, place, or spatial relationships, as well as to introduce an object.
Source: Prepositions - Grammar - Academic Guides at Walden University 1 1:https://academicguides.waldenu.edu/writingcenter/grammar/prepositions
The words at, in, of, on, from, over, up… are examples of prepositions
In the following sentences, examples of prepositions are printed in italics and underlined As you read, consider using different prepositions, or even different types of prepositions
Source: Full List of Prepositions in English with Useful Examples • 7ESL 2 2: https://7esl.com/list-of-prepositions/
The preposition can take a form of single word: in, on, at, by…
Eg: I prefer to read in the library
She is free from care
They live in the country
The preposition can take a form of two or three words: because of, at the top of, in front of, at the back of, in the end…
Eg: The garden is at the back of the white house
You must drive carefully because of the storm
I am going away at the end of May
The hospital is in front of my school
Phrases that start with a preposition can be called prepositional phrases The prepositional clauses in the following examples are underlined
Eg: During the commercials is the best time to go to the bathroom
That puppy at the park is so happy
Jane cheered for her team with excitement
In the first example, the prepositional phrase "during the commercials" serves as the subject of the sentence In the second instance, "at the park" functions adjectivally, offering additional details about the puppy Lastly, the third example illustrates another use of a prepositional phrase, highlighting its versatility in sentence structure.
"with excitement" acts adverbially because it provides more information about how Jane is cheering
+) of a noun to a noun (or pronoun): the noun preceded by the preposition is an attribute to another noun:
Eg: She is a mother of 4 children
The key to the black box is locked
+) of a noun to a noun (or pronoun) to an adjective: the noun preceded by the preposition is either an object or an adverbial modifier:
Eg: My hometown is rich in minerals
Dieting is good for her
Anna was tired from lack of nutrition
+) of a noun (or pronoun) to a verb: the noun preceded by the preposition is either an object or an adverbial modifier:
Eg: She thought of her childhood very much
These computer games rely on 3-D graphics
She climbed up the big tree in the park.
1.2.2 Show the relation of a whole clause to:
+) a verb or an adjective; the clause is an object clause:
Eg: He thought of how important his family was
She is surprised for that and called me back
Marry was questioned about what she said
+) a noun; the clause is an attributive clause:
Eg: Have you read his account of how he had worked?
She stood by station waiting for her crush.
Classification of prepositions
2.1.1.Simple Prepositions: The words at, in, of, on, to, about, under, around, for, after, before…are examples of simple prepositions
Eg: She lost her money at the lake
She lives near my school
The cat is on the table
2.1.2.Compound Prepositions: The words except for, without, into, out of, upon, according to, …are examples of compound prepositions
Eg: I ran out of money
Then he'll turn into a famous actor
That disease could kill her within 2 weeks
2.1.3.Participial: The word during, regarding, concerning respecting, considering, past…are examples of participle prepositions
Eg: I am interested in anything concerning her lessons
During the summer he does not go out
Her parent was asking questions regarding her boyfriend
2.1.4.Phrase Prepositions (usually consisting of a noun followed by a preposition): by means of, with regard to, in spite of, with respect to, in consequence of, on account of, in front of…
Eg: In spite of his age, he still pursued his passion
In consequence of the rain, the flight was delayed
With respect to your request, I am not yet able to accept
Prepositions of place describe the position of a person or thing in relation to another person or thing
Source: Prepositions of Place | Grammar | EnglishClub 3
3: https://www.englishclub.com/grammar/prepositions-place.htm
Looking at the picture and using the square as the reference point, we can see ho w prepositions of place work:
The dark circle is on the square (“On” means “placed on the surface,” generally the same as top of the reference point)
The dark circle is above the square (“Above” means “higher than and not touching” the point of reference)
The dark circle is over the square (“Over” means “higher or more than” the point of reference)
The dark circle is in front of the square (“in front of” means “in a position just ahead” of the reference point)
The dark circle is beside the square (“beside” means “at the side” of the reference point)
The dark circle is below the square (“below” means “at a lower level or layer than” the point of reference)
The dark circle is under the square (“under” means “below the surface” of the reference point)
The dark circle is behind the square (“behind” means “a place in back” of the reference point)
In additions “in, at” are the other prepositions of place As a general rule, we use:
In for an enclosed space
Table 1.1 The other prepositions of place
In various contexts, "at" is used to indicate a specific point, such as "at the door in Ha Noi" or "at the bus stop in the picture." It denotes precise locations like "at the entrance" or "at the docks." Conversely, "in" refers to enclosed spaces, exemplified by "in a box," "in my bag," or "in a building." It can also describe broader environments, such as "in the rain" or "in the middle of the garden." Additionally, "at" can signify positions within larger frameworks, like "at page 12" or "at the top of the mountain," while "in" encompasses vast areas, such as "in the Solar System" or "in the sky."
Jim is waiting for you at the entrance
The hospital is at the end of the road
I will see you at my birthday party
When will you arrive at the bank?
Do you live in Ho Chi Minh city?
Mars is in the solar system
There is a big hole in the middle of the garden
Preposition of time can be used to refer to exact time, to show the specific time or duration of time
At (precise time) In (months, centuries long period and years)
At 6 o’clock In March On Monday
At 10 am In spring On 15 July
At night In 2000 On 21 September
At bedtime In 1990s On Mother’s Day
At the moment In the past century On my birthday
At sunrise In the Ice Age On New Year’s Eve
At the tide In the future On Thanksgiving
In: used for months, years, seasons, or parts of a day (In the spring, In march, In the morning)
Eg: I have a trip in spring
In the morning, I usually get up at 6 o’clock
My family moved here in March
At: used to refer to a particular point of time (At 6 a.m, At night, At the moment)
Eg: The road is very quiet at night
She is in the bed at the moment
On : used to refer to a more specific period of time than “in”; such as the day of the week, certain dates, and certain holidays…(On Sunday, On July15 th, 2021)
Eg: I have a meeting on Sunday
This children was born on March 14th ,2021
In additions, the preposition of time has some other prepositions such as:
During: Used to say that something happened over a period of time
Eg: I have to do my homework during the night
For: used for a duration time or expressions (For five months, For a long time,
For three hours, For six days)
Eg: We have been living here for a long time
We lived in New York for six months
Since: used to refer to a specific time in the past until some other point in time
Eg: I have not even seen him since the secondary
Prepositions of Direction/movement are prepositions that indicate how one thing is moving in relation to another
Source: Prepositions of Movement Flashcard Game (bogglesworldesl.com 4 4: https://bogglesworldesl.com/prepositions_movement.htm
We will see an image about preposition of direction/movement:
Figures 1.3 Prepositions of direction/movement
Source: Prepositions of movement for English language learning vector illustration
5: https://vectormine.com/item/prepositions-of-movement-for-english-language- learning-vector-illustration
To: used to show movement in specific direction
Eg: I go to school by bus
Into: used to show movement of the inside or middle of place
Eg: Let’s go into the garden
Across : used to show movement from one side to the opposite side
Eg: I am able to swim across the lake
Down: used to indicate movement from a higher to lower position
Eg: Can you write down your phone number?
Up: used to indicate movement from a lower to higher position
Eg: He walking up the stairs
Through: used to show movement within an enclosed space
Eg: She walks through the station on her way to visit me
Source: English lesson: Prepositions of Movement or Direction (curso- ingles.com) 6
6: www.curso-ingles.com/en/learn/courses/basic-level/prepositions/prepositions- of-movement-or-direction)
Around: in a position or direction surrounding
Eg: I walked around the city
Out of: a destination outside of something
Eg: He ran out of the building as if he were on fire
Eg: We climbed onto the school's roof
Away from: leaving a place, a person or an object
Eg: I run away from home when I was seventeen
Along: beside or through the length
Eg: We were driving along a narrow road
Past : expressed moving in a direction so as to pass by
Eg: She is swimming past a child
Off: moving away and often down from
Eg: I want to take it off the table
Over: someone or something moving across the surface from one side towards the other
Eg: The cat jumped over the garden
Prepositions of relation are such the followings: with, without, about, by, instead of, according to, on behalf of, except…
Eg: On behalf of everyone here, I would like to thank our director
I can do it without you
According to rumors, I have heard that he was retired
USES OF ENGLISH PREPOSITIONS
Position of prepositions
1.1 The preposition usually comes before a noun, a noun phrase, a gerund and even a “wh” clause
1.1.1 In front of different elements of the sentence such as noun, noun phrase:
Eg: The dogs are on the table
Eg: I am interested in learning more about your study
Eg: We talked about going to Singapore for our holiday
1.1.3 In front of a “wh” clause:
Eg: You had better make a list of what I say
Eg: Tom could only stand thinking about what he had read
1.2 At the end of sentence :
Eg: This is the answer we were looking for
Eg: What is this bread made of?
1.3 At the end of passive voice sentence:
Eg: The problem is being dealt with
Eg: I wonder whom this book was written by
The preposition and its object form a prepositional phrase
Prepositional phrases play a crucial role in English sentences, consisting of a preposition (PREP) followed by its object (O) The object of a preposition can be a noun, pronoun, or noun phrase, enhancing the sentence's clarity and detail.
Eg: The kitten is on the table
In this sentence, the prepositional phrase “on the table” begins with the preposition
“on” and includes the object of the preposition (a noun phrase) “the table”
Eg: The student studies in the library
In this sentence, the prepositional phrase “in the library” includes preposition “in” and its object (a noun phrase) “the library”
Prepositional Phrases that Show Time
On: on a specific day (on Wednesday) or date (on June 27)
In: in a part of a particular day (in the evening), a month (in June), a specific year (in
1965), or centuries (in the next century)
At: for a precise time (at 8:30, at midnight)
By: by a particular time (by the end of next year)
Prepositional Phrases that Show Location
On: for a surface (on the desk), a specific street (on Trần Phú street)
In: for an enclosed space (in the apartment), a location (in Hồ Chí Minh City) At: for a particular place (at the entrance) or location (at the center)
By: by a familiar place (by the house).
The difference between the preposition and adverb particle
There are words in English that can be used as both adverb particles and prepositions There is some difference between a preposition and an adverb particle
A preposition “governs” an object, so it is closely tied to its object (a noun, a noun phrase, pronoun or gerund)
An adverb particle does not “govern” an object, so it is more closely related to a verb to form idiomatic expressions
A preposition must have an object (a noun or pronoun), so it is always related to a noun: across the road, over the wall, up the hill, down the mountain
An adverb particle does not need an object, so it is more closely related to a verb: walk across, drive over, climb down
Eg: We talked about our vacation in Vietnam
Eg: He has nothing to talk about
In the sentence: “We talked about our vacation in Vietnam”; “about” has a noun object “our vacation”, so it is a preposition
In the sentence: “He has nothing to talk about”, “about” has no object, so it is an adverb particle
Eg: I drove round Ho Chi Minh city; “round” has a noun object “Ho Chi Minh city”, so it is a preposition
I drove round (“round” has no object, so it is an adverb particle)
However, we have some words that we can use only as preposition or only adverb particles
Certain prepositions, often referred to as "small words," require a noun or pronoun object to convey meaning Examples include against, among, at, beside, during, except, for, from, into, of, onto, on top of, out of, since, till/until, to, toward(s), upon, and with.
This means we have to say:
Eg: Sit beside me We cannot say “Sit beside”
We use other “small words” only as adverb particles, so they do not have an object: away, back, backward(s), downward(s), forward(s), on top, o ut, upward(s)
For example, we have to say:
Eg: “Don't go near the fire Stay away!” We cannot say “Stay away the fire!”
SOME DIFFICULTIES (VIETNAMESE LEARNERS
Some difficulties that Vietnamese learners have to cope with when learning 19 2 Solutions
To investigate the challenges Vietnamese learners encounter with prepositions, I administered questionnaires to 86 first-year non-major students from various majors at Phenikaa University The survey was conducted among students enrolled in four Basic English classes, providing insights into their learning difficulties.
The results of this survey are shown in the table below:
Table 3.1 The results of survey
Percent of the correct answer
From the survey I analyze some errors which made by students of Phenikaa university
There are some difficulties that they got with preposition
Firstly, the varied usage of preposition in English caused a great deal of confusion among English learners and the Vietnamese students are no exception
The first example: “We had a lot of problems with our project In the end we solved it” According to my survey, 57% students filled incorrectly Almost students filled
The phrases "at the end" and "in the end" are often confused by students due to their similar structure Understanding the correct usage of these two prepositional phrases is essential for clear communication.
In the end: look result of the incident
At the end (of something): at time when the incident finished
In this sentence, the sentence “we solved it” is the result of the previous sentence
“We had a lot of problems with our project” For this reason, “In” is correct answer
A study revealed that only 16% of students correctly used the phrase "in the top" in the sentence "There is a bird nest in the top of the tree," while 19% correctly used "at the top" in "There is an airport at the top of the mountain." This indicates a common confusion among students regarding the correct usage of these prepositional phrases.
In the top (of): completely or partly covering what’s below/underneath (someone/ something)
At the top (of): in the highest position above others (touching or not)
In the sentence "There is a bird nest in the top of the tree," the phrase indicates that the bird nest is partially covering the tree rather than being positioned at the highest point Thus, the correct preposition to use in this context is "in."
In the next sentence “There is an airport at the top of mountain”, an airport is in the highest position above the mountain Therefore, we should choose the answer
In the sentence "A farm is among the hills," 71% of students incorrectly fill in the preposition, with "between" being the most popular choice Many students opt for "between" when answering this question.
The prepositions "between" and "among" serve distinct purposes in English "Between" is used to describe relationships involving two entities, while "among" refers to connections involving more than two For instance, in the sentence "A farm is among the hills," the term "among" accurately illustrates the relationship of the farm with multiple hills, making it the appropriate choice.
In the sentence "The train went ……two tunnels," most students incorrectly select the preposition "across," with only 21% providing the correct answer The appropriate preposition is "through," highlighting a common misunderstanding among learners regarding the usage of "across" and "through" in this context.
“through” means “xuyên qua” in Vietnamese Therefore, many students are confused when using these two prepositions
Across: from one side of an open space to other
Through: from one side of an enclosed space to other
Specially in this sentence: “The train went … two tunnels”, the tunnel is an enclosed space Therefore, “through” is the correct preposition that we need to fill
Secondly, prepositions in English are more complex than those in Vietnamese
We will see some examples about Phrasal verb “Phrasal verb” relates to a verb and a preposition which stands together indicating a special meaning
In casual English, “phrasal verbs” are extremely prevalent
“I would like to go over the report again”
“If he moves, he will have to dispose of his furniture”
Phrasal verbs, highlighted in italics and underlined, are formed by combining verbs with various prepositions, resulting in unique meanings It is essential for students to grasp the significance of each phrasal verb to enhance their understanding and usage of the language.
“This calls for investigation” The verb “call” can be combined with other preposition such as “for”, “on” “up”, “off”, “in”, “back” to create phrasal verbs with different meaning
Call up: call on the telephone
Call in: ask to come to an official place for a specific purpose
Call back: return a telephone call
Students face numerous options when answering questions involving phrasal verbs To select the correct answer, they need to fully understand the meanings of these verbs, as misunderstandings can lead to mistakes Therefore, careful consideration of each sentence's meaning is essential for making the right choice.
“for” In the next example: “I would like to go over the report again” The verb
“go” can couple with “against”, “over”, “through”, “with”
The meaning of these phrasal verbs:
Go through: examine in detail
Go with: look good with
The phrase "go over" translates to "xem lại" in Vietnamese, as seen in the sentence "Tôi muốn xem lại bản báo cáo một lần nữa." Therefore, "over" is the correct choice for this context Additionally, the phrasal verb "dispose of" in the sentence "If he moves, he will have to dispose of his furniture" means "get rid of."
In Vietnamese, it means “vứt bỏ, dọn dẹp” On basis of the Vietnamese meaning
"If he moves out, he will need to pack up his belongings." Additionally, many English prepositions share similar meanings.
Eg: beside, besides, near, by…or under, below>