The document discusses compound prepositions in English. It defines compound prepositions as two or more words frequently used as a single preposition. The document lists over 70 common English compound prepositions such as according to, ahead of, along with, apart from, as against, because of, by means of, for fear of, in addition to, in front of, inside of, instead of, owing to, with regard to, and many others. It states that compound prepositions are idiomatic and need to be learned in context through long study of their various applications and meanings.

2. COMPOUND PREPOSITIONS
Two or more words are frequently used as
single prepositions.
These compound prepositions are very
common in English
Compound prepositions are extremely idiomatic
and need to be learnt in some context.
A long and patient study of their applications
and connotations is required

3.  according to
 (as stated by, on the authority of)
 According to John, no one enjoyed the party
very much.
 According to the weatherman, we can expect
more cold weather this week.
 ahead of
 (before, in front of)
 You should have told us ahead of time that you
were coming.
 That car’s going too slowly. Why don’t you try
to get ahead of him?

4.  along with
 (together with)
 We have to take Physical Education along with
all the academic courses.
 alongside of
 (beside, parallel with)
 I parked my car alongside of a gray station
wagon.

5.  apart from
 (separate from, considered in separation from)
 It’s a new house, and stands apart from all the
other houses in the street because of its size
and newness.
 Apart from his habit of talking too much, I have
nothing in particular against him.
 as against
 (in contrast or competition with)
 As against all other members of his family, I
prefer him.

6.  as between
 (choosing or judging between two)
 As between living in the country or in the city, I
much prefer the latter.
 as compared with (to)
 (in comparison with)
 As compared with (to) the other students in the
class, he’s no problem at all.
 as for
 (introduces a new but similar subject for
consideration or comment)
 John will probably pass the examination without
difficulty.
 As for Mary, I’m not so sure!

7.  at the point of
 (about to do something…followed by a noun or gerund)
 The sick man was at the point of death. (about to die)
 The ship was at the point of break in two.
 at the time of
 At the time of the First and the Second Crusades,
Constantinople was the center of Western civilization.
 because of
 (on account of)
 Because of the bad weather, we stayed at home.
 by force of
 (by the power of)
 The country was finally subdued by force of arms

8.  by means of
 (through the agency of)
 He has reached this high position by means of his
own abilities, without help.
 by reason of
 (because, on account of)
 By reason of his many years of experience in this
field, he is the best man for the job.
 by virtue of
 (by the authority or prestige of)
 I was able, by virtue of my knowledge of its
language and customs, to pass as a not native of
the country.

9.  by way of
 (via)
 We entered Italy by way of Southern France.
 due to
 (on account of)
 I was unable to go to the party, due to a previous
engagement.
 except for
 (with the exception of)
 Except for John, none of us had ever been there before.
 for fear of
 (because of fear of)
 For fear of saying the wrong thing, I chose to say nothing
at all.

10.  for lack of
 (because of not having)
 For lack of something better to do, we went
downtown.
 If I’ve failed, it isn’t for lack of trying
 for the purpose of
 (in order to… followed by gerund)
 You have all come to this school for the purpose of
learning English.
 for the sake of
 (in the interest of, for the good of)
 He treated her badly, but she stayed with him for
the sake of the children.

11.  from above
 (from a position above or over)
 Seen from above, the countryside looks like a
checkerboard of brown and green squares.
 from among
 From among the thousands of students whom he
had taught, two in particular stood out in his
memory.
 from behind
 (from a position behind)
 The driver got out from behind the (steering) wheel
and began to roll up his sleeves as though he
intended to fight someone.

12.  from beneath
 He picked the coin up from beneath the table,
where it had rolled.
 from between
 He emerged from between two parked cars and
began to walk toward us.
 from over
 (from the direction of)
 That sound came from over that way, I think.

13.  from under
 The cat came out from under the bed, where it
had been hiding.
 in accordance with
 (in agreement with)
 In accordance with your instructions, we are
shipping this item to you by insured air parcel
post.

14.  in addition to
 (added to)
 In addition to his regular job here, he works in a
store downtown three nights a week.
 in behalf of
 (speaking or acting as a proxy or representative)
 In behalf of the mayor and the people of our
beautiful city, I am glad to extent a warm greeting
and welcome to al of you.
 in between
 (in the area or time between)
 He works overseas most of the time, but in
between jobs he sometimes visits his family.

15.  in care of
 (in the custody of)
 When we go on our vacation, we leave the children
in care of my wife’s sister.
 in case of
 (in the event of)
 In case of enemy attack, seek shelter at once and
await instructions from your local civil defense
officers on your radio.
 in close connection with
 (in cooperation with)
 Our units work in close connection with military
personnel of other countries.

16.  in common with
 (sharing the same nature or behavior as)
 In common with most elderly people, he was
inclined to be a little set in his ways.
 in comparison to (with)
 (compared with)
 In comparison to (with) his brother he is quite easy
to get along with.
 in compliance with
 (yielding or submitting to)
 In compliance with your request of January 7, we
are returning the following items of equipment for
repair.

17.  in connection with
 (as an aspect or consequence of)
 I’ll have to make several trips to Washington in
connection with my new assignment.
 in consequence of
 (as a result of)
 In consequence of the changed situation, we have
had to alter our plans slightly.
 in consideration of
 (taking into account, considering)
 In consideration of his changed attitude toward his
work, we suggest that he be given another chance.

18.  in contrast to (with)
 In contrast to (with) his earlier attitude, he is now
very friendly and cooperative.
 in default of
 (through failure or lack of)
 In default of more accurate information, we were
forced to rely on newspaper accounts of the affair.
 in deference to
 (submitting to: the attitudes, opinions, or wishes of)
 In deference to the sensitivities of some of his
guests, he avoided any discussion of religion or
politics.

19.  in exchange for
 (in return for)
 All I got in exchange for my hard earned money
was a piece of junk.
 in front of
 (located before)
 My car is parked in front of the house.
 in lieu of
 (as a substitute for, in place of)
 In lieu of the money he owed us, we received
only fine words and more promises to pay.

20.  in opposition to
 (opposing)
 This action was taken in opposition to the
expressed will of the majority of our people.
 in place of
 (as a substitute for, replacing)
 I’m teaching today in place of Mr. Jones, who is
sick.
 in preference to
 (being preferred to)
 Through personal influence, he was given the job
in preference to several older and more
experienced men.

21.  in regard to
 (concerning)
 In regard to that question you asked me the
other day; I think I can answer you in
affirmative.
 in search of
 (looking for)
 He’s gone to the library in search of some books
on sky diving he just heard of.

22.  in spite of
 (disregarding the difficulty, resistance, hostility,
etc, of)
 In spite of the weatherman’s predictions, I think
it’s going to be a good day.
 He was able to complete his work in spite of
illness.
 in terms of
 (from the aspect of)
 In terms of offensive or retaliatory airpower, the
two nations are on a more or less equal footing.

23.  in the course of
 (during)
 In the curse of the ages (long periods of time),
great alterations have taken place in the earth’s
surface.
 in the event of
 (in case of)
 This policy pays double in the event of accidental
death. (policy = insurance agreement)
 in the face of
 (because of)
 He is always calm in the face of danger.

24.  independently of
 (without dependence of)
 He made his decision independently f the other members
of the group.
 inside of
 (within-refers to either place or time)
 I’ll never set foot inside of his house again.
 He was back inside of 10 minutes.
 instead of
 (in place of, substituting for)
 I wish I were going to a party instead of to the dentist.
 on account of
 (because of)
 The game has been postponed on account of rain.

25.  on behalf of
 (speaking or acting as a proxy or representative)
 I make this request on behalf of my government.
 on the part of
 (this phrase, which is difficult to translate, serves to
attribute some attitude or behavior to its object)
 Eagerness to learn on the part of the students,
combined with a clear knowledge of objectives and
of the techniques best adapted to attaining them on
the part of the teacher, constitutes the ideal
classroom situation.

26.  on the point of
 (about to… followed by gerund)
 I was on the point of leaving when the phone
rang.
 on top of
 a. (on the highest surface of)
 There’s always slow on top of those mountains.
 b. (furthermore, in addition)
 He ate a full lunch like the rest of us, but on top
of that, he ate two or three candy bars, and
drank two cokes.

27.  out of
 a. (from the interior of)
 As soon as she went out of the room, I got out of
bed and began to dress.
 b. (no longer in or within as in the idioms out of
sight, our of mind, out of reach, out of fashion, out
of business, etc)
 The plane vanished out of sight over the horizon.
 Get out of my way!
 Out of sight, out of mind. (proverb)
 c. (no longer have or be supplied with)
 We ran out of gas coming from town.
 He was out of breath from running so fast.

28.  outside of
 a. (beyond the limits of an area)
 He lives in a small town outside of New York.
 b. (with the exception of)
 Outside of his immediate family and one or two
old friends, he sees no one any more.
 owing to
 (because of)
 I can’t accept your invitation owing to a previous
engagement.

29.  previous to
 (before a certain time)
 Previous to 1980, he had been employed as a
clerk in a department store.
 regardless of
 (without regarding, irrespective of)
 All men, regardless of race, color, or creed, are
entitled to equal rights and opportunities.

30.  relating to
 (having some relation with)
 He told us several stories relating to his
experiences in East Asia during World War II.
 relative to
 (concerning)
 He made some interesting observations relative
to life in the tropics.

31.  round about
 (at approximately.. usually said of time)
 (around about)
 I’ll be back around about 11:00
 short of
 (with the ultimate exception of)
 I’ve tried every technique of teaching I know,
short of standing on my head; and they still
don’t understand!

32.  under cover of
 a. (concealed by)
 They accepted from their guards under cover of
darkness.
 b. (protected by)
 The attack was made under cover of a heavy barrage.
 what with
 (this idiomatic, sometimes humorous, untranslatable
phrase introduces a list of various factors in a difficult,
confusing, or exasperating situations)
 What with the children crying, the dog barking, and both
the telephone and the doorbell ringing at the same time, I
felt that I’d go out of my mind.

33.  with (in) regard to
 (with respect to, concerning)
 With respect to your request for a two-week
delay in the due payment of annual interest on
the above mentioned note, we regret that it is
contrary to the policy of this organization to
grant such requests.
 with a view to
 (for the purpose of, intending to)
 With a view to increasing the sale value of the
property, he had the house painted and
driveway resurfaced.

34.  with reference to
 (referring to)
 With reference to your letter of June 17,
requesting information about unshipped items
on your order No. 1113, we are glad to report
that these items are now in stock and are being
shipped to you.
 with the intension of
 (intending to)
 I went downtown with the intention of buying
some shirts and ties

35.  https://www.google.co.in/search?q=pictorial+explanat
ion+of+prepositions+in+English
 Fmrswarnerarlington.weebly.com%252Fprepositions.h
tml%3B549%3B733
 http://www.ego4u.com/en/cram-
up/grammar/prepositions
 A ready reckoner in English Grammar & Composition
(Std.X) by Dineshbhai J. Shah, Dr. Janakbhai B. Shah
and Bharatiben R. Shah (Atul Prakashan)
Thanks to …