CLASSES OF PREPOSITIONS
312. It would be useless to attempt to classify all the
prepositions, since they are so various in meaning.
The largest groups are those of place, time, and exclusion.
PREPOSITIONS OF PLACE
313. The following are the most common to indicate place:--
(1) PLACE WHERE: _abaft_, _about_, _above_, _across_, _amid_
(_amidst_), _among_ (_amongst_), _at_, _athwart_, _below_, _beneath_,
_beside_, _between_ (_betwixt_), _beyond_, _in_, _on_, _over_, _under_
(_underneath_), _upon_, _round_ or _around_, _without_.
(2) PLACE WHITHER: _into_, _unto_, _up_, _through_, _throughout_,
_to_, _towards_.
(3) PLACE WHENCE: _down_, _from_ (_away from_, _down from_, _from
out_, etc.), _off_, _out of_.
Abaft is exclusively a sea term, meaning _back of_.
Among (or amongst) and between (or betwixt) have a difference
in meaning, and usually a difference in use.
_Among_ originally meantin the crowd (_on gemong_), referring to several objects;
_between_and _betwixt_ were originally made up of the preposition _be_ (meaning
_by_) and _tweon_ or _tweonum_ (modern _twain_), _by two_, and _be_
with _twih_ (or _twuh_), having the same meaning, _by two_ objects.
As to modern use, see "Syntax" (Sec. 459).
PREPOSITIONS OF TIME
314. They are _after_, _during_, _pending_, _till_ or _until_; also
many of the prepositions of place express time when put before words
indicating time, such as _at_, _between_, _by_, _about_, _on_,
_within_, etc.
These are all familiar, and need no special remark.
EXCLUSION OR SEPARATION
315. The chief ones are _besides_, _but_, _except_, _save_,
_without_. The participle _excepting_ is also used as a preposition.
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