preposition

preposition (preposisjon): a class of function words. Prepositions generally express a relation, often in time or space (or abstractions of these). They can also express relations of agency, cause, means, manner, support, opposition, etc. Examples of prepositions: after, at, before, below, by, in, of, on, over, under. (Note that some of these words can double as conjunctions when followed by a clause, and as adverbs when occurring without a following complement.) Prepositions introduce prepositional phrases, or they may combine with a verb in a prepositional verb. Prepositions may also combine with another word (often a preposition or an adverb) to form complex prepositions, e.g. out of, because of, apart from, in front of.