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Parts of speech - Woordsoorten
Preposition - Voorzetsel
Prepositions usually occur in front of a >noun or noun group. They indicate a position or relation. Examples are: in, op, door, tussen, met, tegen, etc.
Alan woont in Rotterdam. Hij studeert aan de Erasmus Universiteit.
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Alan lives in Rotterdam. He studies at the Erasmus University.
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Even though prepositions appear straightforward, they play a crucial part in the formation of two grammatical elements.
Firstly, prepositions can help you identify >separable verbs.
Look at the following sentence:
Als ik vanmiddag tijd heb, vraag ik de inschrijfformulieren voor de avondcursus aan.
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If I have time this afternoon, I will request the application forms for the evening course.
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Prefixes of seperable verbs tend to be prepositions (though they can also be adverbs). If you read the above sentence without realizing that aan is part of the separable verb aanvragen, it is difficult to interpret this sentence correctly.
Some verbs require a preposition. Such verbs are called >phrasal verbs. Examples are:
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luisteren naar
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listen to
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verliefd zijn op
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be in love with
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praten over
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talk about
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The preposition of a phrasal verb introduces a >>prepositional object. The prepositional object may be a >>pronominal adverb, which is an >adverb with the function of a >>pronoun.
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