- He came Sunday (or, on Sunday).
- We sail March first (or, on March first).
Note. The forms without on are good colloquial English, but are avoided in the more formal style. No preposition need be supplied in parsing. The noun is an adverbial objective ([§ 109]).
358. Care is required in the use of pronouns as the objects of prepositions.
- {He has been very friendly | The old house will seem lonely | That makes no difference} to you and me. [Not: you and I.]
- {Tom’s carelessness makes trouble | There are letters at the post office} for you and me.
- I have invitations for {you and him. | you and her.}
- He will divide the reward between you and me.
- {Whom are you waiting for? | Whom were you speaking to?} [Not: who.]
359. Several words are used either as adverbs or prepositions.
| As Adverb | As Preposition |
|---|---|
| I fell down. | I fell down the steps. |
| Stand by! | He stood by the window. |
| A big dog ran behind. | A dog ran behind the carriage. |
| Keep off! | Keep off the grass. |
Other examples are:—
- aboard,
- above,
- after,
- along,
- before,
- below,
- beneath,
- beside,
- between,
- beyond,
- ere,
- in,
- inside,
- on,
- outside,
- past,
- round,
- since,
- under,
- up,
- within,
- without.
For words used either as prepositions or as conjunctions, see [pp. 152–154].
360. Prepositions show various distinctions in use and meaning which must be learned by practice and by the study of synonyms in a large dictionary.