USES OF PREPOSITIONS

Use of prepositions

Inseparable
Prepositions are used in three ways:
(1) Compounded with verbs, adverbs, or conjunctions; as, for example, with verbs, withdraw, understand, overlook, overtake, overflow, undergo, outstay, outnumber, overrun, overgrow, etc.; with adverbs, thereat, therein, therefrom, thereby, therewith, etc.; with conjunctions, whereat, wherein, whereon, wherethrough, whereupon, etc.

Separable
(2) Following a verb, and being really a part of the verb. This use needs to be watched closely, to see whether the preposition belongs to the verb or has a separate prepositional function. For example, in the sentences, (a) "He broke a pane from the window," (b) "He broke into the bank," in (a), the verb broke is a predicate, modified by the phrase introduced by from; in (b), the predicate is not broke, modified by into the bank, but broke into—the object, bank.
Study carefully the following prepositions with verbs:—
Considering the space they took up.—Swift.
I loved, laughed at, and pitied him.—Goldsmith.
The sun breaks through the darkest clouds.—Shakespeare.
They will root up the whole ground.—Swift.
A friend prevailed upon one of the interpreters.—Addison
My uncle approved of it.—Franklin.
The robber who broke into them.—Landor.
This period is not obscurely hinted at.—Lamb.
The judge winked at the iniquity of the decision.—Id.
The pupils' voices, conning over their lessons.—Irving.
To help out his maintenance.—Id.
With such pomp is Merry Christmas ushered in.—Longfellow.

Ordinary use as connective, relation words
(3) As relation words, introducing phrases,—the most common use, in which the words have their own proper function.

Usefulness of prepositions
Prepositions are the subtlest and most useful words in the language for compressing a clear meaning into few words. Each preposition has its proper and general meaning, which, by frequent and exacting use, has expanded and divided into a variety of meanings more or less close to the original one.
Take, for example, the word over. It expresses place, with motion, as, "The bird flew over the house;" or rest, as, "Silence broods over the earth." It may also convey the meaning of about, concerning; as, "They quarreled over the booty." Or it may express time: "Stay over night."
The language is made richer and more flexible by there being several meanings to each of many prepositions, as well as by some of them having the same meaning as others.