Question

Identify the preposition(s) in the following sentences:
I sat on the chair near the door.
a) Chair, door
b) On, the, near
c) On, near
d) I

Answer 1

Hint: Here, it is important for one to know the meaning of prepositions, their uses, and functions. A preposition is the part of speech that dictates (usually by preceding) a noun or a pronoun and expresses a relation between one word/clause to another word or element in the clause. For example, she left after lunch. Here, ‘after’ is the preposition in the sentence. Other examples are- on, before, between, near, above, under, to, from, etc. One must understand why certain prepositions cannot be used in certain places.

Complete answer:
 Option a ‘chair’ and ‘door’ are both nouns and neither of them is a preposition. Hence, option ‘a’ is an incorrect choice.
Option b, ‘on’, ‘near’ are prepositions but ‘the’ is a determinant, hence is not a preposition. Hence option ‘b’ is incorrect.
Option c, ‘on’ and ‘near’ are prepositions, they are showing positions such that the chair is in the proximity of the door, by using the word “near” and that the narrator is sitting atop the chair is suggested by using the word “on”. Hence option ‘c’ is the correct option.
Option d, ‘I’ is a pronoun, which is a different part of speech than prepositions. Hence option ‘d’ is an incorrect choice, as well. Clearly, option c is the correct answer.

Note: The most important part of solving this question would be to understand the function and usage of prepositions and then see which of the options that follow, would fit in the context.