If there’s one thing I truly, deeply abhor, it’s the incorrect use of prepositions.

There’s this girl in the company I work for — she’s really pretty, charming and (as far as I know) nice. The one problem I have with this near-stranger, though, is that she works as the administrative assistant and is in charge of writing and sending out company-wide memos. Often times, I feel like tearing out my hair in frustration upon reading her e-mails; they drive me crazy.

An example is in order, I suppose. Lost and found items are reported to her, since she is the administrative assistant. Every time an item is found, she writes and releases a company-wide e-mail, asking the owner to please come forward and “claim it to me”.

Dear God.

I’m not claiming perfection. Seriously. I just think that knowing which preposition to use (especially the common ones like “to” and “from”) is crucial and really, really basic. Using prepositions incorrectly can lead to serious misunderstandings, not just funny anecdotes that you can somehow use as blog fodder.

Consider this: “take the bag to her” and “take the bag from her” mean two very different things; using the wrong preposition would most definitely send the wrong message. You may think that no one in his right mind would ever make that mistake, but you’d be surprised.

Here are some common errors I’ve noted:

IN and ON. “In” means something or someone is inside a particular place. For example, “in the box” means the item is within the box. Saying “on the box” means the item in question is resting above the box, not inside it. Other uses: “on the dance floor”, “in town”, “on Elm Street”. Public transport is a different story, though, e.g., “on the bus”.

AT and ON. Though this was not always the case, the use of “in” and “at” interchangeably is now allowed. Personally, I just go with my gut feel on picking between “in” and “at”. As for “at” and “on”, however, grammar rules haven’t relaxed that much. Remember, the band’s name is “At the Drive-In”, not “On the Drive-In”. Also, people work to put food on the table, not at it.

TO and FROM. When Person A wants to say that he/she received something from Person B, “from” is used (e.g., “I got this from Karen”). When Person A wants to say that he/she gave something to Person B, “to” is used (e.g., “I gave this to Karen”). This is why the phrase “claim to me” is incorrect; the object is already with the speaker, and the rightful owner should retrieve it from him/her.

OF and BY. “Of” indicates possession (e.g., “son of God”), while “by” indicates creation (e.g., “made by Mom”). Note that “of” can also indicate the material used to create a particular object, e.g., “made of steel”.

SINCE and FOR. When you say “since”, you’re referring to a beginning. For example, “I haven’t had pie since 1997″. When you say “for”, though, you refer to a period of time, e.g., “I’ve been working here for six years”. To use “since” in “I’ve been eating since two hours” is incorrect.

I’m not sounding a call for rigidity; language is dynamic and always changing. Even the semi-colon is facing extinction (sob!). Still, prepositions are pretty much basic — there’s no sense arguing against these rules. Remember, incorrect usage can lead to serious misunderstandings so keep these in mind to avoid embarrassing mistakes and potential mishaps.

XOXO,