Journal of Tikrit University for Humanities

Prepositions are complex in the sense that they can have different functions, and the most significant problem faced by students of English as a foreign language is the correct use of prepositions. An inappropriate use of a preposition may change the intended meaning of a sentence entirely. Therefore, translators and teachers need to be familiar with prepositions so that their translation or teaching process can be accurate and elegant. This paper is intended to study prepositions in English and Arabic. It is an attempt to analyse and contrast the system of prepositions of place in both Standard English and Standard Arabic in general and the Glorious Qur'an in particular. This research is restricted to a study of a set of English prepositions of place. Concerning Arabic, the research is restricted to those prepositions which are mentioned in the Glorious Qur'an. The present study comprises three main Sections. Section one tackles the prepositions of place in English. The difference in meaning between different prepositions is presented, giving enough examples to clarify the subject. The idiomatic use of those prepositions is also dealt with in this section. Section two offers a description of place prepositions in the Glorious Qur'an with emphasis on their rhetorical and implied meaning. The rhetorical purposes of replacing one preposition with another have been explained according to the point of view of different rhetoricians. Enough examples have been given to support the idea. Section three presents the summary of findings and conclusions of the study, followed by a bibliography.