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- Preposition: Through
Preposition: Through
1. Through indicates passage within something.
Pattern: verb + through + noun
The children drank their milkshakes through straws.
The highway was closed, and we had to come through the city.
Typical nouns used after through:
funnel, passage, pipe, straw, tunnel
a place—building, city, country, park, state, town
2. Through can indicate a gateway or obstacle between two places.
Pattern 1: verb + through + noun
We came through the front door.
He drove through the red light and got a ticket.
Typical nouns:
barricade, barrier, curtains, customs, door, entrance, gate, hole, intersection, light, slot, stop sign, window
Pattern 2: verb + noun + through + noun
The mail carrier pushed the letters through the slot.
Typical verbs used before through:
bring, carry, force, pull, push, receive, send, take
3. Through can indicate vision beyond something.
Pattern: see/show + through + noun
The window is so dirty that I can't see through it.
The tablecloth needs a liner; the table legs show through it.
Typical nouns used after through:
clouds, fabric, fog, glass, smoke, window
Expression:
to see through somebody—to detect insincerity
That woman pretends to be nice, but I can see right through her.
4. Through can indicate the parts beginning, between, and including.
Pattern: from + noun + through + noun
They have to work from Monday through Friday.
Please read from chapter one through chapter four.
5. Through can mean finish something that requires effort.
Pattern 1: verb + through + noun
I have to get through school before I can get married.
Typical verbs used before through:
get, go, live, struggle, suffer
Typical nouns after through:
school, training, work
Expression:
to go through—to experience something difficult
He is going through a divorce.
Pattern 2: be + through + with + noun
Are you through with your exams yet?
Typical nouns used with this pattern:
course, exams, red tape, trouble
Expression:
to go through with something—to continue doing something; to not give up
I can't believe you are still going to go through with your plans.
6. Through can indicate in all parts of a place; throughout
Pattern 1: verb + (all) through + the + noun
We walked all through the garden.
Pattern 2: verb + noun + (all) through + the + noun
They distributed flyers all through the neighborhood.
Typical nouns used after through:
building, city, country, garden, house, neighborhood, state, town
Expression:
to go/look through something—to look at all the contents of something, hoping to find something
I went through my files and found these documents.
I looked through my papers, but I couldn't find the certificate.
Typical nouns used after through:
boxes, closets, correspondence, drawers, files, letters, notes, papers, records, things
7. (All) through (or throughout) can mean during an entire event or period.
Pattern 1: verb + through + noun
Those women talked through the whole game.
The baby finally slept all through the night.
Typical verbs before through:
cheat, cry, laugh, play, sit, sleep, stay, talk, wait, watch, worry
Pattern 2: verb + noun + through + noun
She cared for her father through his illness.
Verbs commonly used with this pattern:
abuse, care for, help, ignore, wait for, wait on
Typical nouns used after through:
afternoon, breakfast, day, dinner, game, illness, life, lunch, meal, month, morning, night, ordeal, performance, play, time, war, wedding, week, year
Expressions:
to see something through—to stay with something until it is finished. Don't worry, we will see your project through.
to see somebody through—to stay with somebody until he is out of trouble. I will see you through this problem; I promise.
8. Through can mean by means of.
Pattern: verb + noun + through + noun
We heard the news through friends.
They bought that apartment through an agency.
Typical nouns after through:
agency, contacts, friends, gossip, newspaper, translator
instruments of vision—binoculars, glasses, lenses, microscope, periscope
Expression:
to hear something through the grapevine—to get news unofficially
We heard about your engagement through the grapevine.
9. Through can indicate a reason.
Pattern: verb + noun + through + noun
She achieved success through determination and hard work.
Through an error in our accounting, we have overcharged you.
Typical nouns after through:
carelessness, determination, fault, frustration, generosity, greed, hard work, help, kindness, luck, misinformation, negligence, selfishness an error, a mistake
10. Phrasal verbs
carry/follow through (separable)—complete a project
He has some good ideas; I hope he can carry them through.
carry/follow through with (nonseparable)—complete
I hope he can carry through with his plans.
come through (intransitive)—perform as one has promised
She promised to help us; I hope she comes through.
fall through (intransitive)—collapse
All his plans to move to
show through (separable)—to give someone a tour of a building
When we went to
