Prepositions (those little words like on, at, before, with, as, for . . . ) are often the most difficult part of any language for new learners to grasp. For instance, why do we say "John is waiting for you AT the bus stop," "He's waiting IN line," and "He's waiting for you ON the street?" (Yes, of course there is a very detailed linguistic explanation, but they're all places, for heaven's sake!) I am dreading having to teach the nuances of these little words to some unsuspecting, wide-eyed Spanish student.
In fact, prepositions are single-handedly the source of all my negative feelings towards German, and if I decide to give up and stop studying the language, I will have only them to blame.
But here is one argument in defense of their importance (and the dire consequences of getting them wrong):
prepositions are my single most hated thing about learning Spanish, and why i quit doing it after high school. Interesting you should note that. They didn't stand in the way at all of learning Greek.
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