No, “had” is not a preposition. It is the past tense of the verb “have.”
Function of “Had” as a Verb:
- Indicating Possession or Ownership
- She had a great experience at the restaurant.
- They had a successful opening night.
- As an Auxiliary (Helping) Verb in Perfect Tenses
- She had already placed the order before he arrived.
- By the time we got there, they had closed.
- Expressing Obligations (Informal Use)
- I had to cancel the reservation.
- He had no choice but to upgrade the POS system.
Why “Had” Is Not a Preposition
- Prepositions (e.g., in, on, under, about) show relationships between words.
- “Had” does not function this way; it is a verb that expresses possession, action, or obligation.
Thus, “had” is a verb, not a preposition.
