Preposition

Definition

A preposition is usually a short word placed before a substantive (or a pronoun) and indicating the relation of
that substantive to other parts of the sentence (mostly verbs).

Example

"I was reading a book in the living-room."

The preposition “in” specifies, where exactly “I was reading a book”. It is placed directly before the noun
“living-room” (not counting a sometimes optional article like “the”).

Categories

Prepositions, as a class of words, can be divided in five categories.

1. Preposition of time (temporal) e.g. in, on, at, etc.

2. Preposition of place (spatial) e.g. in, on, at, etc.
3. Preposition for direction e.g. to, towards, into, through etc.
4. Preposition for device, instrument or machines e.g. on, by, with, etc. and various semantic roles e.g. of,
for, etc.

This classification is not disjunct: a lot of preposition fall in more than one group, e.g. “in” can be used for “in
the car” (spatial) or for “in five years” (temporal).

There is some overlap with transitions words, conjunctions and linking words in general. Keep in mind, that the
main purpose of a preposition is the determination of the relationship in time or place. Thus, contrary to other
“small words”, they are not an element of style, but absolutely mandatory.

To find the correct preposition is difficult, even for advanced ESL speakers, since a 1:1 translation from your
mother tongue is usually wrong. To make matters worse, no real rules exist, when to use which preposition. So
the only way is, to memorize them. As always, reading books or watching movies helps a lot.
The following lists contain some of the most frequently used prepositions in English.

Prepositions – Time
English Explanation / Meaning Examples
 on Sunday; on May 1st; on Christmas
 on  days (of the week) & dates Eve; on my mark; on the weekend
(AmE.)

 
 in
months / seasons / year in summer / in July / in 2017
part of the day in the evening
 English Explanation / Meaning Examples
after a period of time in an hour; in the future

 




at 11:15 p.m.; at half past six

a specific point of time
 at at noon; at night; learned English at 42;
exceptions (question: "When ...?")
at the weekend (BrE.); at first glance



 from a specific point in time until

 since  since 1980; since yesterday
now (past till now)

 until  until Monday; I’ll wait to call my

 up to a certain point in time
(till) manager until I hear from the client

 for  over a certain period of time  for the first time in forever; for 3 years

 from now to a specific point in the

 ago  a second ago; a decade ago; a while ago
past (now till past)

 throughout the course or duration of  during summer; during the vacation;

 during
s.th. during the discussion

 before winter; before dawn; I have to talk

 before  previous to in time; earlier than
to the client before I call my manager

 Subsequent in time; at a later time

 after  after midnight; after tomorrow
than

 to /
 telling the time  ten to two (1:50) / ten past two (2:10)
past

 from /
 a starting point / an end point  from the beginning; from now to eternity
to

 by  not later than  by 12 o'clock; by next week

Prepositions – Place
English Explanation / Meaning Examples
 in London; in the book, in the mirror; in
 in  position or state inside sth.
love

 

in the area of ...; specific position at home; at the table; at my side

 at
an event (or a place related to it) at the party; at the cinema; at school

 

 

 on position above on the desk; on my shoulder

in contact with on the wall; on the water
a certain side (left, right) on the left side; on the bright side
 English Explanation / Meaning Examples
the state or process of on leave; on fire; on the way
on the phone; on TV; on the menu
means of conveyance on trains; on the bus; on a plane

 

 off the table; off the wall; went off to

 off  from a place or position Canada; got off the bus; turned off the
TV

 by,
 at the side of; close to, next to  by the door; beside the car; stand by me
beside

 in a lower position; beneath the

 under  under the table; under water
surface

 

in or at a position above put sth. over a shirt; walk over sth.; over
 over my dead body
more than over 100 years; over ten miles

 

 below the surface; below 20°; below the

 below  in or to a lower place; beneath
clouds

 above the door; the clouds above; the

 above  higher than sth. else; overhead
problems cited above

 up  from a lower towards a higher point  up the hill; up there is a …

 rolled down the hill; walking down the

 down  a descending direction
street

Prepositions – Direction / Movement

English Explanation / Meaning Examples
 across  on, at, to or from the other side  across the street; lines across the paper

 through the tunnel; a tour through

 through  from one end or side to another
France




in a direction toward a person or

go to bed; move on to; face to face; to
thing
 to the entrance
back to health; all the way to; to die for
toward a (given) state



 

 into movement to the inside or interior went into the kitchen; crashed into a
of tree
to the condition, state, or form of breaking into pieces; go into banking
 English Explanation / Meaning Examples

 




movement from the inside to the

drag myself out of bed; out of nowhere
outside
 out of
no longer in the condition, state, or
out of town; out of order; out of fashion
form of



 onto  movement to the top  jumped onto the table

 movement in the direction of; or  towards the house; toward the future;
 towards
closer to toward peace

 

a starting point; movement away walked home from the station; traveled
from from NY to LA
 from
a note from the teacher; know right
a source, a cause; a distinction from wrong

 

Other important Prepositions

English Explanation / Meaning Examples
 originating from, composed of,  men of the north; a cup of coffee; the
 of
associated with, belonging to hand of God; that friend of yours

 a book by Mark Twain; by myself;

 in the name of; through the agency or
 by played by the rules; killed by a bullet;
action of
one by one they left; by car, by bus

 

estimation of quantity about ten people; about five minutes;

about two miles
 about
on the subject of a book about English
ready to do sth. the chorus is about to sing

 

 happy for you; for sale; eager for fame;

 for  indicates the object, aim or purpose
for one thing, …; for heaven's sake

 with a friend; with cheese; with

 with  in the presence or use of confidence; with a lot of …; will be with
you shortly; from Russia with love