PREPOSITIONS

GRAMMAR I
 DEFINITION

 Prepositions are short words (on, in, to) that

usually stand in front of nouns.
 There are hardly any rules as to when to use
which preposition. The only way to learn
prepositions is looking them up in a dictionary,
reading a lot in English (literature) and learning
useful phrases off by heart (study tips).
 The following table contains rules for some of
the most frequently used prepositions in
English:

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 Prepositions – Time

English Usage Example

• on • days of the week • on Monday

• in • months / seasons • in August / in winter
• time of day • in the morning
• year • in 2006
• after a certain period of time (when?) • in an hour

• at • for night • at night
• for weekend • at the weekend
• a certain point of time (when?) • at half past nine

• since • from a certain point of time (past till • since 1980

now)

• for • over a certain period of time (past till • for 2 years

now)

• ago • a certain time in the past • 2 years ago

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 Prepositions – Time

• before • earlier than a certain • before 2004

point of time

• to • telling the time • ten to six (5:50)

• past • telling the time • ten past six (6:10)

• to / till / until • marking the beginning • from Monday to/till Friday
and end of a period of
time
• till / until • in the sense of how long • He is on holiday until
something is going to Friday.
last
• by • in the sense of at the • I will be back by 6
latest o’clock.
• up to a certain time • By 11 o'clock, I had read
five pages.

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 Prepositions – Place (Position and Direction)

English Usage Example

• in • room, building, street, town, country • in the kitchen, in London

• book, paper etc. • in the book
• car, taxi • in the car, in a taxi
• picture, world • in the picture, in the world

• at • meaning next to, by an object • at the door, at the station

• for table • at the table
• for events • at a concert, at the party
• place where you are to do • at the cinema, at school, at work
something typical (watch a film,
study, work)

• on • attached • the picture on the wall

• for a place with a river • London lies on the Thames.
• being on a surface • on the table
• for a certain side (left, right) • on the left
• for a floor in a house • on the first floor
• for public transport • on the bus, on a plane
• for television, radio • on TV, on the radio

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 Prepositions – Place (Position and Direction)
• by, next to, beside • left or right of somebody • Jane is standing by / next
or something to / beside the car.
• under • on the ground, lower than • the bag is under the table
(or covered by)
something else

• below • lower than something • the fish are below the

else but above ground surface
• over • covered by something • put a jacket over your
else shirt
• meaning more than • over 16 years of age
• getting to the other side • walk over the bridge
(also across) • climb over the wall
• overcoming an obstacle
• above • higher than something • a path above the lake
else, but not directly over
it
• across • getting to the other side • walk across the bridge
(also over) • swim across the lake
• getting to the other side

• through • something with limits on • drive through the tunnel

top, bottom and the sides
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Prepositions – Place (Position and Direction)
• to • movement to person or • go to the cinema
building • go to London / Ireland
• movement to a place or • go to bed
country
• for bed

• into • enter a room / a • go into the kitchen / the

building house

• towards • movement in the • go 5 steps towards the

direction of something house
(but not directly to it)

• onto • movement to the top of • jump onto the table

something

• from • in the sense of where • a flower from the

from garden

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 Other important Prepositions

English Usage Example

• from • who gave it • a present from Jane

• of • who/what does it belong to • a page of the book
• what does it show • the picture of a palace

• by • who made it • a book by Mark Twain

• on • walking or riding on horseback • on foot, on horseback
• entering a public transport vehicle • get on the bus

• in • entering a car  / Taxi • get in the car

• off • leaving a public transport vehicle • get off the train
• out • leaving a car  / Taxi • get out of the taxi
of
• by • rise or fall of something • prices have risen by 10 percent
• travelling (other than walking or • by car, by bus
horseriding)

• at • for age • she learned Russian at 45

• about • for topics, meaning what about • we were talking about you
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 Difference between UNDER and BELOW

◎ Both below and under can mean ‘lower than’.

• The knives are in the cupboard under the sink. OR The
knives are in the cupboard below the sink.

◎ Below is preferred when one thing is not directly under

another.
• The sun disappeared below the horizon. (NOT The sun
disappeared under the horizon.)

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 The climbers stopped several hundred meters
  below the top of the mountain.

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◎ Under is preferred when something is covered
by what is over it.

• He was wearing a blue shirt 

under his sweater.

• The cat is under the bed.

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• The whole village was
 under water.

◎ In measurements of temperature and height we use below.

• The temperature is five degrees below zero.
• Parts of the city are below sea level.

◎ To mean ‘less than’ or ‘younger than’ we use under.

• There were under ten students in the class.
• You can’t get a driving license if you are under 18.

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 When we talk about height and temperature, we use below not
under:
• The roof of the new building is just below the height of the
church and I think it distracts from the church.
Not: … under the height of the church …
• The liquid must be kept below five degrees. (preferred to …
under five degrees.)

 Underneath is similar to under, but it usually only refers to

position:
• Underneath the stairs is where we keep our vacuum cleaner and
brushes.

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 Beneath differs here only in that it is more formal and less
common in spoken English. But, you could use it for those two
examples.

• We sat under/beneath the stars and listened to the night sounds.

• Keeping the boxes under/beneath the bed helps to save space.

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above over up

on

beneath

below under down

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 Difference between ABOVE and OVER

 We use above, but not over, to refer to things that are at an upper
or higher level:
 We usually use above, but not over, when there is no contact
between the things referred to. Over or on top of have a more
general meaning, and can be used when one thing touches or
covers another:
• They made her comfortable and put a blanket over her.

 We normally use over not above with numbers:

• I get over sixty emails a day.
• If you weigh over 100 kilograms, then you may need to start a
diet.

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 When we refer to temperatures in other contexts, we can normally
use above or over:
• The temperature is already above/over 30 degrees.

 We don’t use over to mean ‘higher level’.

• Most of the race is 500 meters above sea level.

 We don’t use above when one thing touches or covers another.

• Pour some cream over the tart and serve it warm.

 We don’t use above with numbers.

• Over 100 people complained about the programme.

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 Prepositions Of Movement In English
 Across / Through
Across is movement from one side of an area, surface, or line to the other side.

- I drew a line ACROSS the paper.

Through is movement from one side of an

enclosed space to the other side.

- The baseball went THROUGH the window.

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Sometimes, either ACROSS or THROUGH can be used for areas:

• We walked across the park.

= We walked through the park.
• They drove across the city.
= They drove through the city.

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Along / Around
 Along is to follow a line.
 Around is to go in a circular direction around some obstacle.

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Into / Out Of
 Into is to go from outside a space to inside a space.
 Out of is to go from inside a space to outside a space.

- The cat went into the box. - The cat jumped out of the box.

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Onto / Off
 Onto and off refer to surfaces, differently from into / out of (which refer to
enclosed spaces):
• The dog jumped onto the table.

• I took the picture off the wall.

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Up / Down

- Going up the stairs / Going down the stairs

 Go up and go down can also be used for “increase” and “decrease,” in addition to
physical movement.

• The price of food has gone up in the past two years.

• The number of children per family has gone down.

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Towards / Away From
 If you go towards something, you get closer to it.
 If you go away from something, you get farther away from it.

- The dog is running towards me. - The boy is running away from me.

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Back To
 “Back to” is movement of return to a place you have been before:
• He went to Italy. (maybe for the first time)
• He went back to Italy. (it is the second time, or he is from Italy)

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 Exercises: write the correct preposition

1. Shall we go to the cinema ____ Sunday?

2. He graduated from Oxford ____ 1985.
3. I must get up early ____ the morning.
4. The shops open ____ nine.
5. She has never seen the sea ____ winter.
6. I am going to meet her ____ Wednesday.
7. Let's have a break ____ noon.
8. They moved here ____ October.
9. It happened ____ half past seven.
10. Is the match ____ Saturday afternoon?

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11. We were at the cinema ____ 6 p.m. yesterday.
12. My next English lesson is ____ Friday.
13. The concert started ____ July 7th.
14. The bus leaves ____ 8.45 p.m.
15. We eat lunch ____ noon.
16. He likes watching TV ____ the evening.
17. I went to bed ____ midnight.
18. What do you usually do ____ the evening?
19. We finished the game late ____ night.
20. I go on holidays ____ summer.

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21. We live ____ London.
22. Would you like to go____ the cinema tonight?
No, thanks. I was ____ the cinema yesterday.
23. We are going ____ holiday next week.
24. There is a bridge ____ the river.
25. The flight from Leipzig to London was ____ Frankfurt.
26. ____ my wall, there are many picture postcards.
27. Who is the person ____ this picture?
28. Come ____ the sitting room, we want to watch TV.
29. Munich lies 530 meters ____ sea level.

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30. ____ the picture, I can see a family ____ a kitchen.
31. There is a dish full of fruits ____ the worktop.
32. The mother is standing ____ her son and daughter.
33. She is holding a vase ____ in her hand.
34. The son and the daughter are sitting ____ the worktop smiling
____ each other.
35. There are beautiful cupboards ____ the wall.
36. There is a window ____ the mother.
37. The woman is looking ____ her daughter.

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1. Prepositions of movement are usually used with verbs of motion.
Which is a verb of motion?
to be to go to do
2. Choose the correct preposition: The Earth goes _______ the sun
once a year.
across past around
3. My dog was lying on the sofa, so I yelled, "Get ______ !"
out of from off
4. Which is NOT correct? "The bridge went ______ the river."
on over across

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5. Which is correct? "How far is it _______ the station from here?"
from to away from
6. They drove _______ the French border.
in towards into
7. To score in soccer, you must get the ball _______ the goalkeeper
and into the net.
through across past
8. We usually feel the most exhausted after running _______ a
steep hill.
up down around

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9. Which are the correct prepositions? Donald fell _______ the boat
and _______ the water.
down, in off, into
out of, onto
10. The prisoners escaped _______ a tunnel they'd dug _______ the
prison wall.
under, through out of, over
through, under

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