A preposition is a word or set of words that indicates location (in, near, beside, on top of) or some other relationship between a noun or pronoun and other parts of the sentence (about, after, besides, instead of, in accordance with).
A preposition isn't a preposition unless it goes with a related noun or pronoun, called the object of the prep
Examples:
Let's meet before noon.
Before is a preposition; noon is its object.
We've never met before.
There is no object; before is an adverb modifying met.
Prepositions Time
English
Usage
Example
on
days of the week
on Monday
in
months / seasons
time of day
year
after a certain period of time (when?)
in August / in winter
in the morning
in 2006
in an hour
at
for night
for weekend
a certain point of time (when?)
at night
at the weekend
at half past nine
since
from a certain point of time (past till now)
since 1980
for
over a certain period of time (past till now)
for 2 years
ago
a certain time in the past
2 years ago
before
earlier than a certain point of time
before 2004
to
telling the time
ten to six (5:50)
past
telling the time
ten past six (6:10)
to / till / until
marking the beginning and end of a period of time
from Monday to/till Friday
till / until
in the sense of how long something is going to last
He is on holiday until Friday.
by
in the sense of at the latest
up to a certain time
I will be back by 6 o’clock.
By 11 o'clock, I had read five pages.
Prepositions – Place (Position and Direction)
English
Usage
Example
in
room, building, street, town, country
book, paper etc.
car, taxi
picture, world
in the kitchen, in London
in the book
in the car, in a taxi
in the picture, in the world
at
meaning next to, by an object
for table
for events
place where you are to do something typical (watch a film, study, work)
at the door, at the station
at the table
at a concert, at the party
at the cinema, at school, at work
on
attached
for a place with a river
being on a surface
for a certain side (left, right)
for a floor in a house
for public transport
for television, radio
the picture on the wall
London lies on the Thames.
on the table
on the left
on the first floor
on the bus, on a plane
on TV, on the radio
by, next to, beside
left or right of somebody or something
Jane is standing by / next to / beside the car.
under
on the ground, lower than (or covered by) something else
the bag is under the table
below
lower than something else but above ground
the fish are below the surface
over
covered by something else
meaning more than
getting to the other side (also across)
overcoming an obstacle
put a jacket over your shirt
over 16 years of age
walk over the bridge
climb over the wall
above
higher than something else, but not directly over it
a path above the lake
across
getting to the other side (also over)
getting to the other side
walk across the bridge
swim across the lake
through
something with limits on top, bottom and the sides
drive through the tunnel
to
movement to person or building
movement to a place or country
for bed
go to the cinema
go to London / Ireland
go to bed
into
enter a room / a building
go into the kitchen / the house
towards
movement in the direction of something (but not directly to it)
go 5 steps towards the house
onto
movement to the top of something
jump onto the table
from
in the sense of where from
a flower from the garden
Other important Prepositions
English
Usage
Example
from
who gave it
a present from Jane
of
who/what does it belong to
what does it show
a page of the book
the picture of a palace
by
who made it
a book by Mark Twain
on
walking or riding on horseback
entering a public transport vehicle
on foot, on horseback
get on the bus
in
entering a car / Taxi
get in the car
off
leaving a public transport vehicle
get off the train
out of
leaving a car / Taxi
get out of the taxi
by
rise or fall of something
travelling (other than walking or horseriding)
prices have risen by 10 percent
by car, by bus
at
for age
she learned Russian at 45
about
for topics, meaning what about
we were talking about you
Prepositions: uses
We commonly use prepositions to
show a relationship in space or time or a logical relationship between
two or more people, places or things. Prepositions are most commonly
followed by a noun phrase or pronoun (underlined):
The last time I saw him he was walking downthe road.
I’ll meet you in the cafe oppositethe cinema.
It was difficult to sleep duringthe flight.
It was the worst storm sincethe 1980s.
Give that tome.
The most common single-word prepositions are:
about
beside
near
to
above
between
of
towards
across
beyond
off
under
after
by
on
underneath
against
despite
onto
unlike
along
down
opposite
until
among
during
out
up
around
except
outside
upon
as
for
over
via
at
from
past
with
before
in
round
within
behind
inside
since
without
below
into
than
beneath
like
through
Groups of words operate like single prepositions:
They were unable to attend because of the bad weather in Ireland.
Jack’ll be playing in the team in place of me.
In addition to getting a large fine, both brothers were put in prison for three months.
I always get nervous when I have to speak in front of an audience.
We estimate that there’ll be up to 10,000 people at the concert.
The most common prepositions that consist of groups of words are:
ahead of
except for
instead of
owing to
apart from
in addition to
near to
such as
as for
in front of
on account of
thanks to
as well as
in place of
on top of
up to
because of
in spite of
out of
due to
inside of
outside of
Prepositions or conjunctions?
Some words which are prepositions also function as conjunctions. When we use a preposition
that is followed by a clause, it is functioning as a conjunction; when
we use a preposition that is followed by a noun phrase, it stays as a
preposition. Among the most common are after, as, before, since, until:
After I’d met him last night, I texted his sister at once. (conjunction)
After the meeting last night, I texted his sister at once. (preposition)
We’ll just have to wait until they decide what to do. (conjunction)
Okay, we’ll wait here until six o’clock. (preposition)
Prepositions or adverbs?
Several words which are prepositions also belong to the word class of adverbs. These include: about, across, around, before, beyond, in, inside, near, opposite, outside, past, round, through, under, up, within:
There were lots of people waiting for a taxi outside the club. (preposition)
A:
Where’s your cat?
B:
She’soutside. (adverb)
The gallery is opposite the Natural History Museum. (preposition)
A:
Can you tell me where the bus station is?
B:
It’s over there, just opposite. (adverb)
Prepositions and abstract meanings
Common prepositions that show relationships of space often have abstract as well as concrete meanings.
Compare
That map you need is behind the filing cabinet. (basic spatial sense or position)
Everyone is behind the government. (behind = gives support)
Beyond the hotel were beautiful mountains. (basic spatial sense or position)
Learning Chinese in a year was beyond them all. (beyond = too difficult for)
Some common prepositions such as at, in and on can have abstract meanings:
I think you will both need to discuss the problem in private.
All three singers were dressed in black.
You now have the next day at leisure and can do whatever you wish.
Our dog stays on guard all night, even when he’s sleeping!
Prepositions and adjectives
We commonly use prepositions after adjectives. Here are the most common adjective + preposition patterns.
adjectives
preposition
aware, full
of
They weren’t aware of the time.
different, separate
from
Is French very different from Spanish?
due, similar
to
This picture is similar to the one in our living room.
familiar, wrong
with
What’s wrong with Isabelle?
good, surprised*
at
We were really surprised at the price of food in restaurants on our holiday.
interested
in
Lots of people are interested in Grand Prix racing but I’m not.
responsible, good
for
Exercise is good for everyone.
worried, excited
about
We’re really excited about our trip to Argentina.
*We can also say surprisedby
Prepositions and nouns
Many nouns have particular prepositions which normally follow them:
There’s been a large increase in the price of petrol.
Does anyone know the cause of the fire?
Prepositions and verbs
Many verbs go together with prepositions to make prepositional verbs. These always have an object:
I just couldn’t do without my phone.
Robert accused her of stealing his idea.
Phrasal-prepositional
verbs contain a verb, an adverb particle and a preposition
(underlined). We cannot separate the particle and the preposition:
The taxi is due any minute. Can you listen outfor it?
I can’t put upwith this noise any longer.
Prepositions: position and stranding
Traditional
grammatical rules say that we should not have a
preposition at the end
of a clause or sentence. However, we sometimes do separate a preposition
from the words which
follow it (its complement). This is called
preposition stranding,
and it is common in informal styles:
She was someone to whom he could talk. (formal)
She was someone who he could talk to. (informal)
Which room are they having breakfast in? (informal)
In which room are they having breakfast? (formal)
If we leave out words that are clear from the context (ellipsis),
we can use wh-questions with a wh-word + stranded preposition:
