Prepositions

Prepositions 

What is a preposition?

A preposition is a word used to link nouns, pronouns, or phrases to other words within a sentence. They act to connect the people, objects, time and locations of a sentence.  Prepositions are usually short words, and they are normally placed directly in front of nouns.

 

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 of 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 disjunctive: 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).

The following lists contain some of the most frequently used prepositions in English.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Prepositions – Time

English	Explanation / Meaning	Examples
on	days (of the week) & dates	on Sunday; on May 1st; on Christmas Eve; on my mark; on the weekend.
in	months / seasons / year part of the day after a period of time	in summer / in July / in 2017 in the evening in an hour; in the future
at	a specific point of time exceptions (question: "When ...?")	at 11:15 p.m.; at half past six at noon; at night; learned English at 42; at the weekend (BrE.); at first glance
since	from a specific point in time until now (past till now)	since 1980; since yesterday
until (till)	up to a certain point in time	until Monday; I’ll wait to call my manager until I hear from the client
for	over a certain period of time	for the first time in forever; for 3 years
ago	from now to a specific point in the past (now till past)	a second ago; a decade ago; a while ago
during	throughout the course or duration of s.th.	during summer; during the vacation; during the discussion
before	previous to in time; earlier than	before winter; before dawn; I have to talk to the client before I call my manager
after	Subsequent in time; at a later time than	after midnight; after tomorrow
to / past	telling the time	ten to two (1:50) / ten past two (2:10)
from / to	a starting point / an end point	from the beginning; from now to eternity
by	not later than	by 12 o'clock; by next week

 

 

 

 

Prepositions – Place

English	Explanation / Meaning	Examples
in	position or state inside sth.	in London; in the book, in the mirror; in love
at	in the area of ...; specific position an event (or a place related to it)	at home; at the table; at my side at the party; at the cinema; at school
on	position above in contact with a certain side (left, right) the state or process of   means of conveyance	on the desk; on my shoulder on the wall; on the water on the left side; on the bright side on leave; on fire; on the way on the phone; on TV; on the menu on trains; on the bus; on a plane
off	from a place or position	off the table; off the wall; went off to Canada; got off the bus; turned off the TV
by, beside	at the side of; close to, next to	by the door; beside the car; stand by me
under	in a lower position; beneath the surface	under the table; under water
over	in or at a position above   more than	put sth. over a shirt; walk over sth.; over my dead body over 100 years; over ten miles
below	in or to a lower place; beneath	below the surface; below 20°; below the clouds
above	higher than sth. else; overhead	above the door; the clouds above; the problems cited above
up	from a lower towards a higher point	up the hill; up there is a …
down	a descending direction	rolled down the hill; walking down the 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	from one end or side to another	through the tunnel; a tour through France
to	in a direction toward a person or thing   toward a (given) state	go to bed; move on to; face to face; to the entrance back to health; all the way to; to die for
into	movement to the inside or interior of  the condition, state, or form of	went into the kitchen; crashed into a tree breaking into pieces; go into banking
out of	movement from the inside to the outside no longer in the condition, state, or form of	drag myself out of bed; out of nowhere   out of town; out of order; out of fashion
onto	movement to the top	jumped onto the table
towards	movement in the direction of; or closer to	towards the house; toward the future; toward peace
from	a starting point; movement away from a source, a cause; a distinction	walked home from the station; travelled from NY to LA a note from the teacher; know right from wrong

 

Other important Prepositions

English	Explanation / Meaning	Examples
of	originating from, composed of, associated with, belonging to	men of the north; a cup of coffee; the hand of God; that friend of yours
by	in the name of; through the agency or action of	a book by Mark Twain; by myself; played by the rules; killed by a bullet; one by one they left; by car, by bus
about	estimation of quantity   on the subject of ready to do sth.	about ten people; about five minutes; about two miles a book about English the chorus is about to sing
for	indicates the object, aim or purpose	happy for you; for sale; eager for fame; for one thing, …; for heaven's sake
with	in the presence or use of	with a friend; with cheese; with confidence; with a lot of …; will be with you shortly; from Russia with love

 

List of Prepositions

Prepositions — IN & ON & AT

Short overview of the 3 prepositions in & on & at and their use from more general to more specific describtions of Time & Place.