A Simple Guide To English Prepositions

What is a proposition?
A preposition is a word or phrase that shows a location in time (at, in, on) or space (near, on top of), or which indicates movement (to, from) or some other relationship with other parts of a sentence (about, with, for, instead of).

A preposition doesn’t stand alone but must go with a related noun, pronoun or gerund, which is called the object of the preposition.  Prepositions allow essential information to be added to a sentence, look at how this works:

Example:

Raul laughed. – Raul laughed at all her jokes.

Sarah danced. – Sarah danced with Raul. – Sarah danced with Raul at the party.

How are prepositions used?
A preposition is used before a noun, pronoun, or noun phrase to show direction, time, place, location, spatial relationships, or to introduce an object. 

Prepositions are always used to indicate the relationship of a noun or phrase to something else. 
When using a preposition, you must always have the subject and verb before it, and follow it with a noun. 
You should never follow it with a verb.

Examples:

Prepositions of position
You can use prepositions to show where an object is positioned, in relation to something else, such as whether it is placed on the surface of something, inside something, or in another position.

On: “She placed the lid on the cooker.”
Above: “The plane flew over the houses.”
In front of: “The books should go in front of the other items.”

Prepositions of time

At: this can be used to indicate a specific time, for example:
“We are arriving at 22.50.”

In: this is used to express events taking place during lengthy periods of time, such as a month or year, for example:

“They first moved to the country in 1978.”
“We are going on holiday in March.”

On: Like “in” this is used for specific points in time – in this case, you use this preposition to indicate particular dates or days.

For example:

“He’s moving in on Saturday.”
“I will need it back on the 17th.”

How to study prepositions?

1. Study confluence.
Sometimes two prepositions seem equally ‘correct’ in a sentence:

Mary is at/in a meeting.
This situation is called ‘confluence’ and means that two different things are true at the same time.  So, Mary is AT an event called ‘a meeting’, but she is also IN a situation called ‘a meeting’.  This doesn’t mean that AT and IN have the same meaning, just that both things are true at the same time!  We can make this clearer by talking about other events and situations:

Mary was at the Rio Carnival recently.
Mary is in really good shape after her holiday.
Mary is in a great mood today.
Mary was at the movies last night.

2. Study separation.
Sometimes a verb and a preposition can be separated by other words:

These shops provide many of us with a handy place to pop into 24 hours a day. (3 words)
He compared MRI scans of the brains of 28 of the world’s top 50 memory champions with the brains of “normal” people. (14 words)

3. Study synonyms and word forms.
Words with the same, or similar meanings usually collocate with the same prepositions:

Rely on / depend on
Search for / look for
Also, if we choose a verb rather than a noun or adjective to express our meaning we can still use the same preposition:

Donate it to charity / Make a donation to charity
I am interested in linguistics / I have a keen interest in linguistics

Word order and prepositions.
A common myth in English is that we never finish a sentence with a preposition.  This is one of the ‘classic myths’ of English, in fact it is quite common - especially in questions.

People talking when I’m studying is something I can’t really put up with.
Who were you just talking to?
Where did you get that lovely coat from?
I don’t know what I would use it for.
He’s the kind of politician I could never vote for!

List of Common English Prepositions:

Prepositions of time.
Preposition -    Usage -    Example
on    Particular days    I will see you on Friday / I was born on the 21st
in    When an event happens within a period of time    We went to Paris in 2015, in August, in my childhood
at    A certain moment in time – these can be long or short    At night / At the weekend / At half past nine
since    From a certain point in the past until now    I’ve lived here since 1998
for    Shows the duration of an activity    I’ve worked here for 6 years / we will go there for the whole summer
ago    When an event happened at a certain point in the past    He left 2 minutes ago, 5 years ago
before    Earlier than another event or point in time    I always go swimming before I start work / Have I met you before? We need to finish before Friday
to & past    Telling the time    ten to nine (9:50) / ten past six (6:10)
from – to (till / until)    Marking the beginning (from) and end (to – or till, until) of a period of time    I work from nine to five / He’s on holiday until next Friday
by    Refers to deadlines, the action should happen before this time    I want you home by 6 o’clock / By the time I got home I was really tired

Prepositions of Place & Movement.
Preposition    - Usage -     Example
in    Referring to a location within an area    He’s in the kitchen / I work in London / She’s in the library
in    Within an enclosed space    in the box / in the car
into & out of    Movements in and out of areas or enclosed spaces    She got out of the taxi / He jumped into the water / He put it into his pocket / She took it out of the box
at    Describes a specific location – or attendance of an event (but see below for much more detail)    I live at number 12 / He’s at the door / I’ll meet you at the station / I’m at my desk all day / Are you at work now? / Was he at the party?
on    Located on a surface / occasionally used as alternative to ‘by’ – see below for more uses    I have a picture of you on my wall / He’s got mud on his clothes / There’s a rug on the floor / He lives on the coast
on    Standing or sitting on a raised platform – often for transport    on horseback / on my motorbike / get on the bus / stand on a chair / I love being on stage
near     When 2 things are close together    I live near London / I don’t want your dog near me!
next to, beside     When something is very close    Jane is standing beside Mark in that picture / My house is next to the canal
by    Can mean ‘near’ or ‘next to’    I live by the sea (near) / Who is that standing by John? (next to)
under    When something is covered / when something is less than something else    The cat is under the table / I wore a jumper under my coat / He is under 16 / She finished in under 40 minutes
below    When something is not directly under something else / with measurements    The sun went down below the horizon / We made camp below the summit / The city is mostly below sea level / It’s below freezing for most of the winter
under / below    Lower than    The plates are in the drawer (below/under) the sink
over    Move above another object    We flew over the desert / She climbed over the wall
over    Covered by something / more than something    Put a jacket over your shirt! / Is he over 16 years of age?
above    Higher than something else – we can also use ‘over’    It’s always sunny above the clouds. / Put your hands above your heads / There is a mirror above the sink
across    Getting from one side to another    We walked across the bridge. / She swam across the lake.
through    Movement across an enclosed or defined area    We drove through the tunnel. / They walked through the park.
from & to    These describe the beginning (from) and end (to) of any movement / from therefore refers to the ‘origin’ of a thing or person    Pass the wine to John please / He has gone to a meeting / I’ve just come home from work
from     The origin of a person or thing    Where do you come from? / I’ve just got an email from them / This wine is from France
towards    Movement in the direction of something    The train was coming towards me!
onto    Movement to the top of something    The cat jumped onto the table

Some other important prepositions.
Preposition -     Usage     - Example
of    A part or quantity / belonging to    some of those tomatoes / one of my friends / some of that wine / the director of the movie / the CEO of the company
by    Who made it / how it was done    It’s a book by Mark Twain / You make it by mixing all the ingredients
off    Leaving a raised platform – including vehicles    They came off stage at about 10 / Can you take all your stuff off my desk? / It’s hard to get off a camel / We need to get all the passengers off the train
by    Used to measure changes    Prices have risen by 10% / The temperature has fallen by 10 degrees / I came by bus today
at    For age    He learned Russian at 45
about    The content or topic of any spoken or written communication    We were talking about you. / What is that film about? / It’s a book about Roman history