Preposition

 Common prepositions and usage

Preposition	How It’s Used	Example
Showing Time
At	exact times   meal times   parts of the day   age	at ​3pm    at ​dinner    at ​sundown   at ​age 21
By	a limit in time   in the sense of ​at the latest	by ​sundown   by ​the due date
In	seasons   months   years   durations   after a certain period of time	in​ the summer    in ​November    in​ 1992   in ​the same year   in ​an hour
On	days of the week   parts of the day where the day is named   dates	on ​Wednesday    on ​Friday night     on ​December 4th
Ago	a certain time in the past	2 years ​ago
After	a point in time that follows another point in time	after​ the game; after ​ ​the surgery
Before	a point in time that precedes another point in time	before ​leaving; ​before breakfast; ​before​ 2004
During	something that happened/will happen in a specific period of time	during​ the night; during​ war
For	over a certain period in the	for​ ​2 years

	past
Past	telling the time	ten past​ ​ six (6:10)
Since	from a certain period of time	since​ ​1980; ​since ​the accident
Throughout	something that happened/will happen continuously in a specific period of time	throughout ​the year; throughout ​the ordeal
To	telling time   from an earlier time to a later time	ten to ​​six (5:50)   1pm ​to ​3pm
Until	up to a certain point in time   how long something is going to last	until ​the end; ​until ​sunrise
Up (to)	from an earlier point to a later point	up (to) ​now
Showing Place
At	an object’s settled position or position after it has moved   meeting place or location   point of direction   a target	at ​the airport; at ​​the ceremony   at​ home; ​at​ the desk   turning at​​ the intersection   throwing the snowball at​ Lucy
By	close to   alongside of	by ​the school    by ​the window
In	in an enclosed space   in a geographic location   in a print medium	in​ the garage; in​​ ​an envelope   in​ San Diego; in​​ Texas   in​ a book; ​in​ a magazine

On	for a certain side   for a river/lake   for a floor in a house   for public transport   for television, radio	on ​the left   London lies on ​​the Thames   on ​the floor   on ​a bus   on ​the air; on ​​TV
About	around or outside of   at but not exactly on   related to	about ​town   about ​five feet tall   about ​my father’s business
Above	suspended higher than something else   superior to	above ​the door    above ​me in rank
After	pursuit   a point further from an earlier point	chasing ​after ​the robbers   the corner after ​ ​the big house
Against	leaning on   opposite to or facing	against ​the door   against ​the wall
Along	tracing the length of, without emphasis on the ends	along ​the hallway; along​ the river
Among	in the company of (three or more)   in a crowd   the end of a long list	among ​friends   among ​the masses   among ​other things
Around	location of something    explaining a period of time	drive around​ ​ the block   around​ 3 o’clock
Before	in the front in terms of space	before​ the emperor; before​ God

Behind	on the back side of a point in space	behind​ the car; ​behind​ her smile
Below	something lower than or underneath something else	below​ the stairs; below​ expectations
From	in the sense of ​where from	a ​flower ​from the garden
Into	enter a room/building	go​ ​into​ ​the kitchen/house
Onto	movement to the top of something	jump onto​ ​ the table
Over	covered by something else    “more than”    “getting to the other side”    overcoming an obstacle	put a jacket ​over​ your shirt   over​ ​16 years of age   walk ​over ​the bridge   climb ​over​ the wall
Through	something with limits on top, bottom and the sides	drive through​ ​ the tunnel
Towards	movement in the direction of something (but not directly to it)	go 5 steps ​towards​ ​the house
Other Important Prepositions
About	for topics, meaning ​what about	we were talking about​ ​ ​you
At	For age​	she learned Russian ​at ​45
By	who made it   rise or fall of something   travelling (other than walking or horseriding)	a book ​by ​Mark Twain   prices have risen ​by​ ​10 percent   by​ ​car, ​by ​bus
From	who gave it	a present ​from​ ​Jane
In	entering a car/taxi	get in ​​the car
Of	who/what did it belong to	a page of​​ the book
	what does it show	the picture ​of ​a place
Off	leaving a public transport vehicle	get off ​​the train
On	walking or riding on horseback   entering a public transport vehicle	on​ ​foot,​ ​on​ horseback   get on​​ ​the bus
Out of	leaving a car/taxi	get out​​ ​of the taxi

 

 

 In sentences:

1. There were over a thousand people at the concert.

2. You must be over 18 in order to see the film.

3. We are travelling on the road. 

4. He is suffering from an unknown illness.

5. I listened to the game on the radio.

6. How are you getting on at school?

7. Don’t be impatient with us. We are trying!

8. Could I speak to Tom please?

9. We didn’t see the whole performance because we left before the last act.

10. There were some beautiful pictures on the walls. 

11. The march started in the park. From there we moved to City Hall.

12. Pessimism is bad for your health

13. He asked his mother for money.

14. I bought many things during my stay in New York.

15. My country is famous for historical sights.

16. I’m not in a hurry. I can wait.

17. Have you ever been to the theatre recently?

18. We arrived at the airport in time for the plane.

19. My grandfather died of cancer.

20. The resort lies about 1,500 meters above sea level.

21. His hands are in front of his face.

22. there’s a chair behind my desk

23. The thief jumped out of the window.

24. Both o my neighbors can take care of the cat while you are gone.

25. I rarely think about the weather.

26. They were always arguing about silly things.

27. At first I found the work very tiring but after a few weeks I got used to it.

28. My house is at the end of the road.

29. The article was in yesterday’s papers.

30. The classroom is on the fourth floor.

31. I applied for a few jobs last week, but nobody wrote back.

32. He wants two seats for the concert on Friday night.

33. You ought to be ashamed of yourself for coming in with dirty boots.

34. There’s no point in going by car if we can’t park near the theatre.

35. he started his training in November

36. Whom did they vote for?

37. The bus stopped at the corner of High Street and congress Avenue.

38. I love listening to classical music.

39. He is from Dallas, Texas but he was born in California.

40. She goes to church every Sunday.

41. It’s 7 a.m. We need to leave for work at once or else we’ll miss the bus.

42. I asked the policeman for some information.

43. The great player hit the ball over the net.

44. Can you find our holiday beach on the map?

45. Please turn down the volume of the radio. I’m getting deaf.