TRICKS OF PREPOSITION

Uses of Prepositions

Prepositions define direction, time, location, and spatial relationships.

Direction: At the end of the hall, turn to the left.
Time: We’ve been working since early this morning.
Location: We saw a movie at the theater.
Space: The dog under the table.
Common Prepositions

about, above, across, after, against, along, among, around, at, before, behind, below, beneath, beside, between, beyond, but, by, despite, down, during, except, for, from, in, inside, into, like, near, of, off, on, onto, out, outside, over, past, since, through, throughout, till, to, toward, under, underneath, until, up, upon, with, within, without

Prepositions – Time

On - days of the week

Ex: on Monday

In - months / seasons, time of day, year, after a certain period of time (when?)

Ex:

in August / in winter
in the morning
in 2006
in an hour
At - for night,  for weekend,  a certain point of time (when?)

Ex:

at night
at the weekend
at half past nine
Since - from a certain point of time (past till now)

Ex: since 1980

For - over a certain period of time (past till now)

Ex: for 2 years

Ago - a certain time in the past

Ex: 2 years ago

Before - earlier than a certain point of time

Ex: before 2004

To - telling the time

Ex: ten to six (5:50)

Past - telling the time

Ex: ten past six (6:10)

to / till / until - marking the beginning and end of a period of time

Ex: from Monday to/till Friday

till / until - in the sense of how long something is going to last

Ex:  He is on holiday until Friday.

By - in the sense of at the latest, up to a certain time

Ex:

I will be back by 6 o’clock.
By 11 o'clock, I had read five pages
Prepositions – Place (Position and Direction)

In - room, building, street, town, country, book, paper etc., car, taxi, picture, world

Ex:

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)

Ex:

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

Ex:

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

Ex: Jane is standing by / next to / beside the car.

Under - on the ground, lower than (or covered by) something else

Ex: the bag is under the table

Below - lower than something else but above ground

Ex: the fish are below the surface

Over - covered by something else, meaning more than, getting to the other side (also across) overcoming an obstacle

Ex:

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

Ex: a path above the lake

Across - getting to the other side (also over), getting to the other side

Ex:

walk across the bridge
swim across the lake
Through - something with limits on top, bottom and the sides

Ex: drive through the tunnel

To - movement to person or building, movement to a place or country, for bed

Ex:

go to the cinema
go to London / Ireland
go to bed
Into - enter a room / a building

Ex: go into the kitchen / the house

Towards - movement in the direction of something (but not directly to it)

Ex: go 5 steps towards the house

Onto - movement to the top of something

Ex: jump onto the table

From - in the sense of where from

Ex: a flower from the garden

Other important Prepositions

From - who gave it

Ex: a present from Jane

Of - who/what does it belong to, what does it show

Ex: 

a page of the book
the picture of a palace
by - who made it

Ex: a book by Mark Twain

On - walking or riding on horseback, entering a public transport vehicle

Ex:

on foot, on horseback
get on the bus
in - entering a car  / Taxi

Ex:  get in the car

Off- leaving a public transport vehicle

Ex:  get off the train

out of - leaving a car  / Taxi

Ex:  get out of the taxi

By - rise or fall of something, travelling (other than walking or horseriding)

Ex:

prices have risen by 10 percent
by car, by bus
at - for age

Ex:  she learned Russian at 45

About - for topics, meaning what about

Ex:  we were talking about you

I hope this module will help you with your English Language preparation. We will come back soon with our next module and after each module there will be an Exercise based on the modules.