Prepositions

Prepositions

 

Prepositions of time

preposition	use	examples
in	in months	in July; in September
	year	in 1985; in 1999
	seasons	in summer; in the summer of 69
	part of the day	in the morning; in the afternoon; in the evening
	duration	in a minute; in two weeks
at	part of the day	at night
	time of day	at 6 o'clock; at midnight
	celebrations	at Christmas; at Easter
	fixed phrases	at the same time
on	days of the week	on Sunday; on Friday
	date	on the 25th of December*
	special holidays	on Good Friday; on Easter Sunday; on my birthday
	a special part of a day	on the morning of September the 11th*
after	later than sth	after school
ago	how far sth happened (in the past)	6 years ago
before	earlier than sth	before Christmas
between	time that separates two points	between Monday and Friday
by	not later than a special time	by Thursday
during	through the whole of a period of time	during the holidays
for	period of time	for three weeks
from ... to from... till/until	two points form a period	from Monday to Wednesday from Monday till Wednesday from Monday until Wednesday
past	time of the day	23 minutes past 6 (6:23)
since	point of time	since Monday
till/until	no later than a special time	till tomorrow until tomorrow
to	time of the day	23 minutes to 6 (5:37)
up to	not more than a special time	up to 6 hours a day
within	during a period of time	within a day

 

Prepositions at, in, on

preposition	examples
in	We sit in the room.
	I see a house in the picture.
	There are trouts in the river.
	He lives in Paris.
	I found the picture in the paper.
	He sits in the corner of the room.
	He sits in the back of the car.
	We arrive in Madrid.
	He gets in the car.
	She likes walking in the rain.
	My cousin lives in the country.
	There are kites in the sky.
	He plays in the street. (BE)
	She lives in a hotel.
	The boys stand in a line.
	He is in town.
	I have to stay in bed.
	The robber is in prison now.
at	She sits at the desk.
	Open your books at page 10.
	The bus stops at Graz.
	I stay at my grandmother's.
	I stand at the door.
	Look at the top of the page.
	The car stands at the end of the street.
	You mustn't park your car at the front of the school.
	Can we meet at the corner of the street?
	I met John at a party.
	Pat wasn't at home yesterday.
	I study economics at university.
	The children are at grandmother's.
	He's looking at the park.
	He always arrives late at school.
on	The map lies on the desk.
	The picture is on page 10.
	The photo hangs on the wall.
	He lives on a farm.
	Dresden lies on the river Elbe.
	Men's clothes in on the second floor.
	He lives on Heligoland.
	The shop is on the left.
	My friend is on the way to Moscow.
	Write this information on the front of the letter.

 

Prepositions of place and direction

preposition	use	examples
above	higher than sth	The picture hangs above my bed.
across	from one side to the other side	You mustn't go across this road here. There isn't a bridge across the river.
after	one follows the other	The cat ran after the dog. After you.
against	directed towards sth	The bird flew against the window.
along	in a line; from one point to another	They're walking along the beach.
among	in a group	I like being among people.
around	in a circular way	We're sitting around the campfire.
behind	at the back of	Our house is behind the supermarket.
below	lower than sth	Death Valley is 86 metres below sea level.
beside	next to	Our house is beside the supermarket.
between	Sth /sb  is on each side	Our house is between the supermarket and the school.
by	near	He lives in the house by the river.
close to	near	Our house is close to the supermarket.
down	from high to low	He came down the hill.
from	the place where it starts	Do you come from Tokyo?
in front of	the part that is in the direction it faces	Our house is in front of the supermarket.
inside	opposite of outside	You shouldn't stay inside the castle.
into	entering sth	You shouldn't go into the castle.
near	close to	Our house is near the supermarket.
next to	beside	Our house is next to the supermarket.
off	away from sth	The cat jumped off the roof.
onto	moving to a place	The cat jumped onto the roof.
opposite	on the other side	Our house is opposite the supermarket.
out of	leaving sth	The cat jumped out of the window.
outside	opposite of inside	Can you wait outside?
over	above sth / sb	The cat jumped over the wall.
past	going near sth / sb	Go past the post office.
round	in a circle	We're sitting round the campfire.
through	going from one point to the other point	You shouldn't walk through the forest.
to	towards sth / sb	I like going to Australia. Can you come to me? I've never been to Africa.
towards	in the direction of sth	They walk towards the castle.
under	below sth	The cat is under the table.
up	from low to high	He went up the hill.