Preposition

Preposition: Uses

We commonly use prepositions to show a relationship in space or time or a logical

relationship between two or more people, places or things.

Prepositions are most com monly followed by a noun phrase or pronoun (underlined):

The last time I saw him he was walking down the road.
I’ll meet you in the cafe opposite the cinema.
It was difficult to sleep during the flight.
It was the worst storm since the 1980s.
Give that to me.

On

On (refers to a surface of something) - I kept the dishes on the dining table.

On (specific days and dates) - I will come on Monday. Radha was born on 15th August.
On (refers to TV or other devices) - She is on the phone. My favorite movie will be on
TV now.
On (refers to the parts of the body) — I keep wearing my wedding ring on my finger.
On (to refer a state) - The products available in the store are on sale.

At

At (to indicate a place) - There are a good number of people at the park.
 At (to refer an email address) - Please mail in detail @ (at) [email protected]
At (to refer a time) - Meet me at 5 p.m. tomorrow.
At (indicate one’s activity) - John laughed at my acting in the play.

In

In (to indicate a location or place) - I live in Mumbai.

In (used while doing something) - The tagline should be catchy in marketing a prod-
uct.
In (to indicate opinion, belief, feeling, etc.) - I believe in hardworking.
In (specify day, month, season, year) - I prefer to do Math in the morning. The new
academic session will commence in March.
In (to indicate color, shape and size) - This dress comes in four sizes.

To

To (to indicate the destination) - The friends went to the restaurant. I am heading to
my college.
To (to indicate relationship) - Do not respond to the annoying persons. Your answer is
important to me.
To (to indicate a limit) - The old newspapers were piled up to the roof.
 To (to refer a period) - I am here from 10 to 5.

Of

Of (to indicate relating to, belonging to) - I always dreamed of being famous.
Of (to indicate reference) - This is a picture of my last birthday.
Of (to specify the number or an amount) - A good number of people understand
Hindi.

For

For (to indicate the reason or because of) - I am really happy for you.
For (to indicate the duration or time) - I attended the session for one year only.
For (specify the use of something) - She is preparing for her final exam.

Prepositions or conjunctions?
Some words which are prepositions also function as conjunctions.
When we use a preposition that is followed by a clause, it functions as a conjunction;
when we use a preposition that is followed by a noun phrase, it stays as a
preposition.
Among the most common are after, as, before, since, until:
After I’d met him last night, I texted his sister at once. (conjunction)
After the meeting last night, I texted his sister at once. (preposition)
We’ll just have to wait until they decide what to do. (conjunction)
Okay, we’ll wait here until six o’clock. (preposition)
Preposition Meaning Example

above higher than, or over The sun is above the clouds.

It's dangerous to run across the

across from one side to the other
road.

following something The boy ran after the ball.

After
later than I'll phone you after lunch.

in opposition to Stealing is against the law.

against
in contact with The sofa is against the wall.

along from one end to the other They are walking along the street.

among surrounded by Peter was among the spectators.

in a circle He walked around the table.

around
near, approximately It costs around 50 euros.

earlier than The day before yesterday.

before
in front of He bowed before the king.

behind at the back of Passengers sit behind the driver.

below lower than His shorts are below his knees.

beneath under The pen was beneath the books.

beside next to The bank is beside the cinema.

in the space separating two Mary sat between Tom and Jane.
between things

The restaurant is by the river.

near, at the side of
by The boss wants the report by
not later than
Friday.

close to near The school is close to the church.

down from higher to lower She pulled down the blind.

for what is intended I bought this book for you.

where something starts or

from The wind is blowing from the north.
originates

in at a point within an area The pen is in the drawer.

in front of directly before The child ran out in front of the bus.

inside on the inner part of The bird is inside the cage.

into enter a closed space He went into the shop.

near close to The school is near the church.

next to beside The bank is next to the cinema.

off down or away from He fell off the horse.

in a position touching a
on The plate is on the table.
surface
move to a position on a The cat jumped onto the roof of the
 onto surface car.

opposite facing, on the other side Eva sat opposite Tom at the table.

move from a closed space He got out of the taxi.

out of
without She's out of work.

opposite of inside
outside The garden is outside the house.
on the outer side

above/across The plane flew over the Atlantic.

over
on the surface of She put a sheet over the furniture.

past beyond She drove past the supermarket.

round in a circular movement The earth moves round the sun.

through from one side to the other The Seine flows through Paris.

The virus spread throughout the

throughout in every part of
country.

to denotes destination On the way to the station.

towards in the direction of The child ran towards her father.

under beneath, below Water flows under the bridge.

underneath beneath There was dust underneath the rug.

towards or in a higher She walked up the stairs.

 up position

within inside They live within the old city.

without not have or lack something I don't like coffee without milk

Prepositions or adverbs?
Several words which are prepositions also belong to the word class of adverbs.
These include: about, across, around, before, beyond, in, inside, near, opposite,
outside, past, round, through, under, up, within.

Example:

1. There were lots of people waiting for a taxi outside the club. (preposition)

2. A: Where’s your cat?

B: She’s outside. (adverb)

3. The gallery is opposite to the Natural History Museum. (preposition)

4. A: Can you tell me where the bus station is?

B: It’s over there, just opposite. (adverb)

Prepositions and abstract meanings

Common prepositions that show relationships of space often have abstract as well
as concrete meanings.

Compare
 That map you need is behind the filing Everyone is behind the government.
cabinet. (basic spatial sense or position) (behind = gives support)

Beyond the hotel were beautiful Learning Chinese in a year was beyond
mountains. (basic spatial sense or position) them all. (beyond = too difficult for)

Some common prepositions such as at, in and on can have abstract meanings:

I think you will both need to discuss the problem in private.

All three singers were dressed in black.
You now have the next day at leisure and can do whatever you wish.
Our dog stays on guard all night, even when he’s sleeping!

Prepositions and Adjectives

We commonly use prepositions after adjectives.
Here are the most common adjective + preposition patterns.
 Adjectives Preposition Example

aware, full of They weren’t aware of the time.

different,
from Is French very different from Spanish?
separate

due, similar to This picture is similar to the one in our living room.

familiar, wrong with What’s wrong with Isabelle?

good, We were really surprised at the price of food in

at
surprised* restaurants on our holiday.

Lots of people are interested in Grand Prix racing but I’m

interested in
not.

responsible,
for Exercise is good for everyone.
good

worried,
about We’re really excited about our trip to Argentina.
excited

*We can also say surprised by

Prepositions and Nouns

Many nouns have particular prepositions which normally follow them. For example,
 There’s been a large increase in the price of petrol.
Does anyone know the cause of the fire?

Many verbs go together with prepositions to make prepositional verbs. These always
have an object:

I just couldn’t do without my phone.

Robert accused her of stealing his idea.

Phrasal-prepositional verbs contain a verb, an adverb particle and a preposition

(underlined). We cannot separate the particle and the preposition:

The taxi is due any minute. Can you listen out for it?
I can’t put up with this noise any longer.

Omission of Preposition
In some conditions, we omit the preposition, because there is no need of preposition.
There is no use of proposition before the object of transitive verb. For example,

I shall meet him yesterday. (No meet with him)

They caught him there. (No caught to him)
She read a book. (No read of a book)
We have done our task. (No we have done of our ...)

Before the expression of time or place we don’t use prepositions like (for, from, in, on).
For example,

My father came here last week (No in last week)

I am going abroad. (No going to abroad)
Please wait a minute. (No wait for a minute)
She is standing outside. (No on outside)

Don’t use prepositions if there are any qualifying words like this, that, next, every, last, all,
before the time expression words like - day, night, morning, evening year, month …like

She went this morning.

They met him last evening.
He is not coming again next Sunday.
But we can use prepositions with time expression words if they come without qualifying
words. For example,

She went in the morning.

They met him in the evening.
He is coming again next Sunday.
He is not coming again on Sunday.
She doesn’t come in the night.

Don’t use prepositions before words like yesterday, today, tomorrow. For example,

He will come tomorrow.

He is not coming today.
They came yesterday.
I met him last Sunday. (NOT I met him on last Sunday.)
I met him on Sunday.
We may discuss it next time. (NOT We may discuss it at next time.)
See you next week. (NOT See you in the next week.)
I am free this evening. (NOT I am free in this evening.)
You can come any time. (NOT You can come at any time.)
I worked all day. (NOT I worked on all day.)
Let’s meet one day. (NOT Let’s meet on one day.)
These prepositions are not used before yesterday, the day before yesterday,
tomorrow or the day after tomorrow.
She is coming tomorrow. (NOT She is coming on tomorrow.)
I met him yesterday. (NOT I met him on yesterday.)

No preposition before home

I am going home.
I go home every weekend.

Practice Questions

Fill in the correct prepositions.

1. Peter is playing tennis _______Sunday.

 2. My brother's birthday is _______the 5th of November.
3. My birthday is _______May.
4. We are going to see my parents _______the weekend.
5. _______1666, a great fire broke out in London.
6. I don't like walking alone in the streets _______night.
7. What are you doing _______the afternoon?
8. My friend has been living in Canada _______two years.

Answers:

1. Peter is playing tennis on Sunday.

2. My brother's birthday is on the 5th of November.
3. My birthday is in May.
4. We are going to see my parents at the weekend.
5. In 1666, a great fire broke out in London.
6. I don't like walking alone in the streets at night.
7. What are you doing in the afternoon?
8. My friend has been living in Canada for two years.

Common Mistakes with Prepositions

Common Mistakes with Prepositions

1. Arrive at or Arrive in

You always arrive at a specific place: school, a restaurant, the airport, your aunt’s
house.
You arrive in a city or a country.

Example:

When we arrived at Claudio’s house…

The train arrived at Shibuya station thirty seconds late.
On Friday, the president arrived in Poland.
The K-pop band arrived in Phnom Penh last week.

2. At night
 You can work hard in the morning, relax in the afternoon, eat dinner in the evening,
but you go out at night.

Example:

We often go out at night.

Mumbai looks beautiful at night.

3. Look for or Wait for

If you want to find something or someone, you look for (or search for) them.
If you stay in one place until something or someone is ready, you wait for them.

Example:

I was looking for my glasses.

Lucas is looking for a new job.
Giulia was waiting for me at the bus stop.
Tevy is waiting for her sister to finish class.

4. For (period of time)

You use for with periods of time, such as:

for a few minutes
for three months
for twenty years

Since (specific points in time)

You use since with specific points in time, such as:

this morning
September
the day we met

Example:

I’ve been working here for five years.

She hasn’t drunk coffee for years.
Mike’s been living in Yokohama since February.
 I haven’t seen her since yesterday morning.

5. live/work/study in (cities and countries)

You live, work, or study in a city or a country.

You live at a specific address, work at or for a specific organization, or study at a
specific university.)

Example:

I live in Tokyo.
Roberta works in Sassari.
Hector studies in Canada.
Ana lives at 34 Brown Street.
Rahul works for Toyota.
Dara studies at Phnom Penh International University.

6. It depends on

Remember, you always say it depends on or depending on something or someone –

or you can just say it depends.

Example:

It depends on what you want: Italian food or Chinese food.

We’ll go to either Disney World or the beach, depending on the weather.
What do you usually have for breakfast – tea or coffee? – It depends!

7. Welcome to

You always say welcome to any place: a house, school, organization, city, or country.

Example:

Welcome to Peru!
Welcome to Cagliari.
Welcome to Meiji University.
Welcome to the Plaza Hotel. We hope you enjoy your stay.

8. Married to
 You are always married to – or you get married to – someone. However, you just
marry someone.

Example:

He’s married to Kim.

Alessandro’s getting married to Sara next summer.
Haruka is marrying my old school friend.