Learn Prepositions Easily With Common Examples: Definition, Rules, Types, and Usage

A preposition is a word which is used before a noun or a pronoun to show its connection to other words in the sentence. Prepositions are usually short words, and they are normally placed directly in front of nouns. In some cases, you will find prepositions in front of gerund verbs.

For example: The man rests on the armchair. The word “on” is used before “the armchair.” We understand that the man is in the armchair. He is not under it, above it, or beside it, for example.

The name “preposition” (pre + position) means “put before”. So, prepositions usually come before the noun. Here are some more examples:

1. She stands by the tree.
2. The cat is leaning against the garbage can.
3. The cat is under the table.
4. The car went through the forest.
5. They jumped into the pool.
6. She is reading to her babies.
7. He is climbing up that mountain.

A preposition can come before a pronoun as well. For example:

1. This is for you!
2. She is standing beside him.

 

Types of prepositions

Three basic types of prepositions are:

1. Preposition of place
2. Preposition of time
3. Preposition of movement

 

Preposition of place

Prepositions of place help us understand where something is. In general, we use: “at” for a POINT, “in” for an ENCLOSED SPACE, “on” for a SURFACE. Example sentence:

• Nusrat is waiting for you at the bus stop.
• The shop is at the end of the street.
• Do you work in an office?
• I have a meeting in New York.
• The author’s name is on the cover of the book.
• There are no prices on this menu.
• You are standing on my foot.

Notice the use of at, in and on in these standard expressions:

At	In	On
at home	in a car	on a bus
at work	in a taxi	on a train
at school	in a helicopter	on a plane
at university	in a boat	on a ship
at college	in a lift (elevator)	on a bicycle, on a motorbike
at the top	in the newspaper	on a horse, on an elephant
at the bottom	in the sky	on the radio, on television

The use of some other prepositions of place

Preposition	Use	Sentence
Above	higher than something	The picture hangs above my bed.
Against	directed towards something	The man is standing against the wall.
Among	in a group	I like being among people.
At	position at a point	I arrived at the meeting.
Behind	at the back of	Our house is behind the supermarket.
Below	lower than something	Death Valley is 86 metres below sea level.
Beside	next to	Our house is beside the supermarket.
Between	something /somebody 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.
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 should not stay inside the castle.
In	place seen in three dimensions	We slept in the car.
	larger areas	I was born in England.
Near	close to	Our house is near the supermarket.
Next to	Beside	Our house is next to the supermarket.
On	touches a surface	There is a fly on the table.
	by a lake or sea	London lies on the Thames.
Opposite	on the other side	Our house is opposite the supermarket.
Outside	opposite of inside	Can you wait outside?
Under	below something	The cat is under the table.

 

Preposition of Time

A preposition of time is a preposition that permits you to discuss a specific time period, such as a date on the calendar, one of the days of the week, or the actual time a certain thing takes place.
In general, we use:

• “At” to discuss clock times, holidays and festivals, and other very specific time frames, including exceptions, such as “at night.”
• “In” to discuss months, seasons, years, centuries, general times of day, and longer periods of time such as “in the past.”
• “On” to discuss certain days of the week or portions of days of the week, specific dates, and special days such as “on New Year’s Day.”

Detailed use of “At”

1. We use the preposition at when we want to refer to a specific time, meaning a specific hour. Examples:
   1. Henry’s test ends at 3 o’clock! He is afraid he will not finish!
   2. Henry’s test ends at 3 o’clock!
   3. Your plane leaves at 4:55 pm. We should go to the airport now.
   4. I ate my breakfast very early this morning. Could we have lunch at 12:30?
   5. She had a doctor’s appointment yesterday at 7 o’clock.
2. We can also use the preposition at when we are referring to a meal time. Examples:
   1. At lunch, I like to have a big glass of water.
   2. We always listen to the radio at breakfast time so that we can hear the morning news.
   3. Her family never turns on the TV at dinner.
3. Finally, we can use at for some fixed expressions. Look at the sentences below. Examples:
   1. At that time, Maggie didn’t know that he was a secret agent!
   2. She was about to make a cup of tea, but right at that moment, the phone rang.
   3. She was about to make a cup of tea, but right at that moment, the phone rang.

Detailed use of “In”

1. We use the preposition in when we are referring to a year, month, or season. Examples:
   1. We love to go to the beach in the summer to build sandcastles and swim in the sea.
   2. We love to go to the beach in the summer to build sandcastles and swim in the sea.
   3. We moved into this house in 2003. We love this place!
   4. Classes will begin in September. Be sure to sign up for all your courses before then.
   5. In the winter of 1937, my grandfather was born.
2. We also use the preposition in when we want to talk about a part of the day. Examples:
   1. Greg is never hungry in the morning. His first meal is lunch!
   2. My uncle likes to take a nap in the afternoon.
   3. Do your parents watch the news on television in the evening?

*However, there is an exception! When we want to talk about the night and noon, we use the preposition at. 
Example: Roosters never crow at night. They only start crowing in the morning. Roosters never crow at night.

Detailed use of “On”

1. We use the preposition on when we are talking about a specific day or date. Example:
   1. On Christmas Day, some families give each other gifts under the Christmas tree. Other families have their celebrations on different special days.
   2. On Christmas Day, some families give each other gifts under the Christmas tree.
   3. We have a very important meeting on Wednesday. Please don’t be late!
   4. She will be arriving on the 5th of August. Will the apartment be ready by then?
   5. I am starting my new job on Monday, July 12th. I am a bit nervous!
2. We also use the preposition on when we are talking about a day + (morning, night, etc.). Examples:
   1. There was a big parade on Saturday afternoon. Didn’t you hear the music?
   2. She has a lot of trouble getting out of bed on Monday mornings!
   3. I like to go to the park on the weekends.

*But, remember! We use “on the weekend” in the U.S., but we use “at the weekend” in Britain. Both are correct.

Other important prepositions of time are:
FOR We use for + a period of time expressing duration for seven years – for three hours – for a week
Example: I have lived in this house for eight years. They have been watching TV for four hours.

UNTIL/Till We use until/till to say how long a situation continues
Example: Let’s wait until it stops snowing. I stayed in bed till half past nine.

DURING We use during + noun to say when something happens during the lunch time – during our holiday – during the night
Example: We met a lot of interesting people during our vacation. I fell asleep during the movie.

SINCE We use since + a starting point, a specific time since April – since 1987 – since 7 o’ clock
Example: It has been raining since ten o’ clock. They have known each other since they were at school.

FROM – TO We use from – to + beginning and end of a period
Example: Last evening we watched TV from 4 to 7 o’ clock.

BY We use by to indicate a deadline = at the latest
Example: We need to finish the project by the end of July. You should meet him by 10 o’clock. Submit your assignment by tomorrow.

Before we use before to indicate earlier or sooner than
Example: You should come to the office before 9.00 am. After we use after to indicate a later time
Example: You should come to the office after 9.00 am.

Typical time expressions where no prepositions are needed

• next week, year, month etc.
• last night, year etc.
• this morning, month etc.
• every day, night, years etc.
• today, tomorrow, yesterday

 

Preposition of Movement

Prepositions of movement or direction are used to show movement from one place to another. These prepositions are most often used with verbs of motion and are found after the verb.

TO
Meaning: a function word used to indicate movement or action or a condition suggesting movement in the direction of a place, person, or thing Use: We use “to” to show movement in a specific direction.
Examples: . I go to school by bus. . You walk to work every day. . They came to the wedding. . Sofia flew to Canada.

ACROSS
Meaning: from one side to the other Use: “Across” is used to show movement from one side to the opposite side.
Examples: . The boat will take you across the river. . You must walk across the street at the crosswalk.

ALONG
Meaning: in a line; a point in the length of; from one point to another
Examples: . He’s walking along the path. . The street runs along the seafront.

AROUND
Meaning: in a circle; in or along with a curving path
Examples: . You must drive around the city center to reach the cinema. . Let’s go for a walk around the park.

DOWN
Meaning: high to low; to or toward the south   Use: “Down” is used to indicate movement from a higher to a lower position.
Examples:   . I prefer to ride my bike down the hill.   . We are going down to Florida this summer.

INTO
Meaning: to or toward inside of; in the direction of; to enter
Examples: . Don’t go into your sister’s room! . We went into the shop on the corner.

OFF
Meaning: away from
Examples: . Get your feet off the sofa! . We get off the train at the next stop.

ONTO
Meaning: to move to a higher position
Examples: . We can get onto the bus here. . The dog got onto the sofa.

OVER
Meaning: in an upward and forward direction across something; from one place to another; from or to a place that is higher than
Examples: . The cat jumped over the dog. . You must cross over the bridge.

PAST
Meaning: at the far side of something; beyond; up to or going near
Examples: . Walk past the theatre on the right and the bank is on the left. . Go past Satmosjid road and turn left at the next street.

THROUGH
Meaning: from one point to the other; from one end to the other Use: “Through” is used to show movement within an enclosed space.
Examples: . You must turn on your lights when passing through the tunnel. . She walks through the park on her way to work.

TOWARD[S]
Meaning: in the direction of
Examples: . Who is that woman running towards us? . Walk towards the sea and turn left at the first street.

UP
Meaning: low to high; toward the ceiling, sky or the north Use: “Up” is used to indicate movement from a lower to a higher position.
Examples: . I don’t like riding my bike up these hills. . We climbed up the mountain this morning.

 

Common Mistakes

Incorrect: We discussed about the matter.
Correct: We discussed the matter.
Explanation Verbs such as enter, resemble, lack, discuss, marry, reach, order and approach are normally followed by direct objects without prepositions.

Incorrect: We ordered about some food.
Correct: We ordered some food.

Incorrect: He resembles to his father.
Correct: He resembles his father.

How can we remember which prepositions to use in front of transportation? There are two easy tricks to remember:

1. Use “in” for small transportation and “on” for big transportation
2. Use “in” for private transportation and “on” for public transportation (here you can move around as well!)