Prepositions are short words like "on", "in", and "to" that are used before nouns and sometimes verbs to indicate location, direction, or time. Even advanced English learners find prepositions difficult because a single preposition can have multiple meanings depending on context. There are few hard rules for using prepositions correctly, so the best ways to learn them is through extensive reading, memorizing useful phrases, and looking words up in a dictionary. The document then provides tables listing common prepositions used with time and place and their typical meanings and examples.
Prepositions are short words like "on", "in", and "to" that are used before nouns and sometimes verbs to indicate location, direction, or time. Even advanced English learners find prepositions difficult because a single preposition can have multiple meanings depending on context. There are few hard rules for using prepositions correctly, so the best ways to learn them is through extensive reading, memorizing useful phrases, and looking words up in a dictionary. The document then provides tables listing common prepositions used with time and place and their typical meanings and examples.
Prepositions are short words like "on", "in", and "to" that are used before nouns and sometimes verbs to indicate location, direction, or time. Even advanced English learners find prepositions difficult because a single preposition can have multiple meanings depending on context. There are few hard rules for using prepositions correctly, so the best ways to learn them is through extensive reading, memorizing useful phrases, and looking words up in a dictionary. The document then provides tables listing common prepositions used with time and place and their typical meanings and examples.
Prepositions are short words like "on", "in", and "to" that are used before nouns and sometimes verbs to indicate location, direction, or time. Even advanced English learners find prepositions difficult because a single preposition can have multiple meanings depending on context. There are few hard rules for using prepositions correctly, so the best ways to learn them is through extensive reading, memorizing useful phrases, and looking words up in a dictionary. The document then provides tables listing common prepositions used with time and place and their typical meanings and examples.
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Prepositions
Prepositions are short words (on, in, to) that usually stand in front of nouns (sometimes also in front of gerund verbs).
Even advanced learners of English find prepositions difficult, as a 1:1 translation is
usually not possible. One preposition in your native language might have several translations depending on the situation.
There are hardly any rules as to when to use which preposition. The only way to learn prepositions is looking them up in a dictionary, reading a lot in English (literature) and learning useful phrases off by heart (study tips).
The following table contains rules for some of the most frequently used prepositions in English:
Prepositions – Time
English Usage Example
on ■ days of the week ■ on Monday
■ date ■ On April 1st
in ■ months / seasons ■ in August / in winter
■ time of day ■ in the morning ■ year ■ in 2006 ■ after a certain period of time ■ in an hour (when?)
at ■ for night ■ at night
■ for weekend ■ at the weekend ■ a certain point of time (when?) ■ at half past nine
since ■ from a certain point of time ■ since 1980
(past till now)
for ■ over a certain period of time ■ for 2 years
(past till now)
ago ■ a certain time in the past ■ 2 years ago
before ■ earlier than a certain point of ■ before 2004
time
to ■ telling the time ■ ten to six (5:50)
past ■ telling the time ■ ten past six (6:10)
to / till / ■ marking the beginning and ■ from Monday to/till Friday
until end of a period of time
till / ■ in the sense of how long ■ He is on holiday until Friday.
until something is going to last
by ■ in the sense of at the latest ■ I will be back by 6 o’clock.
■ up to a certain time ■ By 11 o'clock, I had read five pages.
Prepositions – Place (Position and Direction)
English Usage Example
in ■ room, building, street, town, ■ in the kitchen, in London
country ■ in the book ■ book, paper etc. ■ in the car, in a taxi ■ car, taxi ■ in the picture, in the world ■ picture, world
at ■ meaning next to, by an object ■ at the door, at the station
■ for table ■ at the table ■ for events ■ at a concert, at the party ■ place where you are to do ■ at the cinema, at school, at work something typical (watch a film, study, work)
on ■ attached ■ the picture on the wall
■ for a place with a river ■ London lies on the Thames. ■ being on a surface ■ on the table ■ for a certain side (left, right) ■ on the left ■ for a floor in a house ■ on the first floor ■ for public transport ■ on the bus, on a plane ■ for television, radio ■ on TV, on the radio
by, ■ left or right of somebody or ■ Jane is standing by / next to /
next something beside the car. to, beside
under ■ on the ground, lower than (or ■ the bag is under the table covered by) something else
below ■ lower than something else but ■ the fish are below the surface above ground over ■ covered by something else ■ put a jacket over your shirt ■ meaning more than ■ over 16 years of age ■ getting to the other side (also ■ walk over the bridge across) ■ climb over the wall ■ overcoming an obstacle
above ■ higher than something else, ■ a path above the lake
but not directly over it
across ■ getting to the other side (also ■ walk across the bridge over) ■ swim across the lake ■ getting to the other side
through ■ something with limits on top, ■ drive through the tunnel
bottom and the sides
to ■ movement to person or ■ go to the cinema
building ■ go to London / Ireland ■ movement to a place or ■ go to bed country ■ for bed
into ■ enter a room / a building ■ go into the kitchen / the house
towards ■ movement in the direction of ■ go 5 steps towards the house
something (but not directly to it)
onto ■ movement to the top of ■ jump onto the table
something from ■ in the sense of where from ■ a flower from the garden
Other important Prepositions
English Usage Example
from ■ who gave it ■ a present from Jane
of ■ who/what does it belong to ■ a page of the book
■ what does it show ■ the picture of a palace
by ■ who made it ■ a book by Mark Twain
on ■ walking or riding on ■ on foot, on horseback
horseback ■ get on the bus ■ entering a public transport vehicle
in ■ entering a car / Taxi ■ get in the car
off ■ leaving a public transport ■ get off the train
vehicle
out of ■ leaving a car / Taxi ■ get out of the taxi
by ■ rise or fall of something ■ prices have risen by 10 percent
■ travelling (other than walking or horseriding) ■ by car, by bus
at ■ for age ■ she learned Russian at 45
about ■ for topics, meaning what ■ we were talking about you
