PREPOSITIONS

Mrs. Amy Martins

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English Lessons
 DEFINITION

A word governing, and usually preceding, a noun or pronoun and

expressing a relation to another word or element in the clause, as in
“the man on the platform”.
 TYPES OF PREPOSITIONS

Category Preposition
at, in, on, for, during, since, by, until, before,
Time
after, to, past, from/to, within
at, in, on, by/near/close to, next to/beside,
between, among, behind, in front of, to the
Place
right of, to the left of, above/over,
below/under, opposite
to, from, over, under, along, around, across,
Direction or Movement through, into, out of, toward(s), away from,
onto, off, up, down
Agency by, with
Instrument or Device by, with, on
Reason or Purpose for, through, because of, on account of, from
Connection of, to, with
Origin from, of
 PREPOSITIONS OF TIME

A preposition of time describes when or for how long something

occurred or will occur.

The three most common prepositions of time are at, in, and on.

Each preposition of time refers to a different increment of or point in

time, as shown next:
 PREPOSITIONS OF TIME

Preposition of Time What it Describes Example Sentences

“Let’s meet at noon.”
at specific and short times of day
“Chris arrived at one o’clock.”
“On Tuesday, Dad went to the
on days and dates grocery store.”
“Valentine’s Day is on February 14.”
“Beth starts school in August.”
“In 2008, the U.S. held a presidential
months, years, and specific times of
in election.”
day
“I would rather work on the
project in the afternoon.”
for durations of time “He lived abroad for many years.”
“We’re not supposed to be on our
during simultaneous events
phones during class.”
a continuous event originating from “She’s been waiting to hear back
since
a specific point in the past from the office since yesterday.”
 PREPOSITIONS OF TIME

Preposition of Time What it Describes Example Sentences

a continuous event that will
“Daniel can’t sneak out of the
until terminate at a specific point in the
house until his parents go to bed.”
future
something prior to a specific time or
before “The moon rose before sunset.”
event

something following a specific time “Katrina made a promise to help

after
or event out after work today.”
time in relation to the next hour of “My watch says it’s 10
to
the day minutes to three right now.”
time in relation to the previous hour “Ideally, the party would start no
past
of the day later than a quarter past eight.”
from/to specific periods of time “Our classes go from 9 to 10am.”
“I need to hand in this homework
within a well-defined time frame
within the next three minutes!”
 PREPOSITIONS OF PLACE

A preposition of place describes where something is located in

reference to something else, or where something occurred or will
occur.

Like prepositions of time, the most common prepositions of place are

also at, in, and on.

The usages of these and other prepositions of place are explained

next:
 PREPOSITIONS OF PLACE

Preposition of Place What it Describes Example Sentences

“Ben is planning on staying the night at a
at specific points or locations
hotel.”

on surfaces or tops of things “Leave the towel on the counter.”

in enclosed spaces “The rice is in the cabinet.”

“The library is by/near/close to the train

by, near, close to lack of distance
station.”

“Many people consider it rude to sit next

next to, beside adjacency
to/beside a stranger in a movie theater.”

something in the middle of two people or “To make a sandwich, simply put
between
things something between two slices of bread.”

something in the middle of three or more people or

Among “Lucas was lost among the crowd.”
things
 PREPOSITIONS OF PLACE

Preposition of Place What it Describes Example Sentences

“I stood behind my sister while we
Behind something at the back of something
waited in line.”
something situated before “Let’s put the dresser in front of the
in front of
something window.”
something situated at the right side “My coat is the one to the right of
To the right of
of something the blue one.”
something situated at the left side of “Everything you own is in the box to
To the left of
something the left of the car.”
“The arch above/over the hallway
above, over something higher than something reminded Natalie of a castle she’d
visited.”
“All children fear the
below, under something lower than something
monsters below/under their beds.”
“The plant is placed opposite the
Something on the other side of
Opposite window in order to catch all the
something
sunlight.
 PREPOSITIONS OF
DIRECTION/MOVEMENT

A preposition of direction or movement describes how, where, or in

what way something moves. The following table highlights the most
common prepositions of direction and movement, as well as their
different usages:
 PREPOSITIONS OF
DIRECTION/MOVEMENT

Preposition of Direction or
What it Describes Example Sentences
Movement
movement with a specific aim, “My brother went to Europe with
to
direction, or destination his friends.”
movement with a specific point of “She told stories about the time
from
origin she walked to Spain from France.”

movement higher than and across

over “The bird flew over the trees.”
something else
movement to a point higher than “He shot his arrow above the
above
something else target.”
“That large worm
under/beneath movement lower than something
went under/beneath the dirt.”
movement on a straight line or “The childhood friends rode their
along
edge bicycles along the road.”
 PREPOSITIONS OF
DIRECTION/MOVEMENT

Preposition of Direction or
What it Describes Example Sentences
Movement
movement from one end to the “I walked across the flimsy
across
other bridge.”
movement from one side of an “The burglar entered the
through enclosed space and out of the house through the basement
other window.”
movement ending inside “If you jump into the water like
into
something this, you can make a big splash.”
movement ending outside “Get out of that cave before the
out of
something bear comes back!”
“Laughing, she threw up her hands
toward(s)* movement closer to something
and ran toward(s) the park.”
“Get away from the fire before you
away from movement farther from something
get burned.”
 PREPOSITIONS OF
DIRECTION/MOVEMENT

Preposition of Direction or
What it Describes Example Sentences
Movement
movement down or away from “Parents are always yelling at their
off
something kids to get off the furniture.”
movement up or towards “I have to get on the bus now.
on
something solid Bye!”
“When you use a fireplace, smoke
up movement heading up
goes up the chimney.”

“He jumped down and hurt his

down movement heading down
knee.”
 PREPOSITIONS OF AGENCY

A preposition of agency describes a person or a thing that has caused

or is causing something to occur. Sentences containing prepositions
of agency are usually written in the passive voice and employ the
prepositions by (for people) and with (for things). For example:

Active Passive
“The three siblings built the house.” “The house was built by the three
siblings.”
“Emotion filled her heart.” “Her heart is filled with emotion.”
 PREPOSITIONS OF INSTRUMENT OR
DEVICE

A preposition of instrument or device is used when describing certain

technologies, machines, or devices. These prepositions are by, with,
and on. Typically, by refers to methods of transportation, whereas
with and on describe the use of machines and other devices.

Examples
“Aunt Patricia returned home by ferry.”
“She opened the locked door with an old key.”
“May I finish my homework on your computer?”
 PREPOSITIONS OF REASON OR
PURPOSE

A preposition of reason or purpose describes why something has

occurred or will occur. Common prepositions of reason or purpose
include for, through, because of, on account of, and from.

Examples
“Everything I did was for you.”
“Through her bravery, we were able to escape unharmed.”
“Because of the delay, I was late to the parade.”
“The employees refused to work on account of their low pay.”
“He knows from experience how to deal with them.”
 DESCRIBING ORIGIN

When we describe a person or thing’s origin (such as nationality,

hometown/state, ethnicity, the place where something was built or
designed, etc.), we typically use the preposition from (and, to a lesser
degree, of).

Examples
“I met the most delightful couple from Italy.”
“I’m from New York originally, but I’ve lived in Dallas for many
years.”
“The new professor is of Turkish descent.”
“The new computer from the tech giant should be revolutionary.”
 PREPOSITIONAL PHRASES

A prepositional phrase consists of two distinct parts. The first

part is the preposition itself. The second part, which follows
the preposition, is a noun or pronoun that is called the object
of the preposition. Together, these two parts form what is called
a prepositional phrase.

Examples
“She caught the bus on time.”
“Before going home, go to the bank.”
“Mark is going out with that beautiful woman.”