Prepositions
Prepositions — a part of speech in English that, together with the case endings of nouns, pronouns, and numerals, expresses the relationship between words in a sentence. Prepositions do not have an independent lexical meaning, so they do not act as members of a sentence. With regard to nouns, numerals, pronouns, they are secondary part of the sentence. Prepositions are used to express the relationship of a noun or pronoun (or other parts of a sentence) to the rest of the sentence.
Prepositions usually come before a noun, pronoun, numeral or gerund and after a verb. If the sentence has a direct object, the preposition is used after it:
- Our teacher is in the classroom
- There is a tree in front of our house
Prepositions IN, ON, AT
The prepositions in, on, at are plural. They can be used in various phrases to indicate location, time.
In, on, at (location)
| Where? | |
| in | The mouse is in the box Granny is in her room The children are in the yard |
| Where? | |
| on | The mouse is on the box The cat is on the sofa Your book is on my table |
| at(near, by) | The mouse is at the box My desk is at (by) the window Не lives near the university |
Meaning
| In | On | At |
| in the kitchen | sit on the floor | sit at the desk |
| work in the garden | a number on the door | wait at the station |
| swim in the pool | a book on the table | at the crossroads |
| in a town/а city/ a country | on a floor | at a place on a journey |
| in a street (GB) | on a street (US) | at a house/ an address |
| on a road or river | at an event |
In & at in phrases related to buildings
In and at can be used when a location inside a room is meant:
- There are 50 people in the theatre
- We were waiting for you in the caf
The preposition at is used when talking about events that are happening, but the important thing is not the place where they happen, but the events themselves:
- We were at the theatre
Some established phrases
| In | in prison/hospital in a book/newspaper in the photo/picture in the country in the middle in the back/front of smth in a queue/line/row |
| On | on the platform on the farm on the page/map on the screen on the island/beach/coast on the right/left |
| At | at the station/airport at home/work/school at the seaside at the top/bottom at the end |
When talking about transport, the following prepositions are used in English:
| By | air, bicycle/bike, boat, bus, car, coach, ferry, helicopter, plane, rail, sea, ship, taxi, train, tube |
| In | the/my/your car, a helicopter, a taxi |
| On | my bicycle/bike, the boat, the bus, the ferry, the plane, the ship, the train |
In, on, at (time)
| In | On | At |
| in 4- year/ month/ season | on 4- day/date | at + clock time/meal time |
| in 1996 | on Saturday | at three o’clock |
| in September | on 1th November | at that time |
| in winter | on that day | at lunch |
| in the 21st century | on 4 + a single day | at the moment |
| in + a week or more | on Christmas Eve | at + two or three days |
| in the holiday | on + day + part of a day | at Christmas |
| in the summer term | on Sunday morning | at Easter |
| in + part of a day | (US on the weekend) | at the weekend |
| in the morning | ||
| in the evening | ||
| Somebody rang in the night | My granny cannot sleep at night |
In time OR on time
In time means “quite early, in advance, at the last moment”:
- We got to the station in time to buy tickets.
- Не was about to leave home when in time he remembered the documents.
On time — «according to schedule»:
- Му friend is never on time
The train arrived on time
OTHER PREPOSITIONS OF PLACE AND DIRECTION
The following prepositions of place are also used in English:
- The bird is in/inside the cage
- Nick is diving in/into the water
- Не is getting out of the car
- We’re standing outside the shop
- The song is on the top of the chart
- Ann is putting her doll on/onto the trolley
- Не fell off the chair
- The table is by/beside the bed
- We stopped near the shop
- She went to school
- The letter is from Lviv
- Our friends were walking towards the sun
- Children were running away from the forest
- There is a bridge over the river
- The ball is under the table
- The plane is above the clouds
Prepositions expressing the grammatical dependence of words in a sentence
| Preposition | Example |
| of | At the end of the lesson the teacher told the marks |
| to | I returned the dog to its owner |
| with by | Why are you writing the dictation with a pencil? This book was written by Jack London |
| about | Tell me about this man |
During OR while?
During — it is a preposition meaning “during”. It is used before nouns:
- We read and write during the lesson.
- I always visit my grandparents during spring holidays.
While — is a conjunction that is usually used at the beginning of a subordinate clause:
- I often read while I am eating.
Between OR among?
The prepositions between and among are translated as “among“. The difference between them is that between has the meaning “between two”, among – “between several”:
- Poltava is between Kyiv and Kharkiv
- The house is among the trees
Where?
| among | The mouse is among the flowers There is a village among the hills There is an adult among the children |
| between | The mouse is between two pieces of cheese There is a small dog between two boys There is a TV set between the windows |
The table with the main prepositions
| Preposition | How It’s Used | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Showing Time | ||
| At | exact times meal times parts of the day age | at 3pm at dinner at sundown at age 21 |
| By | a limit in time in the sense of at the latest | by sundown by the due date |
| In | seasons months years durations after a certain period of time | in the summer in November in 1992 in the same year in an hour |
| On | days of the week parts of the day where the day is named dates | on Wednesday on Friday night on December 4th |
| Ago | a certain time in the past | 2 years ago |
| After | a point in time that follows another point in time | after the game; after the surgery |
| Before | a point in time that precedes another point in time | before leaving; before breakfast; before 2004 |
| During | something that happened/will happen in a specific period of time | during the night; during war |
| For | over a certain period in the past | for 2 years |
| Past | telling the time | ten past six (6:10) |
| Since | from a certain period of time | since 1980; since the accident |
| Throughout | something that happened/will happen continuously in a specific period of time | throughout the year; throughout the ordeal |
| To | telling time from an earlier time to a later time | ten to six (5:50) 1pm to 3pm |
| Until | up to a certain point in time how long something is going to last | until the end; until sunrise |
| Up (to) | from an earlier point to a later point | up (to) now |
| Showing Place | ||
| At | an object’s settled position or position after it has moved meeting place or location point of direction a target | at the airport; at the ceremony at home; at the desk turning at the intersection throwing the snowball at Lucy |
| By | close to alongside of | by the school by the window |
| In | in an enclosed space in a geographic location in a print medium | in the garage; in an envelope in San Diego; in Texas in a book; in a magazine |
| On | for a certain side for a river/lake for a floor in a house for public transport for television, radio | on the left London lies on the Thames on the floor on a bus on the air; on TV |
| About | around or outside of at but not exactly on related to | about town about five feet tall about my father’s business |
| Above | suspended higher than something else superior to | above the door above me in rank |
| After | pursuit a point further from an earlier point | chasing after the robbers the corner after the big house |
| Against | leaning on opposite to or facing | against the door against the wall |
| Along | tracing the length of, without emphasis on the ends | along the hallway; along the river |
| Among | in the company of (three or more) in a crowd the end of a long list | among friends among the masses among other things |
| Around | location of something explaining a period of time | drive around the block around 3 o’clock |
| Before | in the front in terms of space | before the emperor; before God |
| Behind | on the back side of a point in space | behind the car; behind her smile |
| Below | something lower than or underneath something else | below the stairs; below expectations |
| From | in the sense of where from | a flower from the garden |
| Into | enter a room/building | go into the kitchen/house |
| Onto | movement to the top of something | jump onto the table |
| Over | covered by something else “more than” “getting to the other side” overcoming an obstacle | put a jacket over your shirt over 16 years of age walk over the bridge climb over the wall |
| Through | something with limits on top, bottom and the sides | drive through the tunnel |
| Towards | movement in the direction of something (but not directly to it) | go 5 steps towards the house |
| Other Important Prepositions | ||
| About | for topics, meaning what about | we were talking about you |
| At | For age | she learned Russian at 45 |
| By | who made it rise or fall of something travelling (other than walking or horseriding) | a book by Mark Twain prices have risen by 10 percent by car, by bus |
| From | who gave it | a present from Jane |
| In | entering a car/taxi | get in the car |
| Of | who/what did it belong to what does it show | a page of the book the picture of a place |
| Off | leaving a public transport vehicle | get off the train |
| On | walking or riding on horseback entering a public transport vehicle | on foot, on horseback get on the bus |
| Out of | leaving a car/taxi | get out of the taxi |
Prepositions of PLACE 👉 IN / ON / AT / BY 👈 Common English Grammar Mistakes