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 on

in

Usage days of the week months / seasons time of day year after a certain period of time (when?) for night for weekend a certain point of time (when?) from a certain point of time (past till now) over a certain period of time (past till now) a certain time in the past earlier than a certain point of time telling the time telling the time marking the beginning and end of a period of time in the sense of how long something is going to last in the sense of at the latest up to a certain time

Example on Monday in August / in winter in the morning in 2006 in an hour at night at the weekend at half past nine since 1980 for 2 years 2 years ago before 2004 ten to six (5:50) ten past six (6:10) from Monday to/till Friday He is on holiday until Friday. I will be back by 6 oclock. By 11 o'clock, I had read five pages.

at

since for ago befor e to past to / till / until till / until by

Prepositions Place (Position and Direction)

English

in

Usage room, building, street, town, country book, paper etc. car, taxi picture, world meaning next to, by an object for table for events place where you are to do something typical (watch a film, study, work) attached for a place with a river being on a surface for a certain side (left, right) for a floor in a house for public transport for television, radio left or right of somebody or something on the ground, lower than (or covered by) something else lower than something else but above ground covered by something else meaning more than getting to the other side (also across) overcoming an obstacle higher than something else, but not directly over it getting to the other side (also over) getting to the other side

Example

in the kitchen, in London in the book in the car, in a taxi in the picture, in the world at the door, at the station at the table at a concert, at the party at the cinema, at school, at work the picture on the wall London lies on the Thames. on the table on the left on the first floor on the bus, on a plane on TV, on the radio Jane is standing by / next to / beside the car. the bag is under the table the fish are below the surface put a jacket over your shirt over 16 years of age walk over the bridge climb over the wall a path above the lake walk across the bridge swim across the lake

at

on

by, next to, beside under below

over

above

across

English

through

to

Usage something with limits on top, bottom and the sides movement to person or building movement to a place or country for bed enter a room / a building movement in the direction of something (but not directly to it) movement to the top of something in the sense of where from

Example

drive through the tunnel go to the cinema go to London / Ireland go to bed go into the kitchen / the house go 5 steps towards the house jump onto the table a flower from the garden

into towards onto from

Other important Prepositions

English from

Usage who gave it who/what does it belong to what does it show who made it walking or riding on horseback entering a public transport vehicle entering a car / Taxi leaving a public transport vehicle leaving a car / Taxi rise or fall of something travelling (other than walking or horseriding) for age for topics, meaning what about

Example a present from Jane a page of the book the picture of a palace a book by Mark Twain on foot, on horseback get on the bus get in the car get off the train get out of the taxi prices have risen by 10 percent by car, by bus she learned Russian at 45 we were talking about you

of

by

on

in off out of by at about

Time prepositions are used to clarity what time an event happened or will happen. Time prepositions are used nouns and pronouns. Prepositions usually come before nouns or pronouns. Prepositions never come before a verb. List of Time Prepositions

At a specific time at 2:00

On days and dates

In period of time - years, months, seasons in a few days

on my birthday on the first day of the school year on 11/10/90

at lunchtime

in a couple of months

at 4:00 AM

in the summer

IMPORTANT: In English we say:

o o o o

in the morning -because it is considered a period of time in the afternoon in the evening at night -

Note: We say in the morning, in the afternoon, or in the evening BUT we say 'at night' How are prepositions - for - while - during used? The 3 most common English prepositions that are used to represent time are: for - while - during- at - in - on. For - The preposition "for" is used to express how long something or someone is doing something. "For" is used to state a period of time and is usually used with a noun/pronoun (or any other noun forms) .
o o o

I have been riding my bicycle for 2 hours. The dog has been barking for a long time. The traffic has been bad for the last three days.

While - The preposition "while" is used to represent the length of time an action has been happening. "While" is used when speaking about 2 actions that are happing at the same time. The length of the action is not important. "While" is used with a subject and a verb.

o o o

While I was playing with my dog, my sister was doing her homework. While we are playing cards, the radio was playing. My mother doesn't like the T. V. on while we are eating dinner.

During -The preposition "during" is used to represent the length of time of an action that is while the action is happening. "During" is used with a noun/pronoun (or any other noun forms).

I will be really busy during the week. The kids were sleeping during the party. The lights went out during the storm.

aboard - She is aboard the boat. above - The picture is above the sofa. across - My house is across the street. against - The desk is against the wall. around - My house is around the block. at - Is your house at the end of the street. at the back of - We are going to sit at the back of the theater. at the bottom of - The coins are at the bottom of the lake. at the top of - The books are at the top of the shelves. between - We sit between the two boys. behind - The girls sit behind the two boys. below - The desk is below the window by - The books are by the door. in - I live in the big green and white house. inside - I live inside the big green house. on the corner of - We live on the corner of 3rd avenue in the middle of - We live in the middle of the street.

near - I don't live near the supermarket. next to - I live next to my best friend. to the left of - The blue box is to the left of the green box. to the right of - The orange box is to the right of the yellow box. on - The sun heater is on the top of the building. on the side of - There is a big sign on the side of the house. on top of - There is a man on the top of the roof. on the other side of - Do you see what is going on over there on the other side of the roof? opposite - The post office is on the opposite side of the street. outside - The car is outside the garage. under - The blanket is under the bed in a box.. underneath - The pen is underneath the box. Time prepositions are used to specify time. Here is a list of some common time prepositions:

after - I will be there after work. around - We will be there around 3 PM before - I will be there before I go to school. between - I will be there by - I will be there by the time that you leave for work. during - I will be there during your class. for - I will be there for your birthday. past - I wasn't there for the past 2 months. since - I didn't see her since I was 10 years old. until - I will not be home until 7:00 PM. within - I will be there within 2 hours.

Place prepositions - are prepositions that are used to describe the place or position of all types of nouns. It is common for the preposition to be placed before the noun. When we refer to Place prepositions we usually refer to "in", "at" and "on". In - Is usually used to state that someone or something is in a (the boundaries can be physical or virtual place. On - Is usually used to state someone or something is on top of a surface.

At - Is usually used to state something or someone is at a specific place. A list of most prepositions of place.

At a specific place at the mall at the table at work

On a place that is physically on top of a place on the table on the floor on the wall

In a place that is enclosed or within boundaries in the city in the box in the park

IMPORTANT: In English we say:

on the island in the city/country side in the mountains - except when you mean that something or someone is physically on the mountain. at the office