Prepositions – Time
English Usage Example
on days of the week on Monday
months / seasons in August / in winter
time of day in the morning
in
year in 2006
after a certain period of time (when?) in an hour
for night at night
at for weekend at the weekend
a certain point of time (when?) at half past nine
since from a certain point of time (past till now) since 1980
for over a certain period of time (past till now) for 2 years
ago a certain time in the past 2 years ago
before earlier than a certain point of time before 2004
to telling the time ten to six (5:50)
past telling the time ten past six (6:10)
to / marking the beginning and end of a period of
till / from Monday to/till Friday
time
until
till /
in the sense of how long something is going to last He is on holiday until Friday.
until
in the sense of at the latest I will be back by 6 o’clock.
by
up to a certain time By 11 o'clock, I had read five
pages.
Prepositions – Place (Position and Direction)
English Usage Example
room, building, street, town, country in the kitchen, in London
book, paper etc. in the book
in
car, taxi in the car, in a taxi
picture, world in the picture, in the world
meaning next to, by an object at the door, at the station
for table at the table
at for events at a concert, at the party
place where you are to do something typical
at the cinema, at school, at work
(watch a film, study, work)
attached the picture on the wall
for a place with a river London lies on the Thames.
being on a surface on the table
on 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, next
Jane is standing by / next to /
to, left or right of somebody or something
beside the car.
beside
on the ground, lower than (or covered by)
under the bag is under the table
something else
under the bag is under the table
something else
below lower than something else but above ground the fish are below the surface
covered by something else put a jacket over your shirt
meaning more than over 16 years of age
over
getting to the other side (also across) walk over the bridge
overcoming an obstacle climb over the wall
higher than something else, but not directly over
above a path above the lake
it
getting to the other side (also over) walk across the bridge
across
getting to the other side swim across the lake
throug something with limits on top, bottom and the
drive through the tunnel
h sides
movement to person or building go to the cinema
to movement to a place or country go to London / Ireland
for bed go to bed
into enter a room / a building go into the kitchen / the house
toward movement in the direction of something (but not
go 5 steps towards the house
s directly to it)
onto movement to the top of something jump onto the table
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
who/what does it belong to a page of the book
of
what does it show the picture of a palace
by who made it a book by Mark Twain
walking or riding on horseback on foot, on horseback
on
entering a public transport vehicle get on the bus
in entering a car / Taxi get in the car
off leaving a public transport vehicle get off the train
out of leaving a car / Taxi get out of the taxi
rise or fall of something prices have risen by 10 percent
by
travelling (other than walking or horseriding) by car, by bus
at for age she learned Russian at 45
about for topics, meaning what about we were talking about you
Grammar: Using Prepositions
Prepositions: The Basics
A preposition is a word or group of words used to link nouns, pronouns and phrases to other words in a sentence.
Some examples of prepositions are single words like in, at, on, of, to, by and with or phrases such as in front of,
next to, instead of.
Prepositions in English are most frequently dictated by fixed expressions. While there are some general guidelines
to follow, many prepositions are used idiomatically with certain verbs. In these cases, it is best to memorize the
phrase instead of the individual preposition.
A Few Rules for Usage
Although there are hardly any rules as to when to use which preposition, most commonly prepositions define
relationships between nouns and locate words, actions or ideas in a particular time or place. To remember the
role of prepositions, notice that ''position'' appears in the word ''preposition''!
The following tables contain rules for some of the most frequently used prepositions in English:
Prepositions – Time
English Usage Example
months/seasons in August/in the summer
years in 1985
in time of day in the evening
centuries and historical periods in the 19th century
after a certain period of time Mystic Market closes in two hours.
time of days at 2:30
at
noon, night, and midnight at night
names of mealtime at breakfast
age I learned how to use a computer at 12.
on days of the week on Friday
I have been a student since 2004.
from a period of time up to the present
since
(when it started)
for how long a period of time has been I have been a student here for 2 years.
the beginning and end of a period of My appointment is from 13:30 to 14:00.
from...to...
time
a period of time up to a specific point in I cannot go dancing until I finish reading this chapter.
until
time
in the sense of ''at the latest'' You must return your book by April 21st.
by
due date My essay is due by the end of the week.
Adapted in part from George Yule’s Oxford Practice Grammar. Advanced, Oxford, 2006, pp. 124-137 and
1 http://academicguides.waldenu.edu/writingcenter/grammar/prepositions by Guillaume Filion © 2017, the CAC,
University of Victoria. This copy is solely for the use by a student, staff, or faculty member. Any other use may be
infringement of copyright if done without securing the permission of copyright owners.
Grammar: Using Prepositions
Prepositions – Place (Location and Direction)
English Usage Example
in class/in Victoria
when something is in a place, it is inside it in the book
in
(enclosed within limits) in the car/in a taxi
You look serious in this photo.
located at a specific place (a point) at the library
at for events at a concert/at a party
place where you are to do something at the cinema/at school/at work
typical (watch a movie, study, work)
being on a surface (not enclosed) I left the keys on the table.
for a certain side (left, right) Go down this hall to the end, turn right, and it's
the third door on your left.
on
for a floor in a building My apartment is on the fourth floor.
for public transport I forgot my phone on the bus.
for television, radio You can hear my brother on the radio.
moving toward a specific place (the goal or
to Every morning, I take the bus to campus.
end point of movement)
I used carrots from my garden.
from for the origin or starting point I received a suspicious email from my bank.
I will be on vacation from July 31 for a week.
towards movement in direction of something I suddenly saw a dog running towards me.
There is a coffee shop across the street.
across movement from one side to another
I swam across the lake.
I entered the room through an open window.
movement from one side to another but
through You have to go through the kitchen to get to the
''in something''
bathroom.
a place ''in the middle'' of two or more I was standing between my friend and his parents.
between
separate people or things The gap between the rich and poor keeps growing.
France is among the countries of Western Europe.
a place ''surrounded'' by more than two
Among the advantages of exercising regularly are
among people or things together as a group (in the
lower risks of depression and a better quality of
sense of ''included in'')
life.
Adapted in part from George Yule’s Oxford Practice Grammar. Advanced, Oxford, 2006, pp. 124-137 and
2 http://academicguides.waldenu.edu/writingcenter/grammar/prepositions by Guillaume Filion © 2017, the CAC,
University of Victoria. This copy is solely for the use by a student, staff, or faculty member. Any other use may be
infringement of copyright if done without securing the permission of copyright owners.
Grammar: Using Prepositions
Prepositions - Connections
English Usage Example
between two noun phrases to show that the The keyboard of my computer is pink.
first belongs to or is part of the second
of
to say how people are related Richard is the son of Audrey/He is a good friend of
mine.
Between two noun phrases when the second is I spilled coffee on the computer with a pink keyboard.
a particular feature of the first I think Sarah is studying with Tara/I went to a workshop
with to say that people or things are together with my friend.
My roommate killed a spider with a book.
for the specific thing used to perform an action
when we want to describe an action in a more My roommate saved my live by killing the spider.
by
general way
Prepositions in Academic Writing
Here are the prepositions most frequently used in academic writing, with some explanations for their use:
English Usage Example
about
For topics (in the sense of ''with regard She was the author of many books about the history of
to/concerned with'') ancient Egypt.
with a purpose/giving a reason (associated with The concept of class is important for understanding
for an action; shortened form of ''for the purpose how society works.
of'') Theories about strategies for linking nouns and verbs
The meaning is often hard to guess from the individual
from the origin, cause or agent of something
words.
inclusion, location or position within a time You can see this in works by contemporary authors.
in
period or limits
Many engineers proceed on the assumption that the
on the basis for something
digital age is unique.
belonging to, relating to, or connected with The results of the investigation are still relevant.
describe a relation/causation The root of the problem is the absence of any evidence
of supporting our thesis.
the origin, cause, motive or reason of Henderson discovered that the king died of poisoning
something by analyzing blood samples.
According to folklore, he was killed by strangulation by
by describe a direct cause or agent
the Mad King when he protested the new tax.
Adapted in part from George Yule’s Oxford Practice Grammar. Advanced, Oxford, 2006, pp. 124-137 and
3 http://academicguides.waldenu.edu/writingcenter/grammar/prepositions by Guillaume Filion © 2017, the CAC,
University of Victoria. This copy is solely for the use by a student, staff, or faculty member. Any other use may be
infringement of copyright if done without securing the permission of copyright owners.
Grammar: Using Prepositions
connected to something and near something Respondents were asked to indicate levels of
agreement with statements regarding immigration.
with
using something It is difficult to infer any definitive conclusion with the
available data.
In this study, they investigated the relationship
between marking a connection
between education, diet and health.
Tips for Learning Prepositions
The above rules for prepositions of time, location (place and direction) and connection can only work for these
instances, and more often than not there are exceptions to the rules. As mentioned previously, much preposition
usage just has to be memorized in conjunction with fixed phrases and expressions. Learning prepositions in
isolation can be challenging, but it is the only way to make fewer mistakes!
1) English learners should not directly translate prepositions from their first language, as one preposition
may correspond to several different prepositions in English. A good way to learn which preposition to use
is to consult an English learner's dictionary. Here are some links:
Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary: dictionary.cambridge.org;
Macmillan English Dictionary: macmillandictionary.com;
Merriam Webster's Learner's Dictionary: learnersdictionary.com;
and Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary: oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com.
You can also use Google Books Ngram Viewer. This tool enables you to see the frequency of phrases in
books that Google had scanned, which means they are more representative of standard English.
2) Reading texts in English is also helpful to learn prepositional phrases and their usage in context. Choose
any text that interests you and identify all prepositions, with a specific emphasis on the noun or verb that
goes together with a particular preposition.
In order to memorize them, you can create your own ''flashcard'': on each card, write down the
prepositional phrases with a drawing that depicts their usage and/or meaning. (Remember that you you
are making these cards for you; it doesn't matter if the associations between picture and words make
sense to other people.) Then, review your list of prepositional phrases by pulling out flashcards randomly
for 10 or 15 minutes every day to commit them to memory.
3) Listening attentively to speakers' use of prepositions in conversations, movies, songs and presentations
will help you to extend your preposition vocabulary. In turn, practice using prepositions in everyday
conversations with classmates and friends. At first, you can focus on five prepositional phrases and then
progressively integrate new ones in your conversations as you get more comfortable. Practice makes
better!
Adapted in part from George Yule’s Oxford Practice Grammar. Advanced, Oxford, 2006, pp. 124-137 and
4 http://academicguides.waldenu.edu/writingcenter/grammar/prepositions by Guillaume Filion © 2017, the CAC,
University of Victoria. This copy is solely for the use by a student, staff, or faculty member. Any other use may be
infringement of copyright if done without securing the permission of copyright owners.
