Prepositions

A preposition comes before a noun or a pronoun to show place, time, direction, etc.

• I jumped into the water.
• The keys are on the table.
• He came out of the house.

We use the “preposition of time” when we talk about time. It answers the question of (When).

• I usually wake up at 6 a.m.
• I’ll go for a run in the morning.
• He starts his new job on Monday.

Three very common prepositions

More time prepositions.

before (earlier than)

• I wash my hands before meals.
• We left before sunrise.

after (following in time; later than)

• I’ll go for a walk after lunch.
• It’s a quarter after two.

for (used to show a length of time)

• I walked for an hour or so.
• He won’t be here for long.

since (from a time in the past until now)

• I have lived here since 2010.
• We have been waiting for you since four o’clock.

by (before or not later than)

• I have to finish this by 7 p.m.
• We need to leave by noon.

during (while, throughout)

• She woke up several times during the night.
• The workshop is open during the day.

until/till (up to, no longer than)

• You should wait until Friday.
• We’re open till 7 p.m.

We use the “preposition of place” when we talk about the location of things or people. It answers the question of (where).

• I left my wallet at home.
• We fixed a picture on the wall.
• The sun is already high in the sky.

Three very common prepositions

More place prepositions

above (in or to a higher place than)

• We rented a room above a restaurant.
• The temperature is above zero today.

across (on the other side of)

• Our house is just across the river.
• There is a bus stop across the street.

among (in the middle of)

• He disappeared among the crowd.
• We live in that house among the trees.

behind (at the back/rear of)

• He was standing behind me.
• I was driving behind a big truck.

below (in a lower position)

• My apartment is below yours.
• I wear my skirts below the knee.

beside (at the side of)

• He sat beside me.
• There was a table beside my bed.

between (in the middle of two things, people, or places)

• She sat down between his mother and his father.
• There is a fence between my house and my brother’s house.

by (at the side of)

• She was standing by the window. 
• Jim went in and sat by Jane.

near (close to; a short distance from)

• He sat near the door.
• I live near here.

under (beneath, below)

• There is something under the bed.
• They dug a hole under the wall.

We use the “prepositions of movement” when we talk about movement from one place to another, and they often come after verbs of motion.

They are also called the prepositions of direction.

• We swam across the river.
• The dog jumped over the gate.
• We walked through the woods.

More examples

• The club must be somewhere along this road.
• They ran around the table.
• Let’s walk away from here.
• She came down the stairs.
• She sent me a juicer from Japan.
• He dived into the lake.
• Mike fell off the horse.
• Can you jump onto a table?
• She got out of bed early.
• We drove past the club.
• I walk to work every day.
• The police are coming toward us.
• The ball rolled under the sofa.
• Let’s go up the stairs.

The “preposition of agent and instrument” describes a person or thing that is the cause of something occurring. 

• The book is written by William Shakespeare. [WS=Agent]
• She opened the door lock with a key. [key=instrument]

The “preposition of manner” describes the way or means by which something happens. It answers the question of (how)

• I go to work by bus.
• He left the office in despair.
• I’ll do it with pleasure.

The “Preposition of Possession” shows ownership.

• She is a woman of wealth.
• The girl with the blue scarf.

We use the “preposition of contrast” when we link two contrasting ideas.

• They went shopping despite the bad weather.
• I failed the test in spite of all my efforts.

Some prepositions are more than one word.

• because of
• according to
• on the top of
• apart from
• along with
• in addition to
• in case of
• instead of
• with the exception of
• etc.