Prepositions are small words that can both connect parts of a sentence and add extra information.
Some of the most common prepositions in English include: in / on / at / to / for / with / of / by / from / about
Consider this sentence:
- The book is on the table.
The preposition on tells us exactly where the book is. It’s resting on the surface of the table, not under it, not beside it, not hovering above it. That one small word gives us a precise picture.
Prepositions are versatile. They can express where, when, how, and why something happens, among other things:
Where: The cat is under the bed again.
When: We’re meeting at half past six.
Direction: We walked around the whole of the lake.
How: They got here by taxi.
Why: The match was called off because of the snow.
This unit covers how prepositions work, the different types that exist, and how to use them.
What Prepositions Tell Us
Prepositions provide different types of information. We can organise them into groups based on what they tell us.
1) To Show Place & Position
Prepositions of place answer the question where? They show us the position of people, objects, and places in relation to one another.
Examples:
- I left my water bottle at the gym.
- Ross fell asleep on the train and woke up in Montreal.
- The TV remote was under the sofa. Of course, it was the last place we looked.
Common place/position prepositions: in / on / at / under / above / below / between / behind / beside / near / next to / in front of / opposite
2) To Show Time
Prepositions of time answer the question when? They help us place events and actions at specific points in time, or within broader time periods.
Examples:
- The meeting starts at 9 AM.
- We’re going on holiday in August.
- I always go for a run on Saturday mornings.
Common time prepositions: at / on / in / before / after / during / since / for / until / by
3) To Show Direction & Movement
Prepositions of direction answer the question where to? They show us where something is going or how it moves from one place to another.
Examples:
- Humpty Dumpty fell off the wall.
- We drove along the coast for hours.
- The penguin walked towards the mountains.
Common direction prepositions: to / towards / into / out of / through / across / along / past / up / down / from / onto / off
4) To Show How
Prepositions of manner answer the question how? They describe the method, tool, or style of an action.
Examples:
- She travels to work by train.
- We explored the city on foot.
- We tried to eat with chopsticks in Tokyo. It didn’t go well.
Common manner prepositions: by / with / in / like / without
5) Other Uses
Each of the four groups above answers a clear question: where, when, where to, and how. But prepositions go further than this. They can also express reason, purpose, possession, topic, origin, and more:
Reason: The road was closed because of flooding.
Purpose: I booked the day off for my birthday.
Possession: The woman with the red scarf is my aunt.
Topic: I’ve been reading about prepositions at englishgrammarcorner.com.
Origin: She comes from a small town in Wales.
One Preposition – Many Uses
Something that often catches learners off guard is that the same preposition can express very different types of information depending on the context.
Take the word in:
- The keys are in the pot near the front door. (place)
- The film starts in ten minutes. (time)
- He ordered everything in Spanish for the first time. (how)
One small word, three completely different jobs. This is true of many prepositions, and it’s one of the reasons they can be tricky to master.
The best approach is to learn prepositions in context rather than trying to memorise a single meaning for each one.
Preposition Forms
We can also group prepositions by their form. There are two types: single-word prepositions and multi-word prepositions.
Single-word Prepositions
Single-word prepositions are the prepositions we see and use the most. Some are simple, everyday words like in and on. Others are formed by combining two words into one, such as into (in + to) or without (with + out).
- I’ll meet you at the station.
- The path runs alongside the river.
- Our cat likes to jump onto the table and smugly push everything onto the floor.
Common single-word prepositions: in / on / at / to / for / with / from / by / about / of / off / up / down / out / over / under / after / before / between / through / into / onto / within / without / throughout / alongside / inside / outside / underneath / towards
Multi-word Prepositions
Multi-word prepositions are made up of two or three words that work together as a single preposition.
- I’ll meet you in front of the station.
- The path runs next to the river.
- The cat likes to jump on top of the table and smugly push everything off.
Single-word and multi-word prepositions look different, but they work in exactly the same way.
For instance, ‘at the station’ and ‘in front of the station’ both tell us where to meet. ‘Alongside the river’ and ‘next to the river’ both tell us where the path runs. The only difference is the number of words used to form the prepositions involved.
Common multi-word prepositions: next to / in front of / because of / due to / on behalf of / in addition to / according to / instead of / on top of / in spite of / as well as / apart from
Prepositional Phrases
When we use a preposition in a sentence, it usually appears with a noun or pronoun that completes its meaning. This noun or pronoun is called the object of the preposition, and together they form a prepositional phrase.
For example:
| Subject | Verb | Prepositional Phrase |
|---|---|---|
| He | proposed | on the beach. |
Here, the preposition on combines with its object the beach to form the prepositional phrase on the beach. Without it, all we know is that he proposed. With it, we know exactly where he proposed.
Here are a few more prepositional phrases in action:
- Our flight doesn’t get in until midnight.
- He plays Fortnite with his friends every Saturday.
- For all its faults, Earth is really beautiful. – Jasper [The 100, 2014]
Sometimes, we naturally use multiple prepositional phrases in the same sentence.
Example:
- She writes in her diary app in bed every night before she goes to sleep.
Here, there are three prepositional phrases working together: where she writes (in her diary app), where she is (in bed), and when (before she goes to sleep). Each one adds a different layer of detail, and the sentence flows naturally.
However, stacking too many prepositional phrases can make a sentence feel cluttered and hard to follow:
- She writes in her diary app in bed in the dark under the covers with her phone every night before she goes to sleep.
The meaning is still clear, but the sentence has become clunky. This is worth keeping in mind when writing. A few prepositional phrases add useful detail, but too many in a row can weigh a sentence down.
Prepositions vs. Other Parts of Speech
Many common English words don’t belong to just one part of speech. The same word can function as a preposition in one sentence and as something else entirely in another.
Preposition or Adverb?
Words like in, on, out, up, down, over, past, and through can all function as both prepositions and adverbs.
For example:
| Subject | Verb | Prepositional Phrase |
|---|---|---|
| The dog | jumped | over the wall. |
Here, over is a preposition. It connects with its object (the wall) to form the prepositional phrase over the wall, which tells us where the dog jumped.
Now consider the same word in a slightly different sentence:
| Subject | Verb | Adverb |
|---|---|---|
| The dog | jumped | over. |
This time, over has no object. It describes the verb jumped, telling us the direction of the action rather than forming a prepositional phrase. This makes it an adverb.
Same word, two different roles. When these words form part of a prepositional phrase, they are prepositions. When they appear without an object, they are often functioning as adverbs instead.
More examples:
- A seagull swooped down and stole his chips. (adverb)
He ran down the street after the seagull that stole his chips. (prepositional phrase: down the street)- The ball sailed over and landed in the neighbour’s garden. (adverb)
None of us dared climb over the fence to get it back. (prepositional phrase: over the fence)
Note: Some of these combinations can also form phrasal verbs, where the verb and the particle work together to create a new meaning (e.g., break down / give up). We cover these on our Phrasal Verbs page.
Preposition or Conjunction?
Some words can function as both prepositions and conjunctions. The difference comes down to what follows the word.
For example:
| Type | Subject | Verb | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1) Preposition | She | has been off work | since the accident. |
| 2) Conjunction | She | has been off work | since she hurt her back. |
In the first sentence, since is followed by a noun (the accident). Together they form the prepositional phrase since the accident, which tells us when. This makes since a preposition.
However, in the second sentence, since is followed by a clause (she hurt her back), a group of words with its own subject and verb. Here, since is connecting two parts of the sentence rather than forming a prepositional phrase. This makes it a conjunction.
Dependent Prepositions
Certain words in English pair with specific prepositions depending on their meaning.
- We say agree on, not agree of.
- We say good at, not good in.
- We say apply for, not apply of.
These fixed pairings are called dependent prepositions.
Unfortunately, there’s no rule or pattern that explains why one preposition is correct and another isn’t, so they have to be picked up through reading, listening, and practice over time.
Examples:
- We all agreed on pizza.
- I’m good at cooking, but hopeless at baking.
- I applied for that job we talked about, and they got back to me the same day.
Some words pair with more than one preposition, but the meaning changes. For example, we apply for a job, but apply to a university. Knowing which preposition goes with which meaning is one of those small details that makes a real difference in how natural one’s English sounds.
Getting dependent prepositions right is one of the trickier parts of English, and even advanced learners mix them up. The good news is that the more English you read and hear, the more natural these pairings will feel.