Prepositions

Prepositions
Prepositions of Movement | Prepositions of Place | Prepositions of Time
Prepositions are a class of words that indicate relationships between nouns, pronouns and other words in a sentence. Most often they come before a noun.
The good news is that they never change their form, regardless of the case, gender etc. of the word they are referring to.
Prepositions are classified as simple or compound.
Simple prepositions are single word prepositions - across, after, at, before, between, by, during, from, in, into, of, on, to, under, with and without are all single word prepositions.
For example:-
• The book is on the table.
Compound prepositions are more than one word - in between and because of - are prepositions made up of two words - in front of, on behalf of - are prepositions made up of three words.
For example:-
• The book is in between War and Peace and The Lord of the Rings.
• The book is in front of the clock.










Prepositions of Time
Overview | Prepositions of Movement | Prepositions of Place | Prepositions of Time
Prepositions can also be used to show when something happened.
The prepositions at, on, and in
We use at for specific times.
For example:-
I start work at 7.00 a.m.
I don't work at night.
We use on for specific days and dates .
For example:
My birthday is on Monday.
We're having a party on 7th September.
We also use on for some special days.
For example:
On Christmas day.
We use in for nonspecific times during a day, a month, a season, or a year.
For example:
In summer it's too hot to work.
I started this web site in 1999.
She woke up in the night.

More prepositions of time
Point in Time
at 6 o'clock
Midnight
on Saturday
April 10th
Christmas Day
by the end of July
(indicates a deadline=at the latest)
till / until / up to March
(indicates an end point)
since April
10th March
(indicates a beginning point in time)


Length of Time
in July
the autumn
the morning
the middle of …….
at night
the weekend
during the meeting
the lesson
for two days
twelve months
throughout August
the project














Prepositions of Movement
Overview | Prepositions of Movement | Prepositions of Place | Prepositions of Time
Prepositions can be used to show movement.
For example:-
to, through, across
We use to to show movement with the aim of a specific destination
For example:-
I moved to Germany in 1998.
He's gone to the shops.
We use through to show movement from one side of an enclosed space to the other.
For example:
The train went through the tunnel.
We use across to show movement from one side of a surface or line to another.
For example:
She swam across the river.
More prepositions of movement
She ran
to the door.
through the tunnel. (from one side of an enclosed space to the other)
across the road. (from one side of an open space to the other)
along the road. (the length of the road)
down the road. (the length of the road)
over the bridge. (from one side of an open space to the other)
off the stage.
round the track.
into the room.



Prepositions of Place
Overview | Prepositions of Movement | Prepositions of Place | Prepositions of Time
Prepositions can be used to show where something is located.
The prepositions at, on, and in
We use at to show a specific place or position.
For example:
Someone is at the door.
They are waiting at the bus stop.
I used to live at 51 Portland Street.
We use on to show position on a horizontal or vertical surface.
For example:
The cat sat on the mat.
The satellite dish is on the roof.
We also use on to show position on streets, roads, etc.
For example:
I used to live on Portland Street.
We use in to show that something is enclosed or surrounded.
For example:
The dog is in the garden.
She is in a taxi.
Put it in the box.
We also use in to show position within land-areas (towns, counties, states, countries, and continents).
For example:
I used to live in Nottingham.


More prepositions of place
Prepositions of Place
after
She slammed the door after her.
They ran after the thief.
among
I enjoy being among my friends.
I found my handbag among my luggage.
at
The secretary was sitting at her desk.
The man was standing at the taxi stand.
behind
The car park is behind the building.
He never won a race, he was always behind the others.
between
The prisoner sat between the two policemen.
I held the pen between my thumb and fingers.
in
The pen was in the drawer.
He lives in South Africa.
in front of
The teacher stands in front of the class.
The car was parked in front of the garage.
next to / beside / by
In my English lesson I always sit next to/
beside/by my friend.
The bank is next to/
beside/by the hotel.
on
The painting was hanging on the wall.
The boy was sitting on the chair.
over/above
The sign hanging over/above the door read 'No smoking'.
I put the tablecoth over the table.
I enjoy watching the planes fly above me.
under / below
The temperature outside was under/below 0.
The woman was sheltering under a tree.
When flying I enjoy watching the clouds below me.