Prepositions

Is it any wonder that prepositions create such troubles for students for whom English is a second language? We say we are at the hospital to visit a friend who is in the hospital. We lie in bed but on the couch. We watch a film at the theater but on television. To address all the potential difficulties with prepositions in idiomatic usage would require volumes, and the only way English language learners can begin to master the intricacies of preposition usage is through practice and paying close attention to speech and the written word. Keeping a good dictionary close at hand is an important first step.
Prepositions of Time: at, on, and in

We use at to designate specific times. The train is due at 12:15 p.m. We use on to designate days and dates. My brother is coming on Monday. We're having a party on the Fourth of July. We use in for nonspecific times during a day, a month, a season, or a year. She likes to jog in the morning. It's too cold in winter to run outside. He started the job in 1971. He's going to quit in August.
Prepositions of Place: at, on, and in

We use at for specific addresses. He lives at 55 Boretz Road in Durham. We use on to designate names of streets, avenues, etc. Her house is on Boretz Road. And we use in for the names of land-areas (towns, counties, states, countries, and continents). She lives in Durham. Durham is in Windham County. Windham County is in Connecticut.
NOUNS and PREPOSITIONS

approval of awareness of belief in concern for confusion about desire for afraid of angry at aware of capable of careless about familiar with

fondness for grasp of hatred of hope for interest in love of fond of happy about interested in jealous of made of married to

need for participation in reason for respect for success in understanding of proud of similar to sorry for sure of tired of worried about

ADJECTIVES and PREPOSITIONS

VERBS and PREPOSITIONS

apologize for ask about ask for belong to bring up care for find out

give up grow up look for look forward to look up make up pay for

prepare for study for talk about think about trust in work for worry about

The following table contains rules for some of the most frequently used prepositions in English:

Prepositions Time
Preposition in Examples in July; in September in 1985; in 1999 in summer; in the summer of 69 in the morning; in the afternoon; in the evening duration in a minute; in two weeks part of the day at night time of day at 6 o'clock; at midnight celebrations at Christmas; at Easter fixed phrases at the end of the week at the same time days of the week on Sunday; on Friday date on the 25th of December* special holidays on Good Friday; on Easter Sunday; on my birthday a special part of a day on the morning of September the 11th* later than sth. after school how far sth. happened (in the past) 6 years ago earlier than sth. before Christmas time that separates two points between Monday and Friday not later than a special time by Thursday through the whole of a period of during the holidays time period of time for three weeks two points form a period from Monday to Wednesday from Monday till Wednesday from Monday until Wednesday time of the day 23 minutes past 6 (6:23) point of time since Monday no later than a special time till tomorrow in months year seasons part of the day Use

at

on

after ago before between by during for from ... to from... till/until past since till/until

to up to within

time of the day not more than a special time during a period of time

until tomorrow 23 minutes to 6 (5:37) up to 6 hours a day within a day

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

Example in the kitchen, in London in the book in the car, in a taxi in the picture, in the world

at

at the door, at the station at the table at a concert, at the party at the cinema, at school, at work

on

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

by, next to, beside under

below

the fish are below the surface put a jacket over your shirt over 16 years of age

over

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 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

walk over the bridge climb over the wall

above

a path above the lake

across

walk across the bridge swim across the lake

through

drive through the tunnel

to

go to the cinema go to London / Ireland go to bed

into

go into the kitchen / the house go 5 steps towards the house

towards

movement in the direction of something (but not directly to it) movement to the top of something in the sense of where from

onto

jump onto the table

from

a flower from the garden

Other important Prepositions

English from

Usage who gave it who/what does it belong to what does it show who made it

Example a present from Jane a page of the book the picture of a palace a book by Mark Twain

of

by

on

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

on foot, on horseback get on the bus

in off

get in the car get off the train

out of by

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

at about