The Preposition

In this lesson, we will learn

what is a preposition?
preposition of time
preposition of space
preposition of location and direction
difference between prepositions and adverbs

A preposition is a word that shows the relationship of a noun or pronoun to some other word in the sentence. The relationships include direction, place, time, cause, manner and amount.

A preposition always goes with a noun or pronoun which is called the object of the preposition. The preposition is almost always before the noun or pronoun. The preposition and the object of the preposition together are called a prepositional phrase.

Examples:

I walked to the car. (preposition – to, object of the proposition – car, prepositional phrase – to the car)

I walked around the car. (preposition – around, object of the proposition – car, prepositional phrase – around the car)

The pen is on the table. (preposition – on, object of the proposition – table, prepositional phrase – on the table)

I read the book during class. (preposition – during, object of the proposition – class, prepositional phrase – during class)

Some of the commonly used propositions are:

aboard	behind	during
about	below	except
above	beneath	for
across	beneath	from
after	besides	in
against	between	inside
along	beyond	into
among	but (meaning except)	like
around	by	near
at	concerning	of
before	down	off
on	throughout	until
out	till	up
over	to	upon
past	toward	with
since	under	within
through	underneath	without

For a full list of 150 prepositions, including one-word and complex prepositions, with 370 example sentences, try the English Club ebook English Prepositions Listed.

Prepositions of Time: In, At, On

The preposition in is used for

	Examples
Months	in July
Years	in 1960
Centuries	in the 19^th century
Long Periods	in the mornings
Seasons	in summer

The proposition at is used for

	Examples
A precise time	at 7.00 a.m.
The weekend	at the weekend
Night	att night
Festive Periods	at Christmas

The preposition on is used for

	Examples
Special Days	on my birthday
Days of the Week	on Tuesday
Dates	on the 24^th of December

Exceptions:

Examples:
in the past
at present
in the future

There is NO preposition of time if the day/year has each, every, last, next before it.

Examples:
each year
every Monday
last week
next day

Prepositions of Space: At, On, In

Preposition	Used for	Examples
At	a specific location or point in space	at the door at home
On	a horizontal or vertical surface	on the table on the blackboard
In	enclosed area	in New York in the car

Prepositions and Adverbs

A preposition is followed by a noun, pronoun or noun phrase, which forms the object of the preposition.

Some words can be a proposition or an adverb, but an adverb does not have an object.

Examples:

I walked up the stairs. (up is the proposition and stairs is the object)

I walked up. (up is the adverb and there is no object)

Videos

Many students have problems with prepositions in English. The following video explains how three prepositions -- 'at', 'on', and 'in' are used in relation to time.

There is no preposition of time if the day/year has each, every, last, next before it.

The following video gives examples of the 3 prepositions at, on and in in relation to space.

Prepositions of location and direction Part 1: At, In, On

Part 2: Near or By, Next to or Beside, Across from or Opposite. Below, Under, Above, Over, Between, Among, In front of, Behind, On the left/right of, at the top/bottom of, in, inside, outside