Prepositions

Prepositions – Time
English Usage Example
on ------------days of the week ex.on Monday
in ----------- months / seasons time of day year after a certain period of time (when?) in August / in winter
in the morning
in 2006
in an hour
at----------- for night, for weekend a certain point of time (when?) at night
at the weekend at half past nine
since ----------- from a certain point of time (past till now)
since 1980
for ----------- over a certain period of time (past till now)
for 2 years
ago----------- a certain time in the past
2 years ago
before----------- earlier than a certain point of time
before 2004
to ----------- telling the time
ten to six (5:50)
past----------- telling the time
ten past six (6:10)
to / till / until ----------- marking the beginning and end of a period of time
from Monday to/till Friday
till / until
in the sense of how long something is going to last
He is on holiday until Friday.
by----------- in the sense of at the latest , up to a certain time
I will be back by 6 o’clock.
By 11 o'clock, I had read five pages.
Prepositions – Place (Position and Direction)
English Usage Example
in ----------- room, building, street, town, country,book, paper etc. car, taxi
picture, world
in the kitchen, in London
in the book
in the car, in a taxi
in the picture, in the world
at----------- meaning next to, by an object, for table,for events, place where you are to do something typical (watch a film, study, work)
at the door, at the station
at the table
at a concert, at the party
at the cinema, at school, at work
on----------- 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,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
by, next to, beside----------- left or right of somebody or something
Jane is standing by / next to / beside the car.
under----------- on the ground, lower than (or covered by) something else
the bag is under the table
below----------- lower than something else but above ground
the fish are below the surface
over-----------covered by something else, meaning more than,getting to the other side (also across)overcoming an obstacle
put a jacket over your shirt
over 16 years of age
walk over the bridge
climb over the wall
above-----------higher than something else, but not directly over it
a path above the lake
across-----------getting to the other side (also over) getting to the other side
walk across the bridge
swim across the lake
through----------- something with limits on top, bottom and the sides
drive through the tunnel
to-----------movement to person or building,movement to a place or country,for bed
go to the cinema
go to London / Ireland
go to bed
into-----------enter a room / a building
go into the kitchen / the house
towards-----------movement in the direction of something (but not directly to it)
go 5 steps towards the house
onto-----------movement to the top of something
jump onto the table
from-----------in the sense of where from
a flower from the garden
Other important Prepositions
English Usage Example
from-----------who gave it
a present from Jane
of-----------who/what does it belong to, what does it show
a page of the book
the picture of a palace
by-----------who made it
a book by Mark Twain
on-----------walking or riding on horseback,entering a public transport vehicle
on foot, on horseback
get on the bus
in-----------entering a car / Taxi
get in the car
off-----------leaving a public transport vehicle
get off the train
out of-----------leaving a car / Taxi
get out of the taxi
by-----------rise or fall of something,travelling (other than walking or horseriding)
prices have risen by 10 percent
by car, by bus
at-----------for age
she learned Russian at 45
about-----------for topics, meaning what about
we were talking about you