about

above
across
after
against
around
at
before
behind
below
beneath
beside
besides
between
beyond

by
down
during
except
for
from
in
inside
into
like
near
of
off
on
out

outside
over
since
through
throughout
till
to
toward
under
until
up
upon
with
without

according to
because of
by way of
in addition to
in front of
in place of
in regard to
in spite of
instead of
on account of
out of

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.
Grammar English 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.

Prepositions of Location: in, at, and on

and No Preposition
IN
(the) bed*
the bedroom
the car
(the) class*
the library*
school*

AT
class*
home
the library*
the office
school*
work

ON
the bed*
the ceiling
the floor
the horse
the plane
the train

NO
PREPOSITION
downstairs
downtown
inside
outside
upstairs
uptown

* You may sometimes use different prepositions for these locations.

Prepositions of Movement: to
and No Preposition
We use to in order to express movement toward a place.
They were driving to work together.
She's going to the dentist's office this morning.
Toward and towards are also helpful prepositions to express movement. These are simply variant spellings of the
same word; use whichever sounds better to you.
We're moving toward the light.
This is a big step towards the project's completion.
With the words home, downtown, uptown, inside, outside, downstairs, upstairs, we use no preposition.
Grandma went upstairs
Grandpa went home.
They both went outside.

Prepositions of Time: for and since

We use for when we measure time (seconds, minutes, hours, days, months, years).
He held his breath for seven minutes.
She's lived there for seven years.
The British and Irish have been quarreling for seven centuries.

We use since with a specific date or time.

He's worked here since 1970.
She's been sitting in the waiting room since two-thirty.

Prepositions with Nouns, Adjectives, and Verbs.

Prepositions are sometimes so firmly wedded to other words that they have practically become one word. (In
fact, in other languages, such as German, they would have become one word.) This occurs in three categories:
nouns, adjectives, and verbs.

NOUNS and PREPOSITIONS

approval of

fondness for

need for

awareness of

grasp of

participation in

belief in

hatred of

reason for

concern for

hope for

respect for

confusion about

interest in

success in

desire for

love of

understanding of

ADJECTIVES and PREPOSITIONS

afraid of

fond of

proud of

angry at

happy about

similar to

aware of

interested in

sorry for

capable of

jealous of

sure of

careless about

made of

tired of

familiar with

married to

worried about

VERBS and PREPOSITIONS

apologize for

give up

prepare for

ask about

grow up

study for

ask for

look for

talk about

belong to

look forward to

think about

bring up

look up

trust in

care for

make up

work for

find out

pay for

worry about

A combination of verb and preposition is called a phrasal verb. The word that is joined to the verb is then
called a particle. Please refer to the brief section we have prepared on phrasal verbs for an explanation.

Idiomatic Expressions with Prepositions

agree to a proposal, with a person, on a price, in principle

argue about a matter, with a person, for or against a proposition
compare to to show likenesses, with to show differences (sometimes similarities)
correspond to a thing, with a person
differ from an unlike thing, with a person
live at an address, in a house or city, on a street, with other people

Unnecessary Prepositions
In everyday speech, we fall into some bad habits, using prepositions where they are not necessary. It would be
a good idea to eliminate these words altogether, but we must be especially careful not to use them in formal,
academic prose.

She met up with the new coach in the hallway.

The book fell off of the desk.
He threw the book out of the window.
She wouldn't let the cat inside of the house. [or use "in"]
Where did they go to?
Put the lamp in back of the couch. [use "behind" instead]
Where is your college at?

1. I get up
morning
to work
2. I take care

seven

the

weekdays. I go

1. at, in, on, by

2. of, to, from/than

tram.
my son. My

son is similar

me. Hes

quite different
3. China has

my wife.

agreed

Group 1 Answers

3. to, in
4. on
5. in
6. to
7. of

participate

the global economic

forum.
4. My wife spent the milk
money
cigarettes.
5. There has been a slight
decrease
gas prices
lately.
6. In the beginning, Lillian was

8. of, with/of
9. by, on
10. for
11. about
12. in, by
13. at, of
14. with

not

15. between

accustomed
working in
such a big company.
7. My favorite Chinese
philosopher is Chuang-tzu.
Most Westerners have never
heard
him.
8. Johns wife accused
him

cheating. She

thinks he is bored
her.
9. My boss told me to finish the
report

5 pm. After that, I

could go

vacation.

10. Kate apologized

her
sons poor behavior.
11. If youve got a problem, then
do something

it!

12. Everyone
the HR
department was
surprised

the news.

13. Paul is very good

jokes. He reminds
me

telling

his father.

14. Im not familiar

neighborhood.

this

15. If I had to choose

going
to heaven or hell, Id choose
heaven.
Prepositions Group 2

Group 2 Answers
1. in

1. Hosni Mubarak
was
power in Egypt for
30 years.
2. Alan is a
fan

Manchester United.

3. NATO stands
the North
Atlantic Treaty Organization.

2. of
3. for
4. in
5. on
6. in
7. as, as
8. by

4. Rogers company

9. by

specializes
the
management of young
musicians.

10. under
11. with
12. until

5. I will go
month.

vacation next

6. The cake was

pieces.
7. Bratislava is

four

13. on
14. to
15. for
16. from, about

not
big
Budapest.
8. Ken has to finish the

17. of

project
4 pm tonight.
9. The movie was

19. about/for

inspired
a book written
50 years ago.
10. I was able to return the
product because it was
still
warranty.
11. The little boy hit his
friend

a stick.

12. I plan to work

years old.
13. I wasnt able to

I am 65

focus
my work because
of the loud construction
outside my window.
14. This commercial was
designed to
appeal
women in their
twenties and thirties.
15. I dont know his
reason
ending the
relationship.
16. Although Carol
graduated
Harvard with
a degree in political science,
nowadays she doesnt
care

politics.

17. I am very proud

my
sons accomplishments.
18. Laura cant
concentrate

her job

18. on

because she is stressed out

about her marriage.
19. I dont care
never watch it.

baseball. I

Prepositions: Group 3

Group 3 Answers
1. to
2. in/at

1. I am allergic
cats.
2. We are looking for someone
who is skilled
presentations.

giving

your education.

5. I have a view
Prague
Castle from my apartment.
6. The company president didn't
want to comment
scandal.

the

some local

companies
a job as a
graphic designer.
9. There was much
damage

the car.

10. These boots were

sale
last week.
11. The United Nations has
supplied the
rebels
weapons.
12. I have too many problems to
deal
13. This product should
appeal
teens.

5. of

girls in their

14. Ive never heard

7. of
8. to, for
9. to
10. on
11. with
12. with
13. to
14. of

7. You remind me
my
cousin.
8. After graduation, Joan will
apply

4. to
6. on

3. He is responsible
our
branch in China.
4. I have a question to ask
related

3. for

Lyle

15. by
16. in, on
17. in
18. about

Whitfield.
15. I was surprised
of her nose.

the size

16. Grace is
her forties.
She spends all her
money
17. Greg is

luxury goods.

involved
organized
crime.
18. By the time the police found
out
the crime, the thief
was already in Mexico.
Prepositions: Group 4

Group 4 Answers
1. of, on

1. Theres always a
risk
an earthquake in
Japan. Its difficult to
concentrate
your work,
when you know there could
be a disaster any minute.
2. Carols father is very strict. He
prohibits her
having a
boyfriend until she
graduates
high
school. She spends most of
her time in the library,
surrounded
books.
Once, her father accused
her
doing drugs
because she didnt come
home

time. He checked

her schoolbag
drugs.
Instead of drugs, he found her
diary and read it. This made
Carol angry, so she punched
him

the face.

3. Tina studied
Charles
University for one year, but
she

2. from, from(or nothing), by, of, on, for, in

3. at, from, down
4. of, against, on
5. on, on

graduated
Harvard. Sh
e is snobby. She
looks
on people who
havent graduated college.
4. I need to take care
little brother. He is

my

discriminated
at school
because he has red hair.
Yesterday, a bully punched
him. However, my brother
didnt tell
5. The doctor

the bully.

elaborated
the patients
condition. It turns out that the
rash was actually

brought
by food he ate
while in Malaysia.
Prepositions: Group 5

Group 5 Answers
1. from (or nothing), at, for, with/at, against, to,
against, from

1. I graduated
month ago. I

university a

3. in, in, in

studied
Oxford. Last
week, I had an
interview
programming

position
Google. They
noticed on my CV that I had
very little experience,
however, they promised not
to hold that
me. The
interview went well, but Im
not sure Ill be hired. I was
tired, so I had a hard time
paying attention
the
interviewer. Also, Im a
woman, and there are few
women in my field. I fear Ill
be
discriminated

2. on, to, at, at, into

Hopefully

being a woman wont prevent

me
career.

having a successful

2. Greg went
a trip
yesterday to Vienna. He has
a Pontiac Trans-Am, which is
similar
the car David
Hasselhoff drove in the TV
show Knight Rider. On the
way there, he was driving his
car
a speed of 110 km
per hour. There was a sharp
turn, and his car slid off the
icy road. His life
was
stake. A large tree
was right in front of him. He
nearly ran
it, but at the
last second, he regained
control and pulled his car
back on the road.
3. Later he realized his tires
were

bad shape. He

needed to invest
some
new ones. So he went to a
car shop that
specializes
high
performance tires. The end.