Choosing the Right Preposition

Essential Information:

Prepositions indicate relationships in time, in space, and between ideas.

What's the issue?

If English is not your native language, learning to choose the appropriate preposition can be difficult.
Nonetheless, prepositions play an important role in showing the relationships between words. No consistent
rules exist, so often students of English must memorize which word goes with which preposition. However,
the following information can provide a basic guide to understanding prepositional use.

Relationships in Time:
Notice how at, on, and in show relationships in time:
At to show a certain time:
at 8:30
at bedtime

On to show a certain day or date:

on January 21st
on Saturday

In to show a portion of a 24-hour period:

in the evening
in five minutes
to specify a year or month:
in February
in 1973

For to show a specific period of time:

Ive known her for 3 years.
to show duration:
gone for 2 weeks

Relationships in Space:
Notice how the same three prepositions show relationships in space:

At to show location:
at the library
to indicate a target:
Shoot at the bull's eye.

On to identify something on a surface:

on the floor
to indicate a street:
Turn left on Broadway.

In to show an enclosed space:

in the office
in your car

to specify a geographic location:

 in Seattle
in the United State

Relationships between Ideas:

Notice how of, for, on, about, by, and with show relations of ideas

Of to compare a part to a whole:

Some of the students are here.
One of the apples is rotten.
to show material or content:
The basket is full of trash.
The shirt is made of cotton.

For to show purpose:

This flower is for you.

On/About to show a subject:

This class is on genetics.
Angela heard about the concert.

By/With to show an agent:

I can cook pasta with help.
He read the book by himself.

Let's practice!
Choose the correct pronoun from the choices provided.

1) Come and get me (in/at) an hour.

2) The meeting was (on/in) the conference room.

3) He wrote the paper (with/by) himself.

4) I will go to Mexico (at/in) February.

5) Tara was sick (in/for) three days.

Answers:
1) Come and get me in an hour.
2) The meeting was in the conference room.
3) He wrote the paper by himself.
4) I will go to Mexico in February.
5) Tara was sick for three days.

Editors Note: This publication is derived from the shared experiences of Seattle University Writing Center
consultants and from definitions adapted from the second edition of Bedford Basics: A Workbook for
Writers by Diana Hacker and Wanda Van Goor (St. Martin's Press 1994) and from A Reference Guide to
English: A Handbook of English as a Second Language, by Alice Maclin (CBS Publishing, 1981).