Prepositions are words which link nouns, pronouns and phrases to other words in a sentence

Prepositions usually describe the position of something, the time when something happens and the way in
which something is done. A preposition isn't a preposition unless it goes with a related noun or pronoun,
called the object of the preposition.
The word (or words) that follows a preposition is called the object of a preposition. If there is a
preposition, there will always be an object of the preposition. A preposition cannot exist by itself.
Examples:
Let's meet before noon. We've never met before.
Before is a preposition; noon is its object. There is no object; before is an adverb
modifying met.

Rule 1. A preposition generally, but not always, goes before its noun or pronoun. One of the undying
myths of English grammar is that you may not end a sentence with a preposition. But look at the first
example that follows. No one should feel compelled to say, or even write, That is something with which I
cannot agree. Just do not use extra prepositions when the meaning is clear without them.
Correct: That is something I cannot Correct: How many of you can I depend on?
agree with. Correct: Where did he go?
Correct: Where did you get this? Incorrect: Where did he go to?
Incorrect: Where did you get this at?
Rule 2a. The preposition like means "similar to" or "similarly to." It should be followed by an object of the
preposition (noun, pronoun, noun phrase), not by a subject and verb. Rule of thumb: Avoid like when a
verb is involved.
Correct:
You look like your mother.
That is, you look similar to her. (Mother is the object of the preposition like.)
Incorrect:
You look like your mother does.
(Avoid like with noun + verb.)
Rule 2b. Instead of like, use as, as if, as though, or the way when following a comparison with a subject
and verb.
Correct: You look the way your mother does.
Incorrect: Do like I ask. (No one would say Do similarly to I ask.)
Correct: Do as I ask.
Incorrect: You look like you're angry.
Correct: You look as if you're angry. (OR as though)
Some speakers and writers, to avoid embarrassment, use as when they mean like. The following incorrect
sentence came from a grammar guide:
Incorrect: They are considered as any other English words.
Correct: They are considered as any other English words would be.
Correct: They are considered to be like any other English words.
Remember: like means "similar to" or "similarly to"; as means "in the same manner that." Rule of thumb:
Do not use as unless there is a verb involved.
Incorrect: I, as most people, try to use good grammar.
Correct: I, like most people, try to use good grammar.
Correct: I, as most people do, try to use good grammar.
Rule 3. The preposition of should never be used in place of the helping verb have.
Correct: I should have done it.
Incorrect: I should of done it.
See also COUPLE OF; OFF OF; OUT OF; OUTSIDE OF.
Rule 4. It is a good practice to follow different with the preposition from. Most traditionalists avoid different
than. Although it is an overstatement to call different than incorrect, it remains polarizing: A is different than
B comes across as sloppy to a lot of literate readers. If you can replace different than with different
fromwithout having to rewrite the rest of the sentence, why not do so?
 Polarizing: You're different than I am.
Unchallengeable: You're different from me.
See also DIFFERENT FROM, DIFFERENT THAN.

Rule 5. Use into rather than in to express motion toward something. Use in to tell the location.
Correct: I swam in the pool. Correct: I dived into the water.
Correct: I walked into the house. Incorrect: Throw it in the trash.
Correct: I looked into the matter. Correct: Throw it into the trash.
Incorrect: I dived in the water.

Most prepositions have multiple usages and meanings. Generally speaking, prepositions can be divided
into eight categories: time, place, direction or movement, agency, instrument or device, reason or purpose,
connection, and origin.

A preposition of time describes when or for how long something occurred or will occur. The three most
common prepositions of time are at, in, and on. Each preposition of time refers to a different increment of
or point in time, as shown below:
Preposition of
What it Describes Example Sentences
Time
“Let’s meet at noon.”
at specific and short times of day
“Chris arrived at one o’clock.”
“Beth starts school in August.”
“In 2008, the U.S. held a presidential
in months, years, and specific times of day election.”
“I would rather work on the project in the
afternoon.”
“On Tuesday, Dad went to the grocery store.”
on days and dates
“Valentine’s Day is on February 14.”
for durations of time “He lived abroad for many years.”
during simultaneous events “We’re not supposed to study duringclass.”
a continuous event originating from a “She’s been waiting to hear back from the
since
specific point in the past office since yesterday.”
a specific point in the future before which “You must wake up by six o’clock tomorrow
by
an event must be completed morning.”
a continuous event that will terminate at a “Daniel can’t sneak out of the house until his
until
specific point in the future parents go to bed.”
before something prior to a specific time or event “The moon rose before sunset.”
something following a specific time or “Katrina made a promise to help
after
event out after work today.”
“My watch says it’s 10 minutes to three right
to time in relation to the next hour of the day
now.”
time in relation to the previous hour of the “Ideally, the party would start no later than a
past
day quarter past eight.”

A preposition of place describes where something is located in reference to something else, or where
something occurred or will occur. Like prepositions of time, the most common prepositions of place are
also at, in, and on. The usages of these and other prepositions of place are explained below:
Preposition of What it Describes Example Sentences
 Place
at specific points or locations “Ben is planning on staying the night at a hotel.”
in enclosed spaces “The rice is in the cabinet.”
on surfaces or tops of things “Leave the towel on the counter.”
by, near, close to lack of distance “The library is by/near/close to the train station.”
“Many people consider it rude to sit next to/beside a
next to, beside adjacency
stranger in a movie theater.”
something in the middle of “To make a sandwich, simply put
between
two people or things something between two slices of bread.”
something at the back of
behind “I stood behind my sister while we waited in line.”
something
something situated before
in front of “Let’s put the dresser in front of the window.”
something
something higher than “The arch above/over the hallway reminded Natalie of a
above, over*
something castle she’d visited.”
something lower than
below, under** “All children fear the monsters below/under their beds.”
something
(*Over and above both describe something higher than something else, but over can also describe
something directly in contact with and covering something beneath it. For example: “I draped my
jacket over the couch” is correct, whereas “I draped my jacket above the couch” is incorrect.)
(**Under and below can both describe something lower than something else, but under can also describe
something that is directly in contact with something on top of it. For example: “The puppy hid under the
blanket” is correct, whereas “The puppy hid below the blanket” is incorrect.)

A preposition of direction or movement describes how, where, or in what way something moves. The
following table highlights the most common prepositions of direction and movement, as well as their
different usages:
Preposition of Direction
What it Describes Example Sentences
or Movement
movement with a specific aim, “My brother went to Europe with his
to
direction, or destination friends.”
movement with a specific point of “She told stories about the time she walked
from
origin to Spain from France.”
movement higher than and across
over “The bird flew over the trees.”
something else
movement to a point higher than
above “He shot his arrow above the target.”
something else
“That large worm went under/beneath the
under/beneath movement lower than something
dirt.”
movement on a straight line or “The childhood friends rode their
along
edge bicycles along the road.”
“The couple held hands and
around movement in a circular direction
skated around the rink.”
movement from one end to the
across “I walked across the flimsy bridge.”
other
 movement from one side of an
“The burglar entered the
through enclosed space and out of the
house throughthe basement window.”
other
“If you jump into the water like this, you
into movement ending inside something
can make a big splash.”
movement ending outside “Get out of that cave before the bear
out of
something comes back!”
“Laughing, she threw up her hands and
toward(s)* movement closer to something
ran toward(s) the park.”
“Get away from the fire before you get
away from movement farther from something
burned.”
movement ending on top of
onto “Be careful climbing onto that ledge.”
something
movement down or away from “Parents are always yelling at their kids to
off
something get off the furniture.”
“When you use a fireplace, smoke
up movement heading up
goes up the chimney.”
down movement heading down “He jumped down and hurt his knee.”
(*Toward and towards are interchangeable. In formal American English, “toward” is preferred.)

A preposition of agency describes a person or a thing that has caused or is causing something to occur.
Sentences containing prepositions of agency are usually written in the passive voice and employ the
prepositions by (for people) and with(for things). For example:
 “The house was built by the three siblings.” (passive)
 “The three siblings built the house.” (active)
 “Her heart is filled with emotion.” (passive)
 “Emotion filled her heart.” (active)

A preposition of instrument or device is used when describing certain technologies, machines,

or devices. These prepositions are by, with, and on. Typically, by refers to methods of transportation,
whereas with and on describe the use of machines and other devices. For example:
 “Aunt Patricia returned home by ferry.”
 “She opened the locked door with an old key.”
 “May I finish my homework on your computer?”

A preposition of reason or purpose describes why something has occurred or will occur. Common
prepositions of reason or purpose include for, through, because of, on account of, and from. For example:
 “Everything I did was for you.”
 “Through her bravery, we were able to escape unharmed.”
 “Because of the delay, I was late to the parade.”
 “The employees refused to work on account of their low pay.”
 “He knows from experience how to deal with them.”

A preposition of connection describes possession, relationships, or accompaniment. Of is used for

possession, to for relationships between people or things, and with for accompaniment. For example:
 “The Statue of Liberty is located in New York Harbor.”
 “A well-written essay is impressive to teachers.”
 “Lisa wanted to go to the concert with Victor.”
Origin
When we describe a person or thing’s origin (such as nationality, hometown/state, ethnicity, the place
where something was built or designed, etc.), we typically use the preposition from (and, to a lesser
degree, of). For example:
 “I met the most delightful couple from Italy.”
 “I’m from New York originally, but I’ve lived in Dallas for many years.”
 “The new professor is of Turkish descent.”
 “The new computer from the tech giant should be revolutionary.”

A word that looks like a preposition but is actually part of a verb is called a particle.

Held up is a verb meaning “to rob.”

Therefore, up is not a preposition, and bank is not the
object of a preposition.
Instead, bank is the direct object of the verb held up.

To avoid confusing prepositions with particles, test by moving the word (up) and words following it to the
front of the sentence:
Up the bank four armed men held.
If the resulting sentence does not make sense, then the word belongs with the verb and is a particle, not a
preposition.

The following examples illustrate the difference between prepositions and particles:

Some other examples of particles:

give turn in pull wore broke

in through out up
go in put in bring up found blow
for for out up
look make look
up up over

Prepositional phrase will begin with a preposition and end with a noun, pronoun, gerund, or clause, the
"object" of the preposition. The object of the preposition will often have one or more modifiers to describe
it. These are the patterns for a prepositional phrase:
Preposition + Noun, Pronoun, Gerund, or clause
Preposition + Modifier(s) + Noun, Pronoun, Gerund, or Clause

Here are some examples of the most basic prepositional phrase:

From Richie
From = preposition; Richie = noun. By singing
W ith me By = preposition; singing = gerund
With = preposition; me = pronoun.
Most prepositional phrases are longer, like these:
In = preposition; the, weedy, overgrown = modifiers; garden = noun.
Along the busy, six-lane highway
Along = preposition; the, busy, six-lane = modifiers; highway = noun.
W ithout excessively worrying
Without = preposition; excessively = modifier; worrying = gerund.

Commonly confused prepositions

About and On
Both about and on can mean ‘regarding’. There is a slight difference of meaning.
Compare:
 We had a discussion about money.
 He gave a lecture on finance.
About used in the first sentence suggests that the discussion was ordinary. On used in the second
sentence suggests that the lecture was serious or academic, suitable for specialists.
Above and over
Above and over can both mean ‘higher than’.
Above is preferred when one thing is not directly over another.
 There is a temple above the lake. (The temple is not directly over the lake.)
Over is preferred when one thing covers or touches another.
 He put on a sweater over his shirt. (NOT He put on a sweater above his shirt.)
In measurements of temperature and height we use above. In measurements of ages and speeds we
use over.
Across and through
The difference between across and through is similar to the difference meaningon and in. Through is
used for movement in a three dimensional space, with things on all sides. Across cannot be used with that
meaning.
Compare:
 The road goes through the forest.
 We walked across the desert. (We were on the desert.)