Prepositions are short words (on, in, to) that usually stand in front of nouns, pronouns

(sometimes also in front of gerund verbs). They can have a variety of meanings:

Direction- He's going TO the shops

Location- It's IN the box
Time- He left AFTER the lesson had finished
Possession- The Government OF Italy

Some prepositional phrases can function like single word prepositions;

next to, in front of, etc., called complex prepositions.

There is one very simple rule about prepositions. And, unlike most rules, this rule has no
exceptions.

Rule
A preposition is followed by a "noun". It is never followed by a verb.

By "noun" we include:

 noun (dog, money, love)

 proper noun (name) (Bangkok, Mary)
 pronoun (you, him, us)
 noun group (my first job)
 gerund (swimming)

A preposition cannot be followed by a verb. If we want to follow a preposition by a verb,

we must use the "-ing" form which is really a gerund or verb in noun form.

Here are some examples:

Subject + verb preposition "noun"

The food is on the table.

She lives in Japan.

Tara is looking for you.

The letter is under your blue book.

Pascal is used to English people.

She isn't used to working.

I ate before coming.

Prepositions of Place: at, in, on
In general, we use:

 at for a POINT
 in for an ENCLOSED SPACE
 on for a SURFACE

at in on

POINT ENCLOSED SPACE SURFACE

at the corner in the garden on the wall

at the bus stop in London on the ceiling

at the door in France on the door

at the top of the page in a box on the cover

at the end of the road in my pocket on the floor

at the entrance in my wallet on the carpet

at the crossroads in a building on the menu

at the front desk in a car on a page

Look at these examples:

 Jane is waiting for you at the bus stop.

 The shop is at the end of the street.
 My plane stopped at Dubai and Hanoi and arrived in Bangkok two hours late.
 When will you arrive at the office?
 Do you work in an office?
 I have a meeting in New York.
 Do you live in Japan?
 Jupiter is in the Solar System.
 The author's name is on the cover of the book.
 There are no prices on this menu.
 You are standing on my foot.
 There was a "no smoking" sign on the wall.
 I live on the 7th floor at 21 Oxford Street in London.

Notice the use of the prepositions of place at, in and on in these standard expressions:
at in on

at home in a car on a bus

at work in a taxi on a train

at school in a helicopter on a plane

at university in a boat on a ship

at college in a lift (elevator) on a bicycle, on a motorbike

at the top in the newspaper on a horse, on an elephant

at the bottom in the sky on the radio, on television

at the side in a row on the left, on the right

at reception in Oxford Street on the way

Prepositions of Time: at, in, on

We use:

 at for a PRECISE TIME

 in for MONTHS, YEARS, CENTURIES and LONG PERIODS
 on for DAYS and DATES

at in on

PRECISE MONTHS, YEARS, CENTURIES and LONG

DAYS and DATES
TIME PERIODS

at 3 o'clock in May on Sunday

at 10.30am in summer on Tuesdays

at noon in the summer on 6 March

at dinnertime in 1990 on 25 Dec. 2010

at bedtime in the 1990s on Christmas Day

at sunrise in the next century on Independence

 Day

at sunset in the Ice Age on my birthday

at the moment in the past/future on New Year's Eve

Look at these examples:

 I have a meeting at 9am.

 The shop closes at midnight.
 Jane went home at lunchtime.
 In England, it often snows in December.
 Do you think we will go to Jupiter in the future?
 There should be a lot of progress in the next century.
 Do you work on Mondays?
 Her birthday is on 20 November.
 Where will you be on New Year's Day?

Notice the use of the preposition of time at in the following standard expressions:

Expression Example

at night The stars shine at night.

at the weekend I don't usually work at the weekend.

at Christmas/Easter I stay with my family at Christmas.

at the same time We finished the test at the same time.

at present He's not home at present. Try later.

Notice the use of the prepositions of time in and on in these common expressions:

in on

in the morning on Tuesday morning

in the mornings on Saturday mornings

in the afternoon(s) on Sunday afternoons

in the evening(s) on Monday evening

When we say last, next, every, this we do not also use at, in, on.

 I went to London last June. (not in last June)

 He's coming back next Tuesday. (not on next Tuesday)
 I go home every Easter. (not at every Easter)
 We'll call you this evening. (not in this evening)

Prepositions at, in, on

Preposition Examples
We sit in the room.
I see a house in the picture.
There are trouts in the river.
He lives in Paris.
I found the picture in the paper.
He sits in the corner of the room.
He sits in the back of the car.
We arrive in Madrid.
He gets in the car.
She likes walking in the rain.
in
My cousin lives in the country.
There are kites in the sky.
He plays in the street. (BE)
She lives in a hotel.
The boys stand in a line.
There is a big tree in the middle of the garden.
He is in town.
I have to stay in bed.
You mustn't park your car in front of the school.
The robber is in prison now.
at She sits at the desk.
Open your books at page 10.
The bus stops at Graz.
I stay at my grandmother's.
I stand at the door.
Look at the top of the page.
The car stands at the end of the street.
Can we meet at the corner of the street?
I met John at a party.
Pat wasn't at home yesterday.
I study economics at university.
The childen are at gandmother's.
He's looking at the park.
 He always arrives late at school.
The map lies on the desk.
The picture is on page 10.
The photo hangs on the wall.
He lives on a farm.
Dresden lies on the river Elbe.
Men's clothes are on the second floor.
on
He lives on Heligoland.
The shop is on the left.
My friend is on the way to Moscow.
Write this information on the front of the letter.
When she was a little girl people saw unrealistic cowboy films
on television.

Prepositions of place and direction

Preposition Use Examples
above higher than sth. The picture hangs above my bed.
from one side to the other You mustn't go across this road here.
across
side There isn't a bridge across the river.
The cat ran after the dog.
after one follows the other
After you.
against directed towards sth. The bird flew against the window.
in a line; from one point
along They're walking along the beach.
to another
among in a group I like being among people.
around in a circular way We're sitting around the campfire.
behind at the back of Our house is behind the supermarket.
below lower than sth. Death Valley is 86 metres below sea level.
beside next to Our house is beside the supermarket.
Our house is between the supermarket and the
between sth./sb. is on each side
school.
by near He lives in the house by the river.
close to near Our house is close to the supermarket.
down from high to low He came down the hill.
from the place where it starts Do you come from Tokyo?
the part that is in the
in front of Our house is in front of the supermarket.
direction it faces
inside opposite of outside You shouldn't stay inside the castle.
into entering sth. You shouldn't go into the castle.
near close to Our house is near the supermarket.
next to beside Our house is next to the supermarket.
off away from sth. The cat jumped off the roof.
onto moving to a place The cat jumped onto the roof.
opposite on the other side Our house is opposite the supermarket.
out of leaving sth. The cat jumped out of the window.
outside opposite of inside Can you wait outside?
over above sth./sb. The cat jumped over the wall.
past going near sth./sb. Go past the post office.
round in a circle We're sitting round the campfire.
going from one point to
through You shouldn't walk through the forest.
the other point
I like going to Australia.
to towards sth./sb.
Can you come to me?
I've never been to Africa.
towards in the direction of sth. We ran towards the castle.
under below sth. The cat is under the table.
up from low to high He went up the hill.

Prepositions – Time
English Usage Example
 on  days of the week  on Monday
 months / seasons
 in August / in winter
 time of day
 in the morning
 year
 in  in 2006
 after a certain period of
 in an hour
time (when?)
 for night
 at night
 for weekend
 at the weekend
 at
 a certain point of time
 at half past nine
(when?)
 from a certain point of time
 since  since 1980
(past till now)
 over a certain period of
 for  for 2 years
time (past till now)
 ago  a certain time in the past  2 years ago
 English Usage Example
 earlier than a certain point
 before  before 2004
of time
 to  telling the time  ten to six (5:50)
 past  telling the time  ten past six (6:10)
 to /
 marking the beginning and
till /  from Monday to/till Friday
end of a period of time
until
 till /  in the sense of how long  He is on holiday until
until something is going to last Friday.
 I will be back by 6 o’clock.
 in the sense of at the latest
 by
 By 11 o'clock, I had read
 up to a certain time
five pages.

Prepositions – Place (Position and Direction)

English Usage Example
 room, building, street,
 in the kitchen, in London
town, country
 in the book
 book, paper etc.
 in  in the car, in a taxi
 car, taxi
 in the picture, in the world
 picture, world
 meaning next to, by an
object  at the door, at the station
 for table  at the table
 for events  at a concert, at the party
 at
 place where you are to do  at the cinema, at school, at
something typical (watch a work
film, study, work)
 attached  the picture on the wall
 for a place with a river  London lies on the
 being on a surface Thames.
 for a certain side (left,  on the table
 on right)  on the left
 for a floor in a house  on the first floor
 for public transport  on the bus, on a plane

 for television, radio  on TV, on the radio

 by, next  left or right of somebody  Jane is standing by / next
 English Usage Example
to,
or something to / beside the car.
beside
 on the ground, lower than
 under (or covered by) something  the bag is under the table
else
 lower than something else  the fish are below the
 below
but above ground surface
 covered by something else
 put a jacket over your shirt
 meaning more than
 over 16 years of age
 getting to the other side
 over  walk over the bridge
(also across)
 climb over the wall
 overcoming an obstacle
 higher than something
 above else, but not directly over  a path above the lake
it
 getting to the other side
 walk across the bridge
(also over)
 across
 swim across the lake
 getting to the other side
 something with limits on
 through  drive through the tunnel
top, bottom and the sides
 movement to person or
building  go to the cinema
 movement to a place or  go to London / Ireland
 to
country
 go to bed
 for bed
 go into the kitchen / the
 into  enter a room / a building
house
 movement in the direction
 go 5 steps towards the
 towards of something (but not
house
directly to it)
 movement to the top of
 onto  jump onto the table
something
 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  a page of the book
 English Usage Example
 what does it show  the picture of a palace
 by  who made it  a book by Mark Twain
 walking or riding on  on foot, on horseback
horseback
 on  get on the bus
 entering a public transport
vehicle
 in  entering a car / Taxi  get in the car
 leaving a public transport
 off  get off the train
vehicle
 out
 leaving a car / Taxi  get out of the taxi
of
 rise or fall of something  prices have risen by 10
percent
 by
 travelling (other than
walking or horseriding)  by car, by bus
 at  for age  she learned Russian at 45
 for topics, meaning what
 about  we were talking about you
about

Phrasal verbs

To THROW

Throw away
- Discard something when no longer needed

Throw in
- Join, accompany
- Add something to a deal

Throw off
- Remove item of clothing quickly
- Get rid of
- Produce light or heat

Throw on
- Put clothes on quickly

Throw out
- Get rid of
- Dislocate
- Reject
- Produce heat, fumes
- Expel

Throw together
- Make or arrange quickly

Throw up
- Vomit
- Produce problems, results, ideas, etc
- Leave a job or position suddenly
- Create clouds of dust or splash water into the air

Throw yourself at
- Make it clear you are sexually attracted to someone

Throw yourself into

- Do something enthusiastically or energetically

To Jump

Jump at
- Accept eagerly

Jump in
- Enter a conversation

Jump on
- Criticize, attack, a tabari, a certa, a dojeni, a apostrofa, a se arunca asupra
Jane was tired of the way her brother jumped on her, twisting her words.

Jump down = a cobori grabit, a sari in jos

He jumped down from the train before it stopped.

Jump off = a se arunca, a-si da drumul

Tom jumped off the bridge into the cold water.

Jump with = correspond to, coincide with

The fact that you wasted your vacation on parties with your friends, doesn’t jump with
your coach’s intentions of training hard for the coming Olympic Games.