University of Los Andes – Táchira Subject: English I

Department of Modern Languages Major: Public Accounting

San Cristóbal - Venezuela

PREPOSITIONS

DEFINITION
 A preposition is a word or group of words used before a noun or pronoun to relate it
grammatically or semantically to some other constituent of a sentence.

Examples: Cathy is waiting for me at school.

I am amazed about that film.
This is an old photograph of this building.

 Prepositions often precede nouns or pronouns. In two constructions, however, it is possible in

informal English to move the preposition at the end of the sentence.
Example: To whom were you talking? (formal)
Who were you talking to? (informal)

 Prepositions can also be followed by verbs but, except after but and except, the verb must be
in the “gerund” form.
Examples: They succeeded in escaping.
He is talking of emigrating.
I could do nothing except agree.

TYPES OF PREPOSITIONS

1. - Simple prepositions: They consist of only one word.

aboard about above across after

along alongside among around as
at before behind below beneath
between beyond by down for
in inside into like near
off on onto outside over
(a)round through to toward(s) besides
up upon with within without
since against astride beside from
of past under underneath
2. - Complex prepositions: They may be divided in two-and-three word sequences. In two-word
sequences the first word is an adverb, adjective or conjunction, and the second word is a simple
preposition.

Example: Except for Margaret, everybody was in favorable idea.

a) Two-word sequence

up against due to inside of

as for next to irrespective of
apart from owing to out of
away from preparatory to regardless of
ahead of prior to void of
back of subsequent to as to
exclusive of up to contrary to
instead of as per near to
off of but for on to
outside of aside from preliminary to

b) Three-word sequence

I. - in + noun + of

in aid of in search of in the light of

in behalf of in view of in head of
in change of in back of in the process of
in the face of in case of in respect of
in front of in consequence of in spite of
in place of in favor of

II.- in + noun + with

in accordance with in common with

in comparison with in contact with

III.- by + noun + of

by means of by way of
by virtue of

IV.- on + noun + of

on account of on the matter of

on behalf of on the part of
on the strength of on top of
KINDS OF PREPOSITIONS

A. PREPOSITIONS OF TIME

PREPOSITION USES EXAMPLES

Parts of the day. I’ll see you in the morning.

She never studies in the afternoon.

Months, seasons. I’m going to Spain in July.

IN She’s having a holiday in (the) autumn.

Years, decades and centuries. He died in 1995.

I lived in France in the 1980s.
“In” can mean:
a) During or within a period of time. I got to London in three hours.

b) At the end of a period of time. I’ll be ready in five minutes.

Days and dates. I’ll phone you on Monday.

ON On my birthday I went to London.

Parts of days/dates. Come on Tuesday morning.

He left on the evening of June 6th.

Clock times. The bus leaves at 9:30.

We have lunch at 12:00 o’clock.

Words meaning a time of a day. She works at nights.

AT I eat at midday.

With: the beginning, night, the end, the I’ll see you at the beginning of the week.
moment, Christmas, Easter, etc. I cried at the end of the film.

Public holidays / festivals. I’m going to Rome at Easter.

By a time / date / period = at that time or The train starts at 6:10 so you had better be at the
before / not later than a date: it often station by 6:00.
implies “before that time / date”
BY
By + a time expression is often used By the end of July I’ll have read all those books.
with a perfect tense, particularly the I won’t have finished of working by 2003.
future perfect. She will have come here by then.

BEFORE It means ‘at an earlier time; previously’. I’ll be there before lunchtime.

It also works as a conjunction or an Before you sing this song, I’ll turn the radio off.
adverb. I’ve seen him somewhere before.

WITHIN It is used before a period of time has We’ll be here within five days.
elapsed. I plan to travel to Mexico within a week.
 FROM It is normally used with “to” or “till / Most people work from nine to five.
until.” She has traveled from January till September.

It is used for time, never for place, and He has been here since Monday. (From Monday
means ‘from that time to the time till now.)
referred to’.

SINCE It is often used with a present perfect He has wondered where Ann was. He had not
tense or a past perfect tense. seen her since their quarrel.

It is used with a point in time. I’ve been sitting here since this morning.

It can also be an adverb or a conjunction He left school. I haven’t seen him since.
of time. It’s two years since I last saw Tom.

For + a period of time can be used with He has worked here for a year.
a present perfect or a past perfect tense I’ve known him for many years.
for an action which extends up to the We had been in jail for one week.
time of speaking.

(Indicating purpose) it may be used I rented a car for the summer.

FOR before known periods. I went there for my holidays.

It has various other uses. He asked for 25.

I bought this skirt for Cathy.

It is used with known periods of time, I always get up late during my holidays.
i.e. periods known by name, such as Most Christians always pray on Easter.
Christmas, Easter or period which have Many gifts are given to children during
DURING already been defined. Christmas.

The action can either last the whole It rained all Monday but stopped raining during
period or occur at some time within the the night. (at some point in time)
period.

TO “To” can be used for time and place. They worked from five to ten. (time)
I like to go to the beach on Weekends. (place)

TILL/UNTIL “Till/until” of time only. We can use She stayed at hospital from Monday till Friday.
from . . . to or from . . . till/until.

“Till/until” is often used with a negative We didn’t get home till/until 2 a.m.
verb to emphasize lateness. He usually pays me on Friday but last week he
didn’t pay me the bill till/until the following
Monday.

“Till/until” is very often used as a We’ll stay here till/until it stops raining.
conjunction of time. Go on till/until you come to the level crossing.

It must be followed by a noun, pronoun Don’t bathe immediately after a meal.

or gerund. You should take a nap after studying.
AFTER
It can also be used as a conjunction. After he had turned the piano, it sounded quite
different.
B. PREPOSITIONS OF PLACE AND DIRECTION

PREPOSITION USES EXAMPLES

When we talk about an enclosed space There were six people in the room.
that is surrounded on all sides. He’s got a gun in his hand!

With buildings and areas surrounded by He lives in a big house.

walls, etc. There is a lake in the park.

With larger areas like cities, states, They live in the USA, in Texas.
IN countries, continents, villages. When I was in Italy, I spent two days in Venice.

With words that describe the relative In the corner of the square.
position of something. He sat in the middle of the room.
Manchester is in the north of England

With words like hospital, church, He is in hospital.

school. They got married in church.
Mike is in school.

With newspapers and magazines. I read it in the New York Times.

There is an amazing picture in the Newsweek.

When we want to talk about a horizontal The book is on the table.

or vertical surface. The picture is on the wall.

With any kind of line. On the border between USA and Canada.
ON On the road to Paris.

With machines. I heard it on the radio.

Your mother’s on the phone.

With right, left. I sat on the left and she sat on the right.

It is another word for on. It indicates a Seven thieves fell upon him yesterday.
UPON position reached by going up. Climb upon my knee.

When we talk about a particular point. Yesterday, I saw Mary at the bus stop.
There was a cow at the bottom of the hill.

With a building when we’re talking He is at the bank getting some money.
about what normally happens there, and She works at the chemist’s.
AT not the building itself.

With social activities. We met at a party.

I see him every week at the football match.

In the expressions: at home, at school, He’s at school.

at work. Harry is at work.
I am at home.

With addresses if we give the house I live at 6, Freeland Road.

number. My house is at 12, Woodland, Chicago.
 It indicates movement, entrance. They climbed into the lorry.
Thieves broke into my house.
INTO I poured the beer into a tankard.

With the verb put, however, either in or He put his hand in/into his pockets.
into can be used.

Above (preposition and adverb) and The helicopter hovered above/over us.
over (preposition) both can mean Flags waved over/above our heads.
‘higher than’ and sometimes either can
ABOVE be used.

But over can also mean ‘covering’, or We put a rug over him.
‘on the other side of’, ‘across’ and He lives over the mountains.
‘from one side to the other’. Above can There is a bridge over the river.
have none of these meanings. She put a scarf over her head.

All over + noun/pronoun can mean ‘in He has friend all over the world.
every part of’.

Over can mean ‘more than’ or higher

OVER than’. Above can mean ‘higher than
only’. Both can mean ‘higher in rank’

Over can be used with meals / food / They had a chat over a cup of tea.
drink. (While drinking tea)

In the combination take + a time He doesn’t take long over lunch/to eat his lunch.
expression + over + noun/pronoun, over He took ages over the job.
can mean ‘to do / finish’. (He took ages to finish it.)

Above can also be used an adjective or The above address (the previously mentioned
adverb meaning ‘earlier’ (in a book, address)
article, etc.) See B above (the previously mentioned section B)

Beside (only preposition) means ‘at the We camped beside a lake.

BESIDE side of’. Helen is sitting down beside me.

Besides (preposition) means‘in addition I do all the cooking and besides that I help Tom.
to/as well as’. Besides doing the cooking, I help Tom.

Besides (adverb) means:

BESIDES
a) ‘In addition to that/as well as that’. I do the cooking and help Tom besides.

b) ‘In any case/anyway’. We can’t afford oysters. Besides, Tom doesn’t like
them.

It can sometimes be used instead of He would think it beneath him to tell a lie.
BENEATH under, but it is safer to keep it for (Unworthy of him)
abstract meanings.

She married beneath her. (Into a lower social

class)
 Below (preposition and adverb) and She put the letter under her pillow.
under (preposition) can both mean The ice crackled under his feet.
BELOW ‘lower than’ and sometimes both can be
used. But under can indicate contact.

With below there is usually a space They live below us. (We live on the fourth floor
between the two surfaces. and they live on the third.)

Below and under sometimes mean the I can see the dolphin below the surface/under the
same (‘lower than’). But under means surface.
‘below a certain point in a
perpendicular line’.
UNDER
But we use below to mean ‘lower than’, I stood at an upstairs window and I could see the
but not ‘directly under’. river below me.

We used under when we mean ‘covered A: Where’s my pen?

by’. B: It’s under that newspaper.

UNDERNEATH Means ‘lower part, surface’ The paper clips are underneath that box.
My ID card is underneath those books.

Behind means ‘in or to a position I hid behind a tree.

BEHIND further back than’. My house is behind the club.
There is a fire behind that shopping center.

IN FRONT OF In front of: ‘someone/something is Tom is in front of Mary. (He faces her)
facing someone/something’, or We are sitting in front of Helen. (She is with her
‘someone/something is back to back to us.)
someone/something’.

OPPOSITE Opposite: ‘someone or something is Tom is opposite Mary.

facing someone or something’. There is a cinema opposite the bank, on the other
side of the road.

People living on one side of a street will My house is opposite yours.

talk of the houses on the other side as
the houses opposite (us) rather than the She put the plate on the table in front of him.
houses in front of us. With other He sat with a book in front of her.
things, however, these restrictions do
not apply.

OUTSIDE Outside means ‘on or to the‘ exterior’, I live in a village outside London.
or beyond the limits of’. The amusement park is outside the city.
I bought a little farm outside this state.

(A) round means ‘situated at various There’s a car park round the corner.
(A)ROUND points in’, from place to place in’, or We are sitting around the campfire.
somewhere in or near’. The space-slip is traveling (a)round the world.
My belt is (a)round my waist.
ON TOP OF On top of means ‘the uppermost part of They’ve put a flag on top of the castle.
anything’. There’s a big candle on top of the birthday cake.

Between normally relates a person/thing Luxembourg lies between Belgium, France and
to two other people/ things, but it can be Germany.
used of more when we have a definite
BETWEEN number in mind.

Among relates a person/thing to more He was happy to be among friends again.

than two others; normally we have no A village among the hills.
definite number in mind. Those books are among these bookshelves.

Among and between don’t mean the

same:
We use among when I found my watch among some old clothes on the
something/someone is surrounded by a floor.
group of things/people. We don’t see
these things or people separately.

AMONG We use between for two or I sat between Tom and Peter.
more things/people when we see them There were flowers growing between the stones in
as separate objects. the hall.

0B NEXT TO Next to (it’s closer than near) Can I sit next to you?
The bank is next to the post office.

Near (farther away than next to) The ship sank near here.
Don’t go near the edge.

1B NEAR Compare:
I sat next to a TV presenter.
(He was in the next seat)

I sat near a TV presenter.

(He was in the next row of seats)

2B INSIDE Inside is used rather than in, when we A: Do you want to look inside the house? There
want to emphasize the interior of a are some nice paintings in the hall.
place. B: Of course!

By means ‘next to/beside’. Come and sit by me.

BY A: Where is the light switch?
B: By the door.

AS FAR AS It means ‘to the distance or place of’ Let’s walk as far as the next corner.
Come with me as far as the subway station.

It is used to indicate a distance or a time With three miles to go, he collapsed. (place)
by which something is away from That fashion ended with the century. (time)
WITH something else.

It also has other uses:

By means of He killed her with an axe.
Accompanying, by the company I want to go with you to the party.
Possessing That man with a red moustache is very young.
C. PREPOSITIONS OF MOVEMENT

PREPOSITION USES EXAMPLES

It can be used (chiefly of people and People climbed onto their roofs.
3B ONTO animals) when there is movement We lift him onto the table.
involving a change of level. The cat jumped onto the mantelpiece.

It indicates movement from a lower to a We climbed up the hill.

UP higher position. He ran up the stairs.

4B (A)ROUND It involves or uses a circular motion. We walked (a)round the lake.

The shop is just around the corner.

OFF Movements in which contact is absent. The glass fell off the table.
She never takes off her jacket.

TO It is used to indicate the destination of He climbed to the top of the mountain.

the subject or object of an action. She went to the park last week.

TOWARDS It is used to indicate in the direction or He came towards me.

vicinity of. I like to travel towards London on weekends.

UNDER It is used to indicate movement from a He walked under the ladder.

descending direction. We sailed under Tower Bridge.

OVER It is used to indicate movement via the He jumped over the stream.
top or upper surface of. She climbed over the wall.

It is used to indicate movement from a The water ran down the hole.
DOWN higher to a lower position or movement The bank is down the street.
at a lower or further lever or position on,
in, or along.

It is used to indicate going in at one side I walked through the forest last week.
THROUGH and coming out at the other side of. She went home through the tunnel.

It is used to indicate movement towards Go along this road and then turn right.
ALONG one end of something. There are not trees along that road.

5B FROM It is used to indicate the distance The plane from Spain has arrived.
between two things or places. I have just come from Mexico.

PAST Movement beyond someone or He walked past me and didn’t stop.

something There is a hospital just past that stop light.

ACROSS Movement from one side to the other. He sailed across the Atlantic to the USA.
She walked across the street.
AWAY
It means ‘apart, at a distance’. Come here! Don’t run away from me.
FROM I am away from home.
D. PREPOSITIONS USED FOR TRAVEL AND TRANSPORT

PREPOSITION USES EXAMPLES

6B BY When we talk about means of transport, Peter traveled to Manchester by train.

we can use by and on. But with car, I went to the USA by sea/plane.
truck, taxi; we use in. I traveled on the train.
7B ON She came in her car.
I got a lift in a truck.
8B IN

OUT OF We use out of and into when we talk She went into the bank.
about buildings or rooms. He came out of the classroom.

Go into/ Get into = enter (a room, I got into the first taxi that came.
INTO/IN building, a car, a taxi, a truck, etc.) A bird flew into the room through the window.

We sometimes use in (instead of into) Don’t wait outside. Come in the house. (or
Come into the house.)

OUT OF The opposite of into is out of. The police told me to get out of the car.
She we got out of the car and went into a store.

ON/OFF We say get on/get off a train, a bus, a He got on his bike and rode away.
coach, a plane, a big boat, a bike, and a We got off the train at London.
motorbike.

TO We say get to (= reach) a town, a We got to Athens at 9:30.

country or a place. We got to America in four hours.

IN/AT But we say arrive in a town, a country, We arrived in France a week ago.
or a city and arrive at a place What time did you arrive at the station?
(buildings, etc.) or events.
I go to Spain twice a year.
We say go to a place, a town, a country, He’s gone to Africa.
and a continent. When are you going to London?

I arrive home at 12:30.

We don’t use a preposition before home She left home early.
with verbs like: go, get, come, arrive, What time will you get home?
and leave.