Prepositions of Time, Place and Movement

There are approximately 80 to 100 prepositions in the English language.

Prepositions are words that give more information bout time, place and
movement.

Prepositions of time:
At:
1. Hours: at 10:30
2. Meals: at breakfast/ lunch/dinner / snack/supper
3.With these parts of day and night: at sunrise/ sunset/ midnight/ night/ dawn/
midday/ noon
4. General occasions/holidays: at New year’s day/ thanksgiving / Christmas/ Easter
5.with the word (age): at the age of ……
6.The end of something: at the end of the day/week/month/ year, at the end of
the game/ movie
7.with these words: at the weekend/ moment/ present/ dinnertime/ bedtime/
lunchtime/ at the same time/ precise time
Ex/The meeting starts at 9 am.
On:
1.Days of the week: On Saturday/ On Sunday morning/ on Fridays
2.Date: on 22nd January/ on March 3rd 2002
3.Spesific occasions: on (your)birthday/ New Year’s Eve/ Independence
Day/Thanksgiving Day/Christmas day
Ex/I visit my grandmother on Fridays.
In:
1.centuries: in the 19th century/ in the next century
2.years: in 1999
3.seasons: in summer/ in the summer
4.months: in May
5. parts of a day: in the morning(s) / in the afternoon(s)/ in the evening(s)
6.periods: in ten minutes/ in six months / a few minutes
7.with the word: in the end/ in the past/ in the future
Ex/ The scientists have discovered many diseases in the 20th century.
During night/ the war/ morning/ this winter/ meeting/ ceremony/ trip
Ex/ During the interview, they asked about my personality.
By Monday/ lunch/ the end of this year
Ex/ You have to finish the project by the end of this week.
Before/ Before 1920, they had had a land.
After/ I’ll see you after class.
From …. to
Between….and

No prepositions: Yesterday/ today/ tomorrow/ last/ next/ago

Ex/ We are going to meet tomorrow.

Prepositions of Place
(in, on, at, below, ahead of, beyond, around, behind, beside, between, among,
near, next to, above, in front of, over, under, opposite, in the back of a car…)
In hospital/ jail/ room/ building/ box/ garden/ town/ country/ city center/ pool/
sea/ river/in your mouth/ in your hand/ in the car
Ex/ There is no-one in the room.
(in a line/ row/ a queue/ bed/ the country/ countryside/ an office/ department/
photograph/ picture/ in a book/ paper/ magazine/ letter

On the ceiling/ the wall/ floor/ ground/ chair/ grass/beach/ board/ door/ window/
on a page/ on an island/ on her nose
Ex/ There’s a dirty mark on your nose.
(on the left/ right/ left hand side/ right hand side/ on the ground floor/ 3rd floor/
on a map/ on a menu/ a list/ a farm/ on the way to…./ on the back (in front of ) of
a letter, a piece of paper(photo), on a bus…
Ex/ We stopped at a small town on the way to Suli.
At home/ work/ school/ university/ college/ a part/ concert/ the station/ airport/
the bus stop/ the door/ window/ roundabout/ traffic lights/ church/ reception
Ex/ *Turn left at the traffic lights.
* We have to get off the bus at the next stop.
(at the top of / at the bottom of / at the end of…..
*Write your name at the top of the page.
*My house is at the other end of the street.
(at the back (in front of) a building / theater/ group of people

Compare at and in…

I’ll meet you in the hotel lobby.
I’ll meet you at the entrance to the hotel.
Compare on and in…
There is some water in the bottle.
There is a label on the bottle.

Compare at and on…

There is somebody at the door. Shall I go to see who it is?
There is a notice on the door. It says “Do not disturb.”

Prepositions of movement
These are used to indicate where an object or person is moving from.

With moving verbs: fly, walk, drive, go, climb, ride, run……

Across/ through/ to/ into/ towards/ onto/ over/ along/ down/ past/ round/
around/ under/ out of/
*She is walking along the bath.
*They drove around the roundabout.
*He jumped out of the window and over the fence.
*Nobody goes to the party.