English Compound Prepositions List, Exercises and

Examples
according to (as stated by, on the authority of)
According to John, no one enjoyed the party very much.
According to the weatherman, we can expect more cold weather
this week.
ahead of (before, in front of)
You should have told us ahead of time that you were coming.
That car’s going too slowly. Why don’t you try to get ahead of
him?
along with (together with)
We have to take Physical Education along with all the academic
courses.
alongside of (beside, parallel with)
I parked my car alongside of a gray station wagon.
apart from (separate from, considered in separation from)
It’s a new house, and stands apart from all the other houses in
the street because of its size and newness.
Apart from his habit of talking too much, I have nothing in
particular against him.
as against (in contrast or competition with)
As against all other members of his family, I prefer him.
as between (choosing or judging between two)
As between living in the country or in the city, I much prefer the
latter.
as compared with (in comparison with)
As compared with (to) the other students in the class, he’s no
(to) problem at all.
as for (introduces a new but similar subject for consideration or
comment)
John will probably pass the examination without difficulty.
As for Mary, I’m not so sure!
at the point of (about to do something…followed by a noun or gerund)
The sick man was at the point of death. (about to die)
The ship was at the point of break in two.
at the time of At the time of the First and the Second Crusades,
Constantinople was the center of Western civilization.
because of (on account of)
Because of the bad weather, we stayed at home.
by force of (by the power of)
The country was finally subdued by force of arms
by means of (through the agency of)
He has reached this high position by means of his own abilities,
without help.
by reason of (because, on account of)
By reason of his many years of experience in this field, he is the
best man for the job.
by virtue of (by the authority or prestige of)
I was able, by virtue of my knowledge of its language and
customs, to pass as a not native of the country.
by way of (via)
We entered Italy by way of Southern France.
due to (on account of)
 I was unable to go to the party, due to a previous engagement.
except for (with the exception of)
Except for John, none of us had ever been there before.
for fear of (because of fear of)
For fear of saying the wrong thing, I chose to say nothing at all.
for lack of (because of not having)
For lack of something better to do, we went downtown.
If I’ve failed, it isn’t for lack of trying
for the purpose of (in order to… followed by gerund)
You have all come to this school for the purpose of learning
English.
for the sake of (in the interest of, for the good of)
He treated her badly, but she stayed with him for the sake of the
children.
from above (from a position above or over)
Seen from above, the countryside looks like a checkerboard of
brown and green squares.
from among From among the thousands of students whom he had taught,
two in particular stood out in his memory.
from behind (from a position behind)
The driver got out from behind the (steering) wheel and began to
roll up his sleeves as though he intended to fight someone.
from beneath He picked the coin up from beneath the table, where it had
rolled.
from between He emerged from between two parked cars and began to walk
toward us.
from over (from the direction of)
That sound came from over that way, I think.
from under The cat came out from under the bed, where it had been hiding.
in accordance (in agreement with)
with
In accordance with your instructions, we are shipping this item to
you by insured air parcel post.
in addition to (added to)
In addition to his regular job here, he works in a store downtown
three nights a week.
in behalf of (speaking or acting as a proxy or representative)
In behalf of the mayor and the people of our beautiful city, I am
glad to extent a warm greeting and welcome to al of you.
in between (in the area or time between)
He works overseas most of the time, but in between jobs he
sometimes visits his family.
in care of (in the custody of)
When we go on our vacation, we leave the children in care of my
wife’s sister.
in case of (in the event of)
In case of enemy attack, seek shelter at once and await
instructions from your local civil defense officers on your radio.
in close (in cooperation with)

connection with
Our units work in close connection with military personnel of
other countries.
in common with (sharing the same nature or behavior as)
 In common with most elderly people, he was inclined to be a
little set in his ways.
in comparison to (compared with)

(with)
In comparison to (with) his brother he is quite easy to get along
with.
in compliance (yielding or submitting to)

with
In compliance with your request of January 7, we are returning
the following items of equipment for repair.
in connection with (as an aspect or consequence of)
I’ll have to make several trips to Washington in connection with
my new assignment.
in consequence of (as a result of)
In consequence of the changed situation, we have had to alter
our plans slightly.
in consideration (taking into account, considering)
of
In consideration of his changed attitude toward his work, we
suggest that he be given another chance.
in contrast to In contrast to (with) his earlier attitude, he is now very friendly
and cooperative.
(with)
in default of (through failure or lack of)
In default of more accurate information, we were forced to rely
on newspaper accounts of the affair.
in deference to (submitting to: the attitudes, opinions, or wishes of)
In deference to the sensitivities of some of his guests, he
avoided any discussion of religion or politics.
in exchange for (in return for)
All I got in exchange for my hard earned money was a piece of
junk.
in front of (located before)
My car is parked in front of the house.
in lieu of (as a substitute for, in place of)
In lieu of the money he owed us, we received only fine words
and more promises to pay.
in opposition to (opposing)
This action was taken in opposition to the expressed will of the
majority of our people.
in place of (as a substitute for, replacing)
I’m teaching today in place of Mr. Jones, who is sick.
in preference to (being preferred to)
Through personal influence, he was given the job in preference
to several older and more experienced men.
in regard to (concerning)
In regard to that question you asked me the other day; I think I
can answer you in affirmative.
in search of (looking for)
He’s gone to the library in search of some books on sky diving
he just heard of.
in spite of (disregarding the difficulty, resistance, hostility, etc, of)
In spite of the weatherman’s predictions, I think it’s going to be a
good day.
 He was able to complete his work in spite of illness.
in terms of (from the aspect of)
In terms of offensive or retaliatory airpower, the two nations are
on a more or less equal footing.
in the course of (during)
In the curse of the ages (long periods of time), great alterations
have taken place in the earth’s surface.
in the event of (in case of)
This policy pays double in the event of accidental death. (policy
= insurance agreement)
in the face of (because of)
He is always calm in the face of danger.
independently of (without dependence of)
He made his decision independently f the other members of the
group.
inside of (within-refers to either place or time)
I’ll never set foot inside of his house again.
He was back inside of 10 minutes.
instead of (in place of, substituting for)
I wish I were going to a party instead of to the dentist.
on account of (because of)
The game has been postponed on account of rain.
on behalf of (speaking or acting as a proxy or representative)
I make this request on behalf of my government.
on the part of (this phrase, which is difficult to translate, serves to attribute
some attitude or behavior to its object)
Eagerness to learn on the part of the students, combined with a
clear knowledge of objectives and of the techniques best
adapted to attaining them on the part of the teacher, constitutes
the ideal classroom situation.
on the point of (about to… followed by gerund)
I was on the point of leaving when the phone rang.
on top of a. (on the highest surface of)
There’s always slow on top of those mountains.
b. (furthermore, in addition)
He ate a full lunch like the rest of us, but on top of that, he ate
two or three candy bars, and drank two cokes.
out of a. (from the interior of)
As soon as she went out of the room, I got out of bed and began
to dress.
b. (no longer in or within as in the idioms out of sight, our of
mind, out of reach, out of fashion, out of business, etc)
The plane vanished out of sight over the horizon.
Get out of my way!
Out of sight, out of mind. (proverb)
c. (no longer have or be supplied with)
We ran out of gas coming from town.
He was out of breath from running so fast.
outside of a. (beyond the limits of an area)
He lives in a small town outside of New York.
b. (with the exception of)
Outside of his immediate family and one or two old friends, he
sees no one any more.
owing to (because of)
 I can’t accept your invitation owing to a previous engagement.
previous to (before a certain time)
Previous to 1980, he had been employed as a clerk in a
department store.
regardless of (without regarding, irrespective of)
All men, regardless of race, color, or creed, are entitled to equal
rights and opportunities.
relating to (having some relation with)
He told us several stories relating to his experiences in East Asia
during World War II.
relative to (concerning)
He made some interesting observations relative to life in the
tropics.
round about (at approximately.. usually said of time)
(around about) I’ll be back around about 11:00
short of (with the ultimate exception of)
I’ve tried every technique of teaching I know, short of standing
on my head; and they still don’t understand!
under cover of a. (concealed by)
They accepted from their guards under cover of darkness.
b. (protected by)
The attack was made under cover of a heavy barrage.
what with (this idiomatic, sometimes humorous, untranslatable phrase
introduces a list of various factors in a difficult, confusing, or
exasperating situations)
What with the children crying, the dog barking, and both the
telephone and the doorbell ringing at the same time, I felt that I’d
go out of my mind.
with (in) regard (with respect to, concerning)
With respect to your request for a two-week delay in the due
to payment of annual interest on the above mentioned note, we
regret that it is contrary to the policy of this organization to grant
such requests.
with a view to (for the purpose of, intending to)
With a view to increasing the sale value of the property, he had
the house painted and driveway resurfaced.
with reference to (referring to)
With reference to your letter of June 17, requesting information
about unshipped items on your order No. 1113, we are glad to
report that these items are now in stock and are being shipped
to you.
with the intension (intending to)
I went downtown with the intention of buying some shirts and
of ties