List of English Prepositions (With Examples) (2024)

A preposition is a part of the English language that shows the relationships between people, places, and things. There are over 100 different prepositions in English. Some common prepositions include words at, on, in, above, and below.

Even though prepositions are common English words, it’s difficult to know them all and use them correctly. But using the wrong preposition can completely change the meaning of a sentence.

In this article, we’ll review English prepositions, including a list of prepositions to learn and examples to help you use them correctly and improve your English.

What is a preposition?

Prepositions are words that show direction, location, time, and the spatial relationship between objects.

Prepositions are followed by an object in a sentence, which can be a noun or a pronoun. Although there may be other words between them, a prepositional phrase begins with a preposition and ends with a noun or pronoun, acting as the object.

When you learn parts of speech, prepositions may seem daunting, but they’re really just connectors in a sentence, connecting the preposition to an object of the preposition. Here are some common examples of how prepositions function in a sentence. The prepositions are in bold, and the object of the preposition is underlined:

Direction: “I sent a package to you.”

Location: “He’s at the theater.”

Time: “It should be done by suppertime.”

Spatial relationship: “The ball was placed before the hole.”

Introducing an object: “We heard the howling of wolves.”

Complex prepositions

Most prepositions are single words, but when you learn prepositions, you’ll discover that some are made of pairs and groups of words. These are often referred to as complex or compound prepositions. Here is an example:

Simple preposition: “I rowed the boat across the lake.”
Complex preposition: “I parked the car in front of your house.”

Prepositions vs. adverbs

Some words that are prepositions can also be adverbs, which can be frustrating. However, an easy way to tell the difference is if the word is followed by an object (noun or pronoun), it’s a preposition.

List of the most common prepositions

Though there are over 100 different prepositions in English, some are more commonly used than others. The following list includes the most common prepositions.

Single-word prepositions
about	like
above	near
across	of
after	off
against	on
along	onto
among	opposite
around	out
as	outside
at	over
before	past
behind	round
below	since
beneath	than
beside	through
between	to
beyond	towards
by	under
despite	underneath
down	unlike
during	until
except	up
for	upon
from	via
in	with
inside	within
into	without

Complex prepositions
ahead of	inside of
apart from	instead of
as for	near to
as well as	on account of
because of	on top of
due to	out of
except for	outside of
in addition to	owing to
in front of	such as
in place of	thanks to
in spite of	up to

Types of English prepositions (lists with examples)

Given how many different types of prepositions there are in English, it’s helpful to organize prepositions by category, for example, prepositions of time or place. Remember, however, that some prepositions are fairly common words and can be used for several different categories.

Prepositions of time

These prepositions are often used to express when something happens at a specific point in time, near a point in time, or over an extended period of time.

Prepositions of time
Preposition	Example
after	You can go after you’ve done your homework.
at	I met my friend at 4pm.
before	It’ll be done before lunch.
during	I’ll be there sometime during the afternoon.
for	He’ll be in New York for two weeks.
in	They have dinner in the evening.
on	I’m going there on Friday.
since	I’ve been up since dawn.
until	I’ll wait until tomorrow.

Prepositions of place

2These prepositions can be used to refer to a place where something or someone is located.

Prepositions of place
Preposition	Examples
above	The cereal is on the shelf above the bread.
against	We have to row against the current.
along	There are many stores along the main street.
around	We all sat around the dinner table.
at	He’s at the cafe.
behind	The little dog followed behind me.
below	We could see the city below us.
beside	He sat beside her during the play.
between	They put up a fence between the two houses.
by	I’m by the lake.
in	I’m in the house.
in front of	There were two cars in front of me.
near	The cat won’t go near the dog.
next to	I left the box next to the door.
on	She’s on the platform.
over	The bird flew over the pond.
under	I checked under the bed.

Prepositions of movement

These prepositions are often used to show the movement of an object from one place to another.

Prepositions of movement
Preposition	Examples
across	I swam across the lake.
along	We walked along the shore.
from	He just flew in from California.
into	I dove into the pool.
onto	She jumped onto the bed.
over	The fox jumped over the dog.
through	I pushed through the crowd.
to	He walked to the supermarket
toward	He’s walking toward us.

Prepositions with verbs

Sometimes, prepositions follow verbs to create phrases with different meanings. To learn these, it may be easier to memorize the phrase and learn the prepositions.

Prepositions with verbs

Preposition

Verb(s)

Examples

about

complain

read

He complained about the delay.

They read about the concert.

arrive

look

They arrived at the venue.

He looked at me.

from

differ

suffer

Her opinions might differ from his.

She’s been suffering from a bad cold.

for

account

That doesn’t account for the differences in the numbers.

I’m searching for my lost dog.

result

succeed

Her efforts resulted in a big success for the company.

She succeeded in winning the argument.

approve

smell

I don’t approve of that choice.

The air smells of lilacs.

concentrate

depend

It’s hard to concentrate on my homework when there’s so much noise.

I have to depend on him for rides while my car is in the shop.

contribute

lead

I’m looking for a way to contribute to my community.

He led the team to victory.

with

disagree

argue

I disagree with your opinion on that.

I don’t want to argue with you.

Prepositions with adjectives

Similarly, prepositions sometimes follow adjectives to create phrases with different meanings. Again, to learn these, it may be easier to memorize the phrases in addition to learning the prepositions themselves.

Prepositions with adjectives
Preposition	Adjective	Examples
about	sorry	They’re so sorry about that.
from	different	I’m a little different from them.
for	grateful	She’s really grateful for your help.
in	disappointed	He’s so disappointed in him.
in	interested	I’m interested in learning more.
of	aware	I just became aware of that.
of	capable	I don’t think I’m capable of lifting something that heavy.
of	proud	I’m so proud of you.
to	accustomed	He was accustomed to the temperature.
with	familiar	I’m familiar with that author.

Common preposition mistakes

Because prepositions are a complex part of speech, non-native English speakers sometimes misuse them. Here are some common preposition mistakes to look out for.

At

At vs. on vs. in:

“The event starts at 9pm.”
“The event is on Tuesday.”
“The event is in May.”

At vs. to:

Correct: “I was at the movie theater last night.”
Incorrect: “I was to the movie theater last night.”

At vs. in:

Correct: “My brother is good at playing board games.”
Incorrect: “My brother is good in playing board games.”

In

In vs. on:

Correct: “I read about it in a magazine.”
Incorrect: “I read about it on a magazine.”

In vs. at:

Correct: “My brother does well in school.”
Incorrect: “My brother does well at school.”

In vs. at night:

Correct: “I like to go for walks at night.”
Incorrect: “I like to go for walks in night.”

In vs. into:

Correct: “She went for a walk in the park.”
Incorrect: “She walked into the park.”

On

On vs. onto:

Correct: “The dog is on the bed.”
Incorrect: “The dog jumped onto the bed.”

To

To vs. in:

Correct: “I went to France last May.”
Incorrect: “I went in France last May.”

For

For vs. since:

Correct: “She’s been waiting for six hours.”
Incorrect: “She’s been waiting since six hours.”

Preposition practice exercise

Now that you understand how prepositions work, it’s time to practice using them with some preposition exercises. Here are 10 example sentences with missing prepositions – see if you can fill in the right ones.

I arrived ___ the office ___ 7am ___ Monday morning. [at/at/on]
We drove ___ the hill and _____ the woods __ get here. [over/through/to]
The dog was following _____ me when I went __ the house. [behind/in]
We took the boat ____ the lake and left it __ the shore. [across/on]
He pulled a letter ___ __ the bag and handed it __ her. [out of/to]
We’re driving __ a busy road with two cars __ ____ __ us. [on/in front of]
I’m going ___ her __ the supermarket. [with/to]
I looked __ the cupboards and ____ the sink. [in/under]
We’re meeting __ the cafeteria __ two o’clock. [in/at]
She was laying __ the bed when the dog tried to jump __ it. [in/on]

Use English prepositions like a native speaker

Prepositions are a complex but very important part of English grammar. There isn’t a specific pattern for which prepositions go with each noun, verb, or adjective, so the best way to try to learn them is to memorize whole words and phrases. Learning prepositions by using the categories in this post might make them easier to memorize.

Keep in mind that prepositions serve a specific purpose in sentences, demonstrating the relationship between one person, place, or thing and another. Once you have that down, it’ll be easier to get a feel for when to use them.

Listening to native English speakers talk can also help you get a feel for how prepositions are used. Also, if you want to achieve a conversational level in English, learning to use prepositions whilst talking is key.

If you need more guidance, Preply can connect you to an English tutor for 1-to-1, private lessons. Preply tutors can help you at any stage of learning and tailor their lessons to your goals.

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