We commonly use prepositions to show a relationship in space or time or a logical relationship between two or more people, places or things. Prepositions are most commonly followed by a noun phrase or pronoun (underlined):

The last time I saw him he was walking down the road.

I’ll meet you in the cafe opposite the cinema.

It was difficult to sleep during the flight.

It was the worst storm since the 1980s.

Give that to me.

There are over 100 prepositions in English. The most common single-word prepositions are:

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

Although most prepositions are single words, some pairs and groups of words operate like single prepositions:

They were unable to attend because of the bad weather in Ireland.

Jack’ll be playing in the team in place of me.

In addition to getting a large fine, both brothers were put in prison for three months.

I always get nervous when I have to speak in front of an audience.

We estimate that there’ll be up to 10,000 people at the concert.

The most common prepositions that consist of groups of words are:

Traditional grammatical rules say that we should not have a preposition at the end of a clause or sentence. However, we sometimes do separate a preposition from the words which follow it (its complement). This is called preposition stranding, and it is common in informal styles:

She was someone to whom he could talk. (formal)

She was someone who he could talk to. (informal)

Which room are they having breakfast in? (informal)

In which room are they having breakfast? (formal)

If we leave out words that are clear from the context (ellipsis), we can use wh-questions with a wh-word + stranded preposition:

A:

The office is moving next year.

B:

Really, where to?

A:

I’m going to buy some flowers online.

B:

Who for?

A:

My mother.

Prepositions

How can we use these little words correctly?

Prepositions are used in many different ways in English – perhaps that’s why a lot of people have problems with them. First, they are used with time words:

• on Monday
• in the 20th century
• at night

Second, they are used to show where something or someone is:

• The plate is on the table.
• Julie is in the garden.
• The picture is on the wall.

Third, they are used after some adjectives:

• She is good at tennis.
• Scotland is famous for whisky
• I’m worried about my new job.

Fourth, they are used after some verbs:

• I’m listening to music.
• She is waiting for her friend.
• He borrows money from his sister.

Fifth, they are used after some nouns:

• She has trouble with remembering new vocabulary.

Finally, they are used in certain phrases:

• The bus arrived in the end.
• She arrived just in time for the film.

Prepositions of Time

In, at, on and no preposition with time words:

Prepositions of time – here’s a list of the time words that need ‘on’, ‘in’, ‘at’ and some that don’t need any preposition. Be careful – many students of English use ‘on’ with months (it should be ‘in’), or put a preposition before ‘next’ when we don’t need one.

at	times: at 8pm, at midnight, at 6:30 holiday periods: at Christmas, at Easter at night at the weekend at lunchtime, at dinnertime, at breakfast time
on	days: on Monday, on my birthday, on Christmas Day days + morning / afternoon / evening / night: on Tuesday morning dates: on the 20th of June
in	years: in 1992, in 2006 months: in December, in June decades: in the sixties, in the 1790s centuries: in the 19th century seasons: in winter, in summer in the morning, in the afternoon, in the evening
no prep	next week, year, month etc last night, year etc this morning, month etc every day, night, years etc today, tomorrow, yesterday

Prepositions of Place

Prepositions of place can be difficult – here’s some help about using ‘at’, ‘in’ and ‘on’ when you’re talking about where things are.

Basics:

If something is contained inside a box or a wide flat area, we use ‘in’:

in the newspaper	in a house
in a cup	in a drawer
in a bottle	in a bag
in bed	in a car
in London	in England
in a book	in a pub
in a field	in the sea
in my stomach	in a river

If something is on a line or a horizontal or vertical surface, we use ‘on’:

on the table	on the wall
on the floor	on the window
on my face	on a plate
on the page	on the sofa
on a chair	on a bag
on the river	on a t-shirt
on the ceiling	on a bottle
on a bike	on his foo

If something is at a point, (it could be a building) we use ‘at’:

at the airport	at the door
at the table	at the bus stop
at the cinema	at the top
at the bottom	at the pub
at the traffic lights	at the front
at the back	at school
at university	at the window
at the hospital	at the piano

Here are some more common ones that don’t really fit:

• on TV
• on the bus
• on a train
• on a plane
• on the radio
• at home
• at work

Adjectives and Prepositions

Some adjectives need a preposition before their object. There doesn’t seem to be a logical rule, I’m afraid! We just need to learn them. Here are some of the most common ones:

• famous for France is famous for its food.
• proud of He is very proud of his new car.
• interested in Julie is very interested in sport.
• pleased with John is very pleased with his new suit.
• bad at They are very bad at maths.
• good at Einstein was very good at physics.
• married to My mother has been married to my father for 20 years.
• excited about I’m very excited about my holiday.
• different from / to Coffee is different from tea.
• afraid of I’m afraid of spiders.