English Prepositions - the most common ones.

Prepositions are words like of, in, from, out of, etc. that are used in front of a noun or pronoun to express time, place, movement or method.

Below you can see a preposition chart which lists the most common ones.

Sometimes the words in the chart are also adverbs. To not complicate this subject, we do not distinguish between prepositions and adverbs here.

The list is not exhaustive and shows the most common prepositions.

You can click on the links in the preposition chart to see help and explanations and exercises about each preposition.

prepositions of time = talk about when.
prepositions of place or movement = talk about where something is or which direction something is going.
prepositions of method and other types = talk about how or other uses.

Prepositions of time
about	We left about 5 o'clock.
after	I arrived home after 7 o'clock.
around	I'll see you around 3 o'clock.
at	I woke up at six o'clock. We go away at Christmas.
before	I will be back before midnight.
behind	I'm behind schedule with my work.
between	We should arrive between 6 and 8 o'clock.
by	I want this report by 8 o'clock Friday morning.
for	I walked in the park for an hour then went home. I've been studying English for 6 three years.
from	I work from Monday to Friday.
in	I go on holiday in summer. He'll be here in ten minutes.
on	On Sunday I stayed in bed.
over	I've waited here for over an hour.
since	I've been studying English since last summer.
through	We had to sit through a long and boring conference.
throughout	He worked hard throughout his long career.
under	Roger Bannister was the first man to run the mile in under 4 minutes.
until / till	Bars in Spain stay open until / till very late at night. Walk along this street until / till you get to the bridge and then turn right.

Prepositions of place and movement
about	On this map I live about there.
above	Her bedroom is above the living-room.
across	He ran across the street. She lives just across the road.
after	The dog ran after the cat.
along	Go along this street until you get to the crossroads and then turn right.
among	I walked among the all the people.
around / round	They sat around / round the fire. They travelled all around / round the country.
at	She waited at the bus stop.
before	Turn left just before the church.
behind	There is a garden behind our house.
below	Below the picture there was a clock.
beneath	We had a picnic beneath an enormous oak tree.
beside	Mary sat beside John in the cinema.
between	The little girl walked between her mother and father.
by	She likes to sit by the river and read a book.
down	He ran down the stairs.
from	We drove from Madrid to Barcelona. I'm from Birmingham.
in	I keep my keys in my pocket.
into	She got into her car and drove away.
near	My house is near the town centre.
off	The cat fell off the chair.
on	people on the beach a fly on the ceiling
onto	She got onto the motorbike and drove away.
over	The eagle flew over the mountains.
through	The train went through the tunnel.
under	I found my mobile phone under the sofa.
up	My cat climbed up the tree.

Other prepositions
about	a book about politics There were about 10 of us.
among	Share it among yourselves.
below	It is 10 degrees below zero.
but	she's caused nothing but trouble
	This book was written by Cervantes. (see passive tense...)
except	Everyone was invited except me.
for	I've got a present for you. I'd like to do this for you. A brush is for sweeping.
like	She was like a mother to me. He is very like his father.
of	The son of Mr and Mrs Jones. It's made of metal.
over	I won over ten thousand euros on the lottery.
with	I saw Mary with her dog yesterday.
without	I've been without a job for 6 months.

English Prepositions - the most common ones.

Prepositions of time

Prepositions of place and movement

Other prepositions