Examples of the use of prepositions in English. Prepositions in English

Today is just a world cheat sheet, friends. Another valuable find from DuoLingo.com. Thanks to the author for this valuable work.

Due to the fact that many prepositions in English are used differently than in Russian. The topic of prepositions is a sore point for almost all students.

This collection covers almost all usage rules with specific examples. The table is structured in such a way that you can use it to make your own sentences, guided by it as a reference. Brilliant! Personally, I will return to this table more than once, because. I'm not sure that even native speakers know all the rules outlined in it.

It is with great pleasure that I share this wealth with you, friends.

Practical part:
Prepositions, like phrasal verbs and idioms, need to be memorized not separately, but in conjunction with a specific verb. So act like I already do. Make 5-10 sentences with several different prepositions and work with them (with one group of prepositions) for a week. Speak each of the sentences in the past, present and future tense, build a question and a negative. Why this is so - you will kill two birds with one stone, tighten up prepositions and train yourself to use tenses correctly in speech, build questions and negatives on the fly.

Complete table of English prepositions with examples

That's all for me, friends.

Save this guide to your wall, share with friends. If you liked the release, I will be glad to your likes and reposts.

See you later,
Alex Ch.

Almost everyone who starts learning a language faces difficulties when using English prepositions.

The fact is that, using English prepositions, very often we adhere to the “Russian logic” and literally translate them. Because of this, we make a lot of mistakes.

In the article I will talk about 4 groups of English prepositions:

prepositions of place
direction prepositions,
prepositions of time
reason suggestions.

And also I will give general tables of their use.

4 groups of prepositions in English

A preposition is a part of speech that serves to connect words in a sentence and a phrase.

In English, there are 4 large groups of prepositions:

1. Prepositions of place.
2. Direction prepositions.
3. Prepositions of time.
4. Prepositions of reason.

Let's look at the use of the main prepositions of each of these groups.

Prepositions of place in English

Prepositions of place in English denote the position and location of an object / person in space. Usually such prepositions answer the question "where?".

For example: "The vase is (where?) On the table."

Let's look at the main prepositions of this group.

Pretext	Translation	Usage	Example
Above	above, above	We say that something / someone is in a higher position or place than something / someone else.	He lives above me. He lives above me.
Below	under, below	We say that something / someone is in a lower place or position, or at a lower level.	There is a house below the bridge. There is a house under the bridge.
Before	in front of	Something/someone is ahead of someone/something.	He walked before me. He walked in front of me.
In front of	before, opposite	Something / someone is in front of someone / something, or face to face in front of someone.	He parked in front of the building. He parked in front of the building.
Behind	behind, behind	Something/someone is behind someone/something.	She stood behind me. She stood behind me.
Under	under	Someone/something is at a lower level or covered by something.	He hid under the table. He hid under the table.
Over	above	Someone/something is above and does not touch another object.	A lamp hung over the table. The lamp hangs over the table.
Between	between	Some object or person separates other objects, that is, is located between them.	There is a bicycle between the two cars. The bike is between two cars.
Among	among	We say that someone/something is surrounded by something.	There were two foreign women among the guests. There were two foreign women among the guests.
By	at, near, near, near	Very close to something. Most often used when we say that we are in close proximity to a window, door or edge of something.	I saw him standing by the window. I saw him standing at the window.
Beside	near	Something / someone is near, on the side of someone / something.	The girl sat beside me. The girl sat down next to me.
Next to	near, near, beside	Very close to someone/something when there are no other people or objects between you.	They stood next to their car. They were standing next to the car.
outside	outside	Something / someone is not inside the building, but close to it.	We waited outside. We were waiting outside.
At	in	Someone is inside something for a specific purpose.	They are at the hospital. They are in the hospital.
In	in	Someone/something is inside something.	We put the books in a box. We put the books in a box.
On	on the	Someone/something is on the surface of something.	There is a book on the windowsill. There is a book on the windowsill.

Prepositions of direction in English

Prepositions of direction are used to show the direction of movement of a person or object.

For example: "She left the house."

Pretext	Translation	Usage	Example
Across	through	Someone moves from one side of something to the other.	He was swimming across the river. He swam across the river.
along	along, along	Walk forward in the direction of the length of something.	go straight along this street. Go straight along this street.
Down	down	Move from a high position to a lower one.	We skied down the slope. We skied down the slope.
Up	up	Move from a low position to a higher position.	We are walking up stairs. We go up the stairs.
round/around	around	Move in a circle, surround something.	They danced around a fir-tree. They danced around the tree.
Into	in	Get inside something, go somewhere.	she came into the building. She entered the building.
out (of)	from	To come out from somewhere, to move from the inside out.	He went out of a restaurant. He left the restaurant.
Through	through, through	From one side (entrance) move to the other side (exit).	We will walk through the forest. We will go through the forest.
To	to	Used to say where someone is going, towards what they are moving.	They are going to the cinema. They go to the cinema.

Prepositions of time in English

prepositions of time we need to indicate the time when something happened / is happening / will happen.

For example: "She will have finished work by 5 pm."

Let's look at the table of usage of these prepositions.

Pretext	Translation	Usage	Example
For	during	Used to say how long an action or situation lasts.	She was baking the cake for an hour. She baked a cake for an hour.
During	during, throughout	Indicates that an action or situation lasted from the beginning to the end of some period of time.	They were studying during the night. They worked all night.
Since	since then	We use it when we say that something is happening or has happened since a certain period of time in the past.	He has known her since childhood. He has known her since childhood.
By	to	Indicates that an action will occur before or not later than a certain time or moment.	You have to send me the documents by the Friday. You need to send me the documents by Friday.
Until/till	before	We use this word when something happens up to a certain time, and then stops.	Let's wait until Monday. Let's wait until Sunday.
From…to	From to…	We use it when we say that something happened from one period of time to another.	We work from nine to five. We work from nine to five.
Before	before	We use it when we say that something happened before a certain action or event.	Read instructions before use. Read the instructions before use.
After	after	We use it when we say that something happened after some event or after someone did something.	You should rest after the exercise. You need to rest after this exercise.
Over	for, during	Used when you have been doing something (intermittently) for a period of time.	I am going to study English over my holidays. I am going to study English during my holidays.
Ago	back	Used to show how long ago something happened in the past.	They got married 5 years ago. They got married 5 years ago.
Within	no later than; during	It is used when we say that an action must be completed before a certain period of time occurs. We emphasize the limited period.	I will answer within three days. I will reply within three days.
up to	before	We say that something happened / is happening before a certain period.	He has kept the secret up to now. He kept this secret until this time.
In	in	Used with months, with times of day, with years, with seasons, with long periods of time.	We met in 2001. We met in 2001.
At	in	It is used with clocks, with certain moments of the day, with weekends and holidays.	She will come at 6 o'clock. She will come at 6 o'clock.
On	in	Used with dates, with days of the week, with special dates.	He was born on October 9. He was born on October 9th.

Prepositions of cause and purpose

Prepositions of cause and purpose we need to say why or for what an action took place.

For example: "She didn't come because she was sick."

Here are the main prepositions of this group.

Pretext	Translation	Usage	Example
Because of	Because, because of	Used to say who or what causes something to happen or is the cause of something. Most often used in colloquial speech.	He was absent because of* illness.* He was absent due to illness. He left because of* you.* He left because of you.
In accordance with	According to, according to	We use it when something happens according to a rule or law.	We have finished the work in accordance with* her instructions.* We finished the job according to her instructions. In accordance with the law I have prepared a contract. In accordance with the law, I prepared a contract.
On account of	As a result, due to	We use it when we say that something happened because of something. In particular, because of some problems or difficulties.	We couldn't sleep on account of* the noise.* We couldn't sleep because of the noise. The bus was delayed on account of* a snowfall.* The bus was delayed due to snowfall.
Thanks to	Thanks, because	We use it when something happened because of someone or something. Most often something good.	We have tickets to the game thanksto you. We have tickets to the game thanks to you. I found this apartment thanks to* my friend.* I found this apartment thanks to my friend.
due to	Due to thanks	Used when something happened because of something ( often with a negative connotation). In most cases, it is used in formal, formal occasions.	The plane was delayed due to* a technical problem.* Due to a technical problem, the flight was delayed. The game was postponed due to* rain.* The game was postponed due to rain.
Through	Thanks, because	Used when something happens because of something.	I lost the picnic through sickness. I missed the picnic due to illness. He failed his exams through* not studying enough.* He failed his exams because he didn't study properly.
From	By, from	Used to say why you think or believe something. Also used to talk about what causes something.	I guessed from her accent that she is French. I guessed from her accent that she was French. From what I "ve heard, the new exam will be more difficult. From what I've heard, the new exam will be more difficult.
Of	From, because of, by	Shows the reason why something happened (usually bad).	The economy is the cause of the crisis. The economy has become the cause of the crisis. He died of a heart attack. He died of a heart attack.
For	For, for, for	We use it when we say that we are doing / using something for a specific purpose. Also, when something happens because of or as a result of something.	I have bought him a cake for his birthday. I bought him a cake for his party. We could hardly see for the mist. We could barely see because of the fog.

So, now you are familiar with English prepositions. Let's put them into practice.

Reinforcement task

Translate the following sentences into English. Leave your answers in the comments.

1. Cat in a box.
2. They walked along the street.
3. She was late because of traffic.
4. The meeting will start at 7 o'clock.
5. The ball is under the sofa.

What I love about English prepositions is the ability to completely change the meaning of the main word with the help of one such small word. It was "look" look at), and it became:

. "search" ( look for)
. "to have an opinion" ( look upon)
. "take care" ( look after)
. "forgive" ( look over)
. "track" ( look to).

Juggling with English prepositions is aerobatics. If you learn this art, you will enrich your vocabulary and cause a roar of approval with your speech.

Many English learners treat prepositions with some arrogance, believing that this is like a student repeating the English alphabet at night. Underestimated. But in vain. Yes, prepositions are considered official, they do not answer any questions, but they allow you to get different meanings from the same verb, form cases (yes, the same ones that are in Russian) and do other interesting things. There is only one problem: there are MANY prepositions in English. But this does not mean that you need to learn them all right here and now. It is enough to know the basic ones, as well as to understand the division into groups.

Let's not waste time on the fact that prepositions are simple monosyllabic, polysyllabic, consisting of several words, blah blah blah. Let's get straight to the point and provide not only tables of prepositions in English, but also illustrative examples in pictures. We will also consider the use of prepositions with examples.

1. Prepositions of place and direction (spatial)

2. Prepositions are temporary

Consider the most basic ones: about, after, at, during, for, in, on, till, within.

about	about (approximately, approximately)	It's about 6 p.m. (Now around 6pm)
after	after	Summer comes after spring. (Summer comes after spring)
at	in	Let's meet at 10 a.m. (Meet me at 10 am)
during	during	She was sleeping during the whole lesson. (She slept during the whole lesson)
for	during	He laughed for 5 minutes. (He laughed for 5 minutes)
in	through	I'll be home in 10 minutes. (I'll be home in 10 minutes)
on	on	I usually go shopping on Fridays. (I usually go shopping on Fridays)
till	before	I won't go shopping till Sunday. (I won't go shopping until Sunday)
within	during, for	You must do it within a month. (You must do it in a month)

3. Causal prepositions

because of- because;
on account of- due to, due to;
thanks to- thanks to;
in accordance with- according to, in accordance with.

As you can see, the same preposition can be in different groups (for example, in or on are both temporal and spatial). Moreover, if you open any dictionary (well, at least the same Yandex) and select any preposition, you will be surprised by the number of values. Let's say the most commonly used English preposition is to can have 13 values (do not be lazy, take a look).

Let's talk a little about the nuances before suggesting that you go into battle section "tests", where the first linguistic tests for knowledge of prepositions await you.

SUGGESTIONS SING IT!

Yes, yes, just sing or even read. Once you're familiar with the basic prepositions, try out Eminem, Timati, or any rapper you like. Not enough ideas for the text yet? Mix suggestions! Knowing small and remote prepositions is very cool. Check it out by watching the video and feel like a rising rap star.

ENGLISH PREPOSITIONS AND RUSSIAN CASES. We remember the second class.

Genitive case (of whom? What?) - preposition of
Show me the plan of the house.

Dative case (to whom? What?) - preposition to
Give it to me.

Accusative case (whom? what?) - without a preposition
Give me a pen.

Instrumental case (by whom? What?) - preposition with
She was cutting the letter with scissors.

Prepositional case (about whom? about what?) - preposition about
Don't speak about me.

PLACE OF THE PROPOSITION IN THE SENTENCE

Every pretext know your place!

In general, the preposition is supposed to be placed BEFORE the noun or pronoun (if the noun has an article or a definition, then it cannot be broken)

Put the book onthetable.
Give it to me.
The shop is behind the green house.
You must do it with in two months.

In interrogative sentences (which begin with what, where, etc.), the preposition is placed at the end:

What city do you live in?
Who are you waiting for?

The remaining cases are associated with the use of prepositions in subordinate clauses, passive constructions. All this will be more relevant to study in the "Syntax" section.

It is very useful to learn tablets where the preposition has already grown together with a certain noun. Useful for everyday communication.

by	By mistake By accident By chance By the way By bus/train/car Day by day step by step	by mistake accidentally by chance by the way by bus/train/car day after day step by step
for	For a walk/dance/drink/swim For breakfast/dinner	go for a walk/dance/drink/swim for breakfast/lunch
in	In fact In case In the future In love In time In the morning/evening/afternoon	in fact when in future in love in time morning/evening/afternoon
on	On-television On holiday/ a trip on foot	on TV on vacation / on a trip on foot
at	At home/work At night At present	at home/at work at night now

By the way, about the last three prepositions. They won a special place under the sun and formed their own caste - prepositions of place. Why it is necessary to collect a dossier on them no less than on a counterintelligence agent, the specially dedicated to them will tell and prove.

Just valuable advice: since it is impossible (and not necessary) to learn ALL prepositions at the first time of learning, when you write out the next new verb from the dictionary, mark yourself at least 2 options with different prepositions.

For example:

Put- put
Put on- to bet on (smth., smth.)
Put across- deceive

When it becomes a habit, you will one day be happy to find that the use of the verb comes out masterfully: in different meanings according to the situation. This will decorate your speech and get rid of any pauses and “mmm”, “uh”, “aah”. In the meantime, the problem exists, then you need to solve it, starting with passing a thematic test about prepositions.

Have you sorted the predogs into shelves in your head? There are spots even on the Sun, so we suggest once again (which is not superfluous at all) to go through the pretexts by watching a video tutorial on the topic. After watching and several years of practice, you can safely assign yourself the honorary title of "guru".

Prepositions in a sentence are part of a prepositional phrase, where they take the first position. A prepositional phrase necessarily requires a noun after the preposition. A phrase can be completed either by a single noun or by a group of dependent words. This nominal part is called the prepositional complement. In addition, prepositions can act as a particle in a phrasal verb.

The use of prepositions in English in the table

A prepositional phrase can play the role of an adverb of time and place, an object, a complement of a verb or adjective, and even the role of a subject. Sometimes prepositions act as a link between the main and secondary sentences. For literate speech (and writing), the correct use of prepositions in the following is very important, they describe the behavior of prepositions and prepositional phrases in various situations.

As a circumstance of place

Prepositions can show a physical or abstract direction (location).

at/ at point;
in/ within some area;
on/ on the surface;
in front of / before;
near / near;
on top of/ on top;
across / through;
down / down, etc.

As a circumstance of time

Prepositions can be used to limit time periods ('for', 'during', from ... to/till/until ...) and to define points in time relative to each other ('ago', 'before', 'since', 'at', 'after', 'in').

He is here for a month / He is here for a month.
There were two big victories during the war / There were two big victories during the war.
They have lunchtime from one o "clock till two o" clock / They have from one to two.
His frog died a month ago/ His frog died a month ago.
We met even before lunch / We met before lunch.
He've been living on the seaside since he broke up with it
He finished at five o'clock / He finished at five o'clock.
We must be there after ten thirty / We must be there after 10:30.
We'll find out in the next three days / We'll find out in the next three days.

The use of prepositions in English with dates: 'at' is used with various religious festivals, 'in' is used with years, 'on' is used with days of the week, special events and regular dates.

at Christmas / at Christmas; at Easter/ at Easter;
in the year 2015/ in the year 2015; in 2015/ in 2015; in the twenty first sentury/ in the twenty-first century;
on Saturday/ on Saturday; on her wedding anniversary/ on her wedding anniversary; on the twenty fourth of October/ on the twenty fourth of October.

The use of prepositions in English with months and seasons: 'in', however, with dates where the month comes first, it is set to 'on', as with regular dates, for example, 'on October 24th'.
October; in November/ in October; In November; in autumn

as subject

A prepositional phrase can function as a subject: Out of memory was the safest place of all to keep this information/ Out of memory was the safest place to store this information.

As an addition to a nominal predicate

In a compound nominal predicate, where the nominal part is expressed by a sign or state, some adjectives following the linking verb can be used both with and without a preposition, and some are not used independently.

He was afraid / He was afraid.
He was afraid of his enemies/ He was afraid of his enemies.

1. At the same time, they may require some specific preposition, such as: /aware of, accustomed to, used to/.

Jeremy used to live in the merchant's house / Jeremy lived in the merchant's house.
He is unaccustomed to the heat / He is not adapted to the heat.

2. Some adjectives may be alone or accompanied by different prepositions depending on the type of information they reveal. For example, with /cruel, friendly, unkind/, 'of' is used to link an impersonal subject and a logical subject:

It was rude of him to leave so suddenly / It was rude of him to leave so suddenly.

To connect a personal subject and an object, put 'to':

She was rude to him for no reason / She was rude to him for no reason.

Also, either alone or with the preposition ‘about’ to characterize a thing, or ‘with’ to characterize a character, /angry, furious, happy/ are used.

She was still angry about the result/ She was still angry about the result.
Are you happy with that stinky guy?

3. Other adjectives can be used alone or with specific prepositions.

For example with 'of' to:

1) describe the cause of the feeling expressed by the adjectives /convinced, suspicious, terrified/;

Isn "t it a bit suspicious of him? / Isn't that a little suspicious?
- It was terrified of her / It terrified her.

2) name a character who has a quality (such as /clever, polite, stupid/).

That was clever of you!
- I turned the job down, which was stupid of me / I turned down the job, which was stupid of me.

With ‘to’ to say about the degree of similarity (close, related, similar), marriage (married, engaged), loyalty (dedicated, devoted, loyal), rank (junior, senior) in relation to something:

My problems are very similar to yours/ My problems are very similar to yours.
- He was dedicated to his job / He was devoted to his work.

With the preposition ‘with’, adjectives such as /bored, pleased, satisfied/, as well as to say about the reason for the expressed feeling:

Gave to him a glorious glance she was satisfied with the effect.
- He was pleased with her / He was pleased with her.

With 'at', talking about a strong reaction to something (amazed, astonished, surprised) or potential (bad, good, useless):

He had been astonished at this point / He was brought to a stupor by this circumstance.
- He was not bad at dancing / He was not bad at dancing at all.

With the preposition ‘for’ to say about the character or thing to which the given characteristic refers (common, easy, unusual):

It "s common for them / This is a common occurrence for them.
- Oh, nothing is easier for me / Oh, nothing is easier for me.

A small number of adjectives ending in 'ed', which are used exclusively after copula verbs such as 'be', 'become' or 'feel', share a commonality with transitive verbs and are often followed by a prepositional phrase:

The Brazilians are pleased with the result

As an addition to a simple or verbal predicate

1. The use of prepositions in English is natural for many verbs that are used without To say:

about the subject of what is happening, ‘about’ is suitable,
about the direction of action - ‘at’,
root cause or purpose - ‘for’,
involvement - ‘into’,
facts and information - ‘of’,
about what you can rely on - ‘on’,
about the receiver of information - ‘to’,
about who agrees/disagrees - ‘with’.

I've heard about the intrusion plans
- Look at me / Look at me.
- They asked for hep / They asked for help.
- A sheap run into the doorway / The sheep ran into the doorway.
- To think of it ... / If you think about it ...
- It depends on him/ It depends on him.
- Explain to me / Explain to me.
- I argue with nobody / I do not argue with anyone.

At the same time, it should be borne in mind that prepositions appear in standard tandem with some verbs, and with some they can replace each other depending on the meaning and situation.

As a complement to a noun

The use of prepositions in English makes it possible to form phrases with nouns that reveal their meaning in more detail. Some words are undemanding to the preposition that follows them, and some always attach some specific one. In general, the prepositional phrase comes after the noun.

Two girls on weekends were having fun in a pool
- A wisper behind her made her turn / A whisper behind her made her turn around.

Often 'of' is used to convey various kinds of information after a noun, in particular to say:

what something is made of or consists of;

- … a wall of stone.
- A heeling of panic was rising in him/ The feeling of panic grew in him.

about what is the subjects of conversation, text, or images;

There was an image of a lion in the magazine

about the belonging of a character or object or its connection;

He was the son of a good man/ He was the son of a good man.
- Girls sat on the back seat of the car / The girls sat in the back seat of the car.

about the qualities inherent in a character or object.

She was a woman of enegry and ambition/ She was an energetic and ambitious woman.
- They faced problems of great compexity / They faced problems of extreme complexity.

After action nouns, 'of' is used to denote the subject or object of an action.

- ... the arrival of the police / the arrival of the police.
- …the destruction of their city.

Following nouns that represent people performing a specific action, a prepositional phrase beginning with 'of' communicates what the action involves or its goals.

Supporters of the hunger strike
- …a student of English.

At the same time, a phrase with two nouns sounds more natural than with a noun and a prepositional phrase, for example, 'bank robbers / bank robbers' instead of 'robbers of the bank / bank robbers'.

- …temperature in the pot of 108 degrees.
- …a part of 30 percent

Also 'of' can be used after a noun to tell someone's age:

The most dangerous it is in the edge of eight / The most dangerous is at the age of eight.

The preposition ‘with’ is used to express some distinctive feature, detail, belonging, inherent in an object or character:

-…a girl with red hair/ girl with red hair.
- ... the man with the gun / a man with a gun.

The preposition ‘in’ after the noun allows you to talk about who is wearing / wearing what:

- ... a pale child in a raincoat / a gray-haired man in a raincoat.
- ... the man in dark suit / a man in a dark suit.

Some nouns are always followed by specific prepositions. For example,

‘to’ follows the words: answer, introduction, reaction, return:

It happened on the return to Poland/ It happened on the way back to Poland.

'for' follows: reason, respect, taste:

His need for food was permanently growing up / His need for food was constantly growing.

‘on’ for: agreement, comment, effect:

She fad a dreadful effect on me / She had a disgusting effect on me.

'with' or 'between' for: connection, contact, link:

The link between them was so hard to see

‘in’ follows the words: difficulty , fall, increase:

They had not been prepared to difficulties on that side.

As a verb complement

The use of prepositions in English as part of prepositional phrases is permissible, in addition, in a nominal predicate as a nominal part:

It's in her bag / It's in her bag.
- He was in danger / He was in danger.
- It was against his will / It was against his will.

Like a particle of a phrasal verb

Prepositions can be presented as inseparable particles of a verb phrase in four combinations:

particle verb,
verb-particle-object,
verb-object-particle,
verb-particle-preposition-object,
verb-object-particle-prepositional phrase.

Storm broke up at midnight
- His faith grow on wrong beliefs/ His faith grows on false beliefs.
- ‘Call me back’ said Lucy / “Call me back,” said Lucy.
- They ran away with all our food/ They ran away with all our food.
- Don't try to talk them out of it / Don't try to talk them out of it.

As a complement to an adjective

Although the sign usually comes before the noun, in some cases the use of prepositions in English allows the adjective to be placed after it, usually followed by a circumstance, ‘to’-infinitive minor clause or - prepositional phrase.

This is a warning to people eager for a quick profit.

After the superlative degree of adjectives, a prepositional phrase can be used to indicate the group from which the item is distinguished:

Henry was the biggest of them
- Cakes are probably the best in the world / Cakes must be the best in the world.
- He was the most dangerous man in the country/ He was the most dangerous man in the country.

As an conjunction in a complex sentence

Some prepositions have the same form as the conjunctions used to attach secondary clauses, for example /'since', 'till', 'until', 'after', 'before'/.

I've been looking for the new opportunity since I knew that

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