Prepositions of Movement
Prepositions of Place
Prepositions of Time
Prepositions are a class of words that indicate relationships between
nouns, pronouns and other words in a sentence. Most often they come before
a noun.
The good news is that they never change their form, regardless of the
case, gender etc. of the word they are referring to.
Prepositions are classified as simple or compound.
Simple prepositions are single word prepositions - across, after, at,
before, between, by, during, from, in, into, of, on, to, under, with and
without are all single word prepositions.
For example:-
- The book is on the table.
Compound prepositions are more than one word - in between and because
of - are prepositions made up of two words - in front of, on behalf
of - are prepositions made up of three words.
For example:-
- The book is in between War and Peace and The Lord of the Rings.
- The book is in front of the clock.
Prepositions can be used to show movement.
For example:-
to, through, across
We use to to show movement with the aim of a specific destination
For example:-
I moved to Germany in 1998.
He's gone to the shops.
We use through to show movement
from one side of an enclosed space to the other.
For example:
The train went through the tunnel.
We use across to show movement from one side of a surface or line to another.
For example:
She swam across the river.
More prepositions of movement
| She ran |
|
|
| through |
the tunnel. (from one side of an enclosed space to the other) |
| across |
the road. (from one side of an open space to the other) |
| along |
the road. (the length of the road) |
| down |
the road. (the length of the road) |
| over |
the bridge. (from one side of an open space to the other) |
| off |
the stage. |
| round |
the track. |
| into |
the room. |
|
Prepositions can be used to show where something is located.
The prepositions at, on, and in
We use at to show a specific place or position.
For example:
Someone is at the door.
They are waiting at the bus stop.
I used to live at 51 Portland Street.
We use on to show position on a horizontal or vertical surface.
For example:
The cat sat on the mat.
The satellite dish is on the roof.
We also use on to show position on streets, roads, etc.
For example:
I used to live on Portland Street.
We use in to show that something is enclosed or surrounded.
For example:
The dog is in the garden.
She is in a taxi.
Put it in the box.
We also use in to show position within land-areas (towns, counties, states, countries, and continents).
For example:
I used to live in Nottingham.
More prepositions of place
Prepositions of Place |
|
|
after |
|
|
She slammed the door
|
after |
her. |
| They ran |
after |
the __________. |
among |
|
|
| I enjoy being |
among |
my friends. |
| I found my handbag |
among |
my luggage. |
at |
|
|
| The secretary was sitting |
at |
her desk. |
| The man was standing |
at |
the taxi stand. |
behind |
|
|
| The car park is |
behind |
the building. |
| He never won a race, he was always |
behind |
the others. |
between |
|
|
| The _____ sat |
between |
the two _____. |
| I held the pen |
between |
my thumb and fingers. |
in |
|
|
| The pen was |
in |
the drawer. |
| He lives |
in |
South Africa. |
in front of |
|
|
| The teacher stands |
in front of |
the class. |
| The car was parked |
in front of |
the garage. |
next to / beside
/ by |
|
|
| In my English lesson I always sit |
next to/
beside/by |
my friend. |
| The _____ is |
next to/
beside/by |
the _____. |
on |
|
|
| The painting was hanging |
on |
the wall. |
| The boy was sitting |
on |
the chair. |
over/above |
|
|
| The sign hanging |
over/above |
the door read 'No smoking'. |
| I put the tablecoth |
over |
the table. |
| I enjoy watching the
planes fly |
above |
me. |
under / below |
|
|
| The temperature outside
was |
under/below |
0. |
| The woman was sheltering |
under |
a tree. |
| When flying I enjoy
watching the clouds |
below |
me. |
Prepositions can also be used to show when something happened.
The prepositions at, on, and in
We use at for specific times.
For example:-
I start work at 7.00 a.m.
I don't work at night.
We use on for specific days and dates .
For example:
My birthday is on Monday.
We're having a party on 7th September.
We also use on for some special days.
For example:
On Christmas day.
We use in for nonspecific times during a day, a month, a season, or a year.
For example:
In summer it's too hot to work.
I
started this __________ in 1999.
She woke up in the night.
More prepositions of time
| Point in Time |
|
|
| on |
Saturday
April 10th
Christmas Day |
| by |
the end of July |
| |
(indicates a deadline=at the latest) |
| till / until / up to |
March |
| |
(indicates an end point) |
| since |
April
10th March |
| |
(indicates a beginning point in time) |
|
| Length of Time |
|
|
| in |
July
the autumn
the morning
the middle of ……. |
| during |
the meeting
the lesson |
| for |
two days
twelve months |
| throughout |
August
the project |
|
| 