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. They never change their form, regardless of the case, gender etc. of the word they are referring to. Check out the three examples below:

The puppy is on the floor.

The puppy is in the trashcan.

The puppy is beside the phone.

English Preposition Rule

There is one very simple rule about prepositions. And, unlike most rules, this rule has no exceptions.

Rule
A preposition is followed by a "noun". It is never followed by a verb.

By "noun" we include:

noun (dog, money, love)

proper noun (name) (Bangkok, Mary)

pronoun (you, him, us)

noun group (my first job)

gerund (swimming)

A preposition cannot be followed by a verb. If we want to follow a preposition by a verb, we must use the "-ing" form which is really a gerund or verb in noun form.

Quick Quiz: In the following sentences, why is "to" followed by a verb? That should be impossible, according to the above rule:

I would like to go now.

She used to smoke.

Here are some examples:

Subject + verb	preposition	"noun"
The food is	on	the table.
She lives	in	Japan.
Tara is looking	for	you.
The letter is	under	your blue book.
Pascal is used	to	English people.
She isn't used	to	working.
I ate	before	coming.

Answer to Quick Quiz: In these sentences, "to" is not a preposition. It is part of the infinitive ("to go", "to smoke").

Some common prepositions are:

about
above
across
after
against
along
among
around
at
before
behind
below
beneath
beside
between
beyond
but

by
despite
down
during
except
for
from
in
inside
into
like
near
of
off
on
onto
out

outside
over
past
since
through
throughout
till
to
toward
under
underneath
until
up
upon
with
within
without.

Prepositions typically come before a noun:

For example:

after class

at home

before Tuesday

in London

on fire

with pleasure

A preposition usually indicates the temporal, spatial or logical relationship of its object to the rest of the sentence.

For example:

The book is on the table.

The book is beside the table.

She read the book during class.

In each of the preceding sentences, a preposition locates the noun "book" in space or in time.

Prepositions are classified as simple or compound.

Simple prepositions
Simple prepositions are single word prepositions. These are all showed above.

For example:

The book is on the table.

Compound prepositions
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.

Examples:

The children climbed the mountain without fear.

There was rejoicing throughout the land when the government was defeated.

The spider crawled slowly along the banister.

The following table contains rules for some of the most frequently used prepositions in English:

Prepositions of Time:

English	Usage	Example
on	days of the week	on Monday
in	months / seasons time of day year after a certain period of time (when?)	in August / in winter in the morning in 2006 in an hour
at	for night for weekend a certain point of time (when?)	at night at the weekend at half past nine
since	from a certain point of time (past till now)	since 1980
for	over a certain period of time (past till now)	for 2 years
ago	a certain time in the past	2 years ago
before	earlier than a certain point of time	before 2004
to	telling the time	ten to six (5:50)
past	telling the time	ten past six (6:10)
to / till / until	marking the beginning and end of a period of time	from Monday to/till Friday
till / until	in the sense of how long something is going to last	He is on holiday until Friday.
by	in the sense of at the latest up to a certain time	I will be back by 6 o’clock. By 11 o'clock, I had read five pages.

Prepositions of Place:

English

Usage

Example

in

room, building, street, town, country

book, paper etc.

car, taxi

picture, world

in the kitchen, in London

in the book

in the car, in a taxi

in the picture, in the world

at

meaning next to, by an object

for table

for events

place where you are to do something typical (watch a film, study, work)

at the door, at the station

at the table

at a concert, at the party

at the cinema, at school, at work

on

attached

for a place with a river

being on a surface

for a certain side (left, right)

for a floor in a house

for public transport

for television, radio

the picture on the wall

London lies on the Thames.

on the table

on the left

on the first floor

on the bus, on a plane

on TV, on the radio

by, next to, beside

left or right of somebody or something

Jane is standing by / next to / beside the car.

under

on the ground, lower than (or covered by) something else

the bag is under the table

below

lower than something else but above ground

the fish are below the surface

over

covered by something else

meaning more than

getting to the other side (also across)

overcoming an obstacle

put a jacket over your shirt

over 16 years of age

walk over the bridge

climb over the wall

above

higher than something else, but not directly over it

a path above the lake

across

getting to the other side (also over)

getting to the other side

walk across the bridge

swim across the lake

through

something with limits on top, bottom and the sides

drive through the tunnel

to

movement to person or building

movement to a place or country

for bed

go to the cinema

go to London / Ireland

go to bed

into

enter a room / a building

go into the kitchen / the house

towards

movement in the direction of something (but not directly to it)

go 5 steps towards the house

onto

movement to the top of something

jump onto the table

from

in the sense of where from

a flower from the garden

English	Usage	Example
in	room, building, street, town, country book, paper etc. car, taxi picture, world	in the kitchen, in London in the book in the car, in a taxi in the picture, in the world
at	meaning next to, by an object for table for events place where you are to do something typical (watch a film, study, work)	at the door, at the station at the table at a concert, at the party at the cinema, at school, at work
on	attached for a place with a river being on a surface for a certain side (left, right) for a floor in a house for public transport for television, radio	the picture on the wall London lies on the Thames. on the table on the left on the first floor on the bus, on a plane on TV, on the radio
by, next to, beside	left or right of somebody or something	Jane is standing by / next to / beside the car.
under	on the ground, lower than (or covered by) something else	the bag is under the table
below	lower than something else but above ground	the fish are below the surface
over	covered by something else meaning more than getting to the other side (also across) overcoming an obstacle	put a jacket over your shirt over 16 years of age walk over the bridge climb over the wall
above	higher than something else, but not directly over it	a path above the lake
across	getting to the other side (also over) getting to the other side	walk across the bridge swim across the lake
through	something with limits on top, bottom and the sides	drive through the tunnel
to	movement to person or building movement to a place or country for bed	go to the cinema go to London / Ireland go to bed
into	enter a room / a building	go into the kitchen / the house
towards	movement in the direction of something (but not directly to it)	go 5 steps towards the house
onto	movement to the top of something	jump onto the table
from	in the sense of where from	a flower from the garden

Prepositions with Nouns, Adjectives, and Verbs.

Prepositions are sometimes so firmly wedded to other words that they have practically become one word. (In fact, in other languages, such as German, they would have become one word.) This occurs in three categories: nouns, adjectives, and verbs.

NOUNS and PREPOSITIONS
approval of awareness of belief in concern for confusion about desire for	fondness for grasp of hatred of hope for interest in love of	need for participation in reason for respect for success in understanding of

ADJECTIVES and PREPOSITIONS
afraid of angry at aware of capable of careless about familiar with	fond of happy about interested in jealous of made of married to	proud of similar to sorry for sure of tired of worried about

VERBS and PREPOSITIONS
apologize for ask about ask for belong to bring up care for find out	give up grow up look for look forward to look up make up pay for	prepare for study for talk about think about trust in work for worry about

A combination of verb and preposition is called a phrasal verb. The word that is joined to the verb is then called a particle. Please refer to the brief section we have prepared on phrasal verbs for an explanation.

Idiomatic Expressions with Prepositions

agree to a proposal, with a person, on a price, in principle

· argue about a matter, with a person, for or against a proposition

· compare to to show likenesses, with to show differences (sometimes similarities)

· correspond to a thing, with a person

· differ from an unlike thing, with a person

· live at an address, in a house or city, on a street, with other people

Unnecessary Prepositions

In everyday speech, we fall into some bad habits, using prepositions where they are not necessary. It would be a good idea to eliminate these words altogether, but we must be especially careful not to use them in formal, academic prose.

· She met ~~up with~~ the new coach in the hallway.

· The book fell off of the desk.

· He threw the book out of the window.

· She wouldn't let the cat inside of the house. [or use "in"]

· Where did they go to?

· Put the lamp in back of the couch. [use "behind" instead]

· Where is your college at?

Prepositions in Parallel Form

When two words or phrases are used in parallel and require the same preposition to be idiomatically correct, the preposition does not have to be used twice.

· You can wear that outfit in summer and in winter.

· The female was both attracted by and distracted by the male's dance.

However, when the idiomatic use of phrases calls for different prepositions, we must be careful not to omit one of them.