Three Groups of Prepositions:a. Prepositions of place, position and direction.b. Prepositions of time.c. Prepositions for other relationships.

SOME COMMON PREPOSITIONS

PLACEPOSITIONDIRECTIONTIMEOTHER

aboveacrossalongamongataway frombehindbelowbesidebetweenbeyondbydownfrominin front ofinsideintonearoffonoppositeout (of)outsideoveraroundthroughtotowardsunderupafterbeforeatbyforduringfrominexceptaslikeaboutwithwithoutbyfor

Although prepositions are hard to generalize with separate rules, there is one simple rule about them. And, unlike most rules, this rule hasno exceptions.

Rule:

They are always followed by a "noun", never followed by a verb.By "noun" we include:

Noun(dog, money, love) Proper Noun (name)(London, Mary) Pronoun(you, him, us) Noun Group(my first car) Gerund(swimming)

If we want to follow with a verb, we must use the "-ing" form which is really a gerund or verb in noun form.

Subject + VerbPreposition"noun"

The pen isonthe table.

He livesinEngland.

Henry is lookingforyou.

The newspaper isunderyour green book.

Pascal is usedtoEnglish people.

She isn't usedtoworking.

We atebeforecoming.

Prepositions of Time / Place at, in, on

Atfor a PRECISE TIME Infor MONTHS, YEARS, CENTURIES and LONG PERIODS Onfor DAYS and DatesAtInOn

At 4:30 pmin Marchon Monday

At 3 o'clockIn WinterOn 6 March

At noonIn the summerOn 22 Dec.2012

At dinnertimeIn 1990On Christmas Day

At bedtimeIn the next centuryOn your birthday

At the momentIn the futureOn New Year's Eve

Notice that use of the prepositions of timeinandonin these common expressions:

Inthe morning /OnMonday morning Inthe mornings /OnSunday mornings Inthe afternoon(s) /OnSunday afternoons Inthe evening(s) /OnFriday evenings

When we saynext, last, this, everywe do not useat, in, on.

I went to New York last June (notin lastJune)She is coming back next Monday. (noton nextMonday)I go home every Easter . (notat everyEaster)We'll call you this afternoon. (notin thisafternoon)

Place: at, in, on

In General:

Atfor a POINT (dog, money, love) Infor an ENCLOSED SPACE Onfor a SURFACE

AtInOn

At the bus stopIn LondonOn the wall

At the cornerIn the gardenOn the ceiling

At the entranceIn a boxOn the floor

At the crossroadsIn a buildingOn the carpet

At the top of the pageIn a carOn a page

Some other common uses of at / on / in

AtInOn

At homeIn a carOn a bus

At workIn a taxiOn a train

At schoolIn a helicopterOn a plane

At universityIn an elevatorOn a bicycle

At the topIn the skyOn the radio

At the bottomIn the streetOn the left

At the sideIn a rowOn a horse

At receptionIn a boatOn a boat

Notice how we can use on a boat or in a boat depending on the type and the size of the particular boat/ship.

More PrepositionsPrepositionsuseExample

duringwhile induring the movie, during the flight, during my stay

forfor two days, for an hour

from / tofrom Saturday to Monday, from 5 to 9

betweenthe time period from one to anotherbetween 1986 and 2012, between Saturday and Monday

until/tillbefore a certain timeuntil/till Sunday,5 o'clock

byat the leastby Tuesday, by next month, by tomorrow

tomovement towardsto school, to work, to the station

intomovement towards inside somethinginto the cinema, into the car

out ofto leave a place/a thingout of the theater, out of the car

bynear/next to/besideLINK stand by me, by the lake

throughthrough the tunnel, through the room

acrossopposite endsacross the river, across the street

againstagainst the wall, against the door

intomovement towards inside somethinginto the cinema, into the car

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