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Definition: 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.Prepositions show relationships between things. For example: "The lamp is on the table" contains the preposition "on". This word shows the spatial relationship between the lamp, and the table.
The most common prepositions of place are: in, on, under, next to, in front of, behind, at.
on sobre
in dentro de
aboveover encima de
under debajo de
in front of delante de
behind detrás de
besidenear
next to
al lado decerca dejunto a
between entre
among entre
In, on, under, in front of, and behind are clear from the pictures above. Example sentences are:- The dog is in the box.- The cat is under the table- The man is next to the building.
At however is a more abstract concept - it is used to refer to a point in space, usually a point on a line. See below for more explanation.
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 prepositionsSimple prepositions are single word prepositions. These are all showed above.
For example:
The book is on the table.
Compound prepositionsCompound 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.
English Usage Example in room, building,
street, town, in the kitchen, in
London
English Usage Example
country book, paper etc. car, taxi
picture, world
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
put a jacket over your shirt
over 16 years of age
walk over the
English Usage Exampleacross)
overcoming an obstacle
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
IN ON AT
CITY in San Francisco
STREET on Powell Street
BUILDINGS at home, at the library
DISTRICT in Chinatown
AREA on the Peninsula
ADDRESS at 1220 Haight Street
STATE in California
ISLAND on Alcatraz
REGION in North America
WATER on the bay, on Lake Tahoe
ATMOSPHERE in space, in the Universe
WORLD on earth
TRANSPORTATION
in the car TRANSPORTATION
on board (ship, bus, train, airplane)on a bike on a horse
ROADWAYS in the street notein the crosswalk
ROADWAYS on the sidewalkon the roadon Highway 101on Route 66on the freeway
ROADWAYS
at the curbat the cornerat the end of the street at the intersection
OTHER in the parking lotin the park (inexact location)in my office
OTHER on campus
OTHER at workat the park (exact location)
When we refer to Place prepositions we usually refer to "in", "at" and "on".
In - Is usually used to state that someone or something is in a (the boundaries can be physical or virtual place.
On - Is usually used to state someone or something is on top of a surface.
At - Is usually used to state something or someone is at a specific place.
A list of most PREPOSITIONS OF PLACE:
Where is it?
At On In
a specific place
a place that is physically on top
of a place
a place that is enclosed or within
boundaries
at the mall
on the table in the city
at the table
on the floor in the box
at work on the wall in the park
The ball is in the box The ball is on the box. The ball is under the box.
John's house Jane's house Bill's house
John's house is next to Jane's house.
Jane's house is between Bill's and John's houses.
Bill's house is next to Jane's
house.
The climbers
stood on top of the mountain.
The man stood
between the two
enemies.
The enemies
stood opposite each other.
The gardners
stood behind the
pumpkins.
The man stood
next to the
gopher and held
the umbrella over it.
The man looked
through the
telescope in his
hands.
The man wrote
the address on the package.
The man looked
at the mail in the
post box.
The man looked
at the clock on the wall.
The manager sat
at his desk on his
chair.
