Unit 14

 

Prepositions

Prepositions are short words (on, in, to) that usually stand in front of nouns (sometimes also in front of gerund verbs). Even advanced learners of English find prepositions difficult, as a 1:1 translation is usually not possible. One preposition in your native language might have several translations depending on the situation.
There are hardly any rules as to when to use which preposition. The only way to learn prepositions is looking them up in a dictionary, reading a lot in English (literature) and learning useful phrases off by heart (study tips).
The following table contains rules for some of the most frequently used prepositions in English:

Prepositions – 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 – Place (Position and Direction)

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

Other important Prepositions

English	Usage	Example
from	who gave it	a present from Jane
of	who/what does it belong to what does it show	a page of the book the picture of a palace
by	who made it	a book by Mark Twain
on	walking or riding on horseback entering a public transport vehicle	on foot, on horseback get on the bus
in	entering a car  / Taxi	get in the car
off	leaving a public transport vehicle	get off the train
out of	leaving a car  / Taxi	get out of the taxi
by	rise or fall of something travelling (other than walking or horseriding)	prices have risen by 10 percent by car, by bus
at	for age	she learned Russian at 45
about	for topics, meaning what about	we were talking about you

Prepositions relating to movement and position - article

To/towards

The preposition to indicates movement with the aim of a specific destination, which can be a place or an event, e.g:

I’m travelling to France tomorrow.

I need to go to the Post Office.

Can you tell me the way to the station?

Are you going to the party?

I’ve never been to a football match.

What time did you go to work?

Note that up to is often used to express movement to a person, e.g:

He came up to me and asked me what the time was.

The preposition to is sometimes used to indicate a specific position, especially if a person or object is facing something, e.g:

There’s a door to your left.

He stood with his back to the window.

The preposition towards indicates movement in a particular direction, e.g:

She was carrying a suitcase and walking towards him.

He kicked the ball towards the goal.

Anna pointed towards the window.

Everyone sitting at the table turned towards me.

Note the contrast in the following two examples:

I’m going to Oxford for a meeting.

I think we’re heading towards Oxford now, we must have gone wrong.

In the first example, to introduces a specific destination. In the second example with towards, the direction of movement is a more important part of the meaning than the idea of a particular destination.
Note that occasionally, towards is also used to indicate position, but this is a position in relation to a particular direction from the point of view of the speaker, e.g:

She was sitting towards the back of the room.

Tom stood with his back towards the door.

Through and into

The preposition through refers to movement within a space which can be thought of as three-dimensional, e.g:

They couldn’t get the new sofa through the door.

We drove through some spectacular countryside.

The canal flows through the city centre.

You won’t be able to see it unless you look through the binoculars.

Through usually suggests movement across an entire space, from one side of something to another, e.g:

He cut through the wire.

The preposition into refers to movement from the outside to the inside of a three dimensional space, e.g:

We got into the back of the car.

She reached into her bag and found the keys.

With certain verbs into can be used to express the idea of movement in the direction of something, often resulting in actually hitting it, as in the second example below, e.g:

He looked straight into her eyes.

She swerved and crashed into the fence

Across, over and along

The prepositions across and over are used to talk about movement from one side of a place to another. They usually refer to movement in relation to places which can be thought of as two-dimensional, such as surfaces (e.g: a lawn) or lines (e.g: a river), for example:

I’ll jump over the wall and open the gate.

The aircraft flew low over the lake.

How are we going to get across the stream?

It’s the first time I’ve flown across the Atlantic.

Over also functions as a preposition expressing position. It often has a similar meaning to the preposition above, e.g:

There was a mirror above/over the sink.

One of its core uses however is to express position in relation to a two-dimensional surface, e.g:

A white tablecloth was spread over the table.

Or to show when something is positioned on the opposite side of a ‘line’, e.g: road, bridge, etc.

The hotel is over the bridge.

Across is sometimes used to express position in relation to something which stretches from one side of a place to another, e.g:

There was a barrier across the road.

Across, like over, is also used to show when something is positioned on the opposite side of a place in relation to the speaker, e.g:

The bank is across the street.

The preposition along is used to show movement following a line, e.g:

We walked along the river.

I followed Mr Jackson along the corridor.

Well-wishers began placing flowers along the railings.

It is also sometimes used to show a specific position in relation to a line, e.g:

Somewhere along the path there’s a signpost.

Or to show when a group of things are positioned in a line next to something, e.g:

There were plenty of restaurants along the riverfront.

In and on as prepositions of movement

The core function of the preposition in is as an indicator of the position of something in relation to the three-dimensional space that surrounds it, e.g:

They were having a picnic in the park.

I’ve left my bag in the office.

The money is in the top drawer of my desk.

However, in can also be used to express movement towards the inside of a container, place or area:

Can you put the milk in the fridge?

The farmer fired a few shots in the air.

This use is triggered by verbs which express actions rather than states. Compare the following two examples:

I’ll keep the letter in my briefcase.

I’ll put the letter in my briefcase.

In the second example, in is functioning as a preposition of movement, and has the same meaning as the preposition into, as described in Through and into.
The core function of the preposition on is as an indicator of position in relation to a two dimensional surface, e.g:

The letter is on my desk.

There was a beautiful painting on the wall.

However on can also be used to show movement in the direction of a surface, e.g:

We could hear the rain falling on the roof.

I dropped my bags on the floor.

As with the preposition in, this use is triggered by verbs which express actions rather than states. Compare the following two examples:

The vase was lying on the kitchen floor.

The vase fell on the kitchen floor.

In the second example, on is functioning as a preposition of movement, and has the same meaning as the preposition onto, which is usually used to show movement towards a two dimensional surface, e.g:

Let’s get back onto the path.

She stepped onto the platform.

VERB+ PREPOSITION

VERB	PREPOSITION
A
absorb	in
account	for
add	to
adjust	to
admit	to
agree	with
apply	for
appeal	to
argue	with
argue	about
arrange	for
arrive	in / at (büyük mekanlarda in ,küçük mekanlarda at)
apologize	for
approve	of
ask	for
accuse smb	of smt
arrest smb	for smt
B
base	on
beg	for
begin	with
benefit	from
believe	in
belong	to
boast	about
borrow	from
blame smb	for smt
blame smt	on smb
C
care	for / about
cater	for
choose	between
comment	on
collide	with
communicate	with
compare	with / to
compete	with
complain	about
compose	of
concern	about / with
concentrate	on
confess	to
confuse	with
congratulate	on
consist	of
contribute	to
cope	with
correspond	with
count	on
cover	with
crash	into
charge smb	with smt (suçlamak)
charge smb	for smt (para tahsil etmek)
convict smb	of smt
convince smb	of smt
cure smb	of smt
D
decide	on / against
dedicate	to
depend	on
despair	of
deter	from
differ	from
disagree	with
disapprove	of
discuss	with
devote	to
dream	of / about
dress	in
drink	to
demand smt	from smb
derive smt	from smt
discourage smb	from smt
distinguish smb/smt	from/between smb/smt
distract smb	from smt
E
elaborate	on
emerge	from
escape	from
experiment	on
excuse smb	for smt
exchange smt	for smt
exclude smt	from smt
expel smb	from smt
explain smt	to smb
F
face	with
feel	like
feel	about
fight	against/with/for
forget	about
forgive someone	for something
G
guess	at
get married	to
get rid	of
get tired	of
grumble	about
H
hear	of / about
hide	from
hope	of / for
help smb	with smt
hinder smb/smt	from smt
I
impress	on
insist	on
insure	against
interfere	with / in
invest	in
involve smb/smt	in smb/smt
J
joke	about
K
know	about
L
laugh	at/about
listen	to
long	for
lend smt	to smb
M
meet	with
mistake	for
get married	to
O
object	to
operate	on
P
participate	in
pay	for
persist	in
pray	for
prepare	for
prohibit	from
praise smb	for smt
present smb	with smt
prevent smb	from smt
provide smb	with smt
provide smt	for smb
punish smb	for smb
Q
quarrel	about smt
quarrel	with smb
R
react	against / to
recon	on
recover	from
refer	to
rely	on
reply	to
resign	from
respond	to
result	in
retire	from
room	for
remind smb	of smt
rob smb	of smt
S
search	for
see	to
shout	at
smile	at
specialise	in
speak	to
stand	for
stare	at
stem	from
subscribe	to
substitute	for
succeed	in
suffer	from
save smb	from smt
sentence smb	to smt
share smt	with smb
subject smb	to smt
suspect smb	of smt
T
talk	to
talk	about
think	of/about
turn	to
tell smb	about smt
thank smb	for smt
translate smt	into smt
trust smb	with smt
U
use	for
V
vote	for
W
wait	for
wonder	at
work	on
worry	about
write	to / about
warn smb	about/against

Noun + Preposition Combinations Followed by Gerunds

The following is ONLY A SAMPLE LIST of the most commonly used noun + preposition combinations that can be followed by gerunds.

addiction to	His addiction to surfing the Internet is a problem.
advantage of	He has the advantage of speaking English fluently.
anxiety about	Her anxiety about speaking in public caused her to lose the job.
belief in	His belief in not harming animals was something he learned from his mother.
credit for	She took credit for improving the filing system.
dedication to	His dedication to teaching was impressive.
delay in	The delay in processing the visa caused problems.
devotion to	His devotion to biking allowed him to win the competition.
disadvantage of	The disadvantage of flying is that you can't see the scenery along the way.
experience in	She has a great deal of experience in introducing new products to international markets. With the noun "experience," sometimes a gerund is added without the preposition "in." "Experience introducing new products" would also be acceptable.
fear of	His fear of flying made travel difficult.
fondness for	Her fondness for traveling led to her career in the travel industry.
habit of	His habit of smoking in restaurants caused many problems in California.
interest in	Her career as a pilot evolved out of her interest in flying.
knowledge of	Her knowledge of climbing helped her during the competition.
love of	His love of singing developed when he was a child.
memory of	Their memories of traveling in Africa will stay with them forever.
preference for	I think his preference for speaking his native language is natural.
process of	The process of painting such a large mural is more complicated than you might think.
reaction to	His reaction to winning the prize was quite funny.
reason for	The main reason for taking the course is to improve your language skills.
regret for	The criminal's regret for committing the crime did not convince the judge.
report on	The magazine's report on choosing the right car was not well researched.
reputation for	Her reputation for lying is well known.
responsibility for	His responsibility for completing the project on time was acknowledged by the company.
story about	I don't know if I believe his story about seeing a UFO.
talent for	His talent for learning languages was impressive.

 

  

The Prepositional Phrase

 

Recognize a prepositional phrase when you see one.

 

 

At the minimum, a prepositional phrase will begin with a preposition and end with a noun, pronoun, gerund, or clause, the "object" of the preposition.

The object of the preposition will often have one or more modifiers to describe it. These are the patterns for a prepositional phrase:

Preposition + Noun, Pronoun, Gerund, or Clause

Preposition + Modifier(s) + Noun, Pronoun, Gerund, or Clause

Here are some examples of the most basic prepositional phrase:

At home

At = preposition; home = noun.

In time

In = preposition; time = noun.

From Richie

From = preposition; Richie = noun.

With me

With = preposition; me = pronoun.

By singing

By = preposition; singing = gerund.

About what we need

About = preposition; what we need = noun clause.

Most prepositional phrases are longer, like these:

From my grandmother

From = preposition; my = modifier; grandmother = noun.

Under the warm blanket

Under = preposition; the, warm = modifiers; blanket = noun.

In the weedy, overgrown garden

In = preposition; the, weedy, overgrown = modifiers; garden = noun.

Along the busy, six-lane highway

Along = preposition; the, busy, six-lane = modifiers; highway = noun.

Without excessively worrying

Without = preposition; excessively = modifier; worrying = gerund.

Understand what prepositional phrases do in a sentence.

 

 

A prepositional phrase will function as an adjective or adverb. As an adjective, the prepositional phrase will answer the question Which one?

Read these examples:

The book on the bathroom floor is swollen from shower steam.

Which book? The one on the bathroom floor!

The sweet potatoes in the vegetable bin are green with mold.

Which sweet potatoes? The ones forgotten in the vegetable bin!

The note from Beverly confessed that she had eaten the leftover pizza.

Which note? The one from Beverly!

As an adverb, a prepositional phrase will answer questions such as How? When? or Where?

Freddy is stiff from yesterday's long football practice.

How did Freddy get stiff? From yesterday's long football practice!

Before class, Josh begged his friends for a pencil.

When did Josh do his begging? Before class!

Feeling brave, we tried the Dragon Breath Burritos at Tito's Taco Palace.

Where did we eat the spicy food? At Tito's Taco Palace!

Remember that a prepositional phrase will never contain the subject of a sentence.

Sometimes a noun within the prepositional phrase seems the logical subject of a verb. Don't fall for that trick! You will never find a subject in a prepositional phrase. Look at this example:

Neither of these cookbooks contains the recipe for Manhattan-style squid eyeball stew.

Cookbooks do indeed contain recipes. In this sentence, however, cookbooks is part of the prepositional phrase of these cookbooks. Neither—whatever a neither is—is the subject for the verb contains.

Neither is singular, so you need the singular form of the verb, contains. If you incorrectly identified cookbooks as the subject, you might write contain, the plural form, and thus commit a subject-verb agreement error.

Some prepositions—such as along with and in addition to—indicate "more to come." They will make you think that you have a plural subject when in fact you don't. Don't fall for that trick either! Read this example:

Tommy, along with the other students, breathed a sigh of relief when Mrs. Markham announced that she was postponing the due date for the research essay.

Logically, more than one student is happy with the news. But Tommy is the only subject of the verb breathed. His classmates count in the real world, but in the sentence, they don't matter, locked as they are in the prepositional phrase.