1 Introduction
Prepositions are short words that allow us to link nouns and pronouns with another sentence constituents. For example: It’s in the car.
A preposition in one language often does not correspond to the same preposition in another language. For example in Czech:
ON the table – is associated place
ON Monday – is associated with time
Therefore, we often have to keep in mind what phrases the given preposition forms.
2 Overview of the Most Common Prepositions
Preposition ON
The preposition ON can have several different meanings. Let’s take a look at the most common ones:
- The meanings of ON related to time:
| Days of the week | Lucy will arrive on Friday. |
| Dates | My birthday is on the 1st of March. |
- The meanings of ON related to place:
| Something is on the surface (horizontally) | on the ground on the floor on the table |
| Something is on the surface (vertically) | The picture is on that wall. |
| Which side something is on | The building is on the right. |
| Which floor something is on | My flat is on the third floor. |
| Public transport | on the train on the bus on the plane |
| Media | on television on the radio on the Internet |
Preposition AT
The preposition AT is no exception in the ambiguity of prepositions. So let’s have a look at the most important meanings:
- The meanings of AT related to time:
| AT NIGHT | I can't sleep at night. |
| AT THE WEEKEND | I will visit my grandmother at the weekend. |
| An exact time | He left my house at half-past one. |
- The meanings of AT related to place:
| When something is close to something else (at the same time, in connection with certain places, the preposition AT has the same meaning as IN, i.e. something is located somewhere) | at the station at the bus stop at the door at school |
| When we talk about a social event | My favourite band played at the concert. |
| Places where we do something specific | at school at work at the butcher's at home |
Preposition IN
Lastly, we will take a look at the preposition IN in our overview. Here are the most common meanings:
- The meanings of IN related to time:
| Months and season | The series ends in July. It snows in winter. |
| Day time | I will have a coffee in the afternoon. |
| Years | We won the title in 2010. |
| Time of duration | Suzie will come in twenty minutes. |
- The meanings of IN related to place:
| Something is inside | My car is in the garage. |
3 Other Prepositions Associated with Time
| Preposition on | |
| • Dates | I met her on the 15th of October. |
| • Days of the week | The show is on Saturday. |
| Preposition in | |
| • Months and seasons | The series ends in July. It snows in winter. |
| • Day time | I will have a coffee in the afternoon. |
| • Years | We won the title in 2010. |
| • Time of duration | Suzie will come in twenty minutes. |
| Preposition at | |
| • At night | I can't sleep at night. |
| • At the weekend | I will visit my grandmother at the weekend. |
| • Exact time | He left my house at half-past one. |
| Preposition since | |
| • Something has happened in the past but still lasts (it is often connected with the present perfect) | I have collected five stickers since last week. |
| Preposition for | |
| • Expresses that something has lasted or lasts for some time | I lived in London for two years. |
| Preposition ago | |
| • Determines how long ago something happened | I lost my keys two days ago. |
| Preposition before | |
| • It shows that something has happened/happens before a certain moment | I need to leave before six o'clock. |
| Prepositions to and past | |
| • Expressing time | It's ten to ten. It's quarter past four. |
| Prepositions to/till/until | |
| • Expresses the beginning and end of a certain event | I will be on vacation from Monday to Thursday. |
| Preposition by | |
| • At the latest | Paul will be here by six o'clock. |
| • Till a certain time | By three o'clock, I had only read six pages. |
4 Other Prepositions Associated with Place
| Preposition on | |
| • Something is on the surface (horizontally) | on the ground on the floor on the table |
| • Something is on the surface (vertically) | The picture is on the wall. |
| • Which side something is on | The building is on the right. |
| • Which floor something is on | My flat is on the third floor. |
| • Public transport | on the train on the bus on the plane |
| • Media | on television on the radio on the Internet |
| Preposition at | |
| • When something is close to something else (at the same time, in connection with certain places, the preposition AT has the same meaning as IN, i.e. something is located somewhere) | at the station at the bus stop at the door at school |
| • Places where we do something specific | at school at work at the butcher's at home |
| Preposition in | |
| • Something is inside | My car is in the garage. |
| Prepositions by/next to/beside | |
| • Something is close to something | by my side next to our house beside his car |
| Preposition under | |
| • Something is beneath something | I found a coin under the wardrobe. |
| Preposition behind | |
| • Something is at the back of something | There is a girl behind that house. |
| Preposition in front of | |
| • Something is before something | I park my car in front of the house. |
| Preposition below | |
| • Something is lower than something else | Her work is below standard. |
| Preposition over | |
| • Overcoming an obstacle or crossing something | John jumped over the fence. |
| Preposition above | |
| • Something is higher than something else but not exactly over it | Our house is located just above the sea. |
| Preposition across | |
| • Expresses a motion/side to side direction | I went across the field. |
| Preposition through | |
| • Expresses a movement within | We drove through a tunnel. |
| Preposition to | |
| • The movement towards something | I went to his house. |
| Preposition towards | |
| • The movement to something or someone | I walked towards my friend's house. |
| Preposition from | |
| • Where from | I am from the Czech Republic. |
| Preposition into | |
| • If we go inside or put something inside something | Could you put the ball into that box? |
| Preposition onto | |
| • Towards the surface of something | Put the mug onto the table. |
5 Other Important Prepositions
| Preposition from | |
| • From whom | I got a gift from my boyfriend. |
| Preposition of | |
| • To whom or what it belongs to | a page of a magazine a result of a research |
| • What certain things show | a painting of a woman a photo of me and my friends |
| Preposition by | |
| • What someone created | Harry Potter is a book by J.K. Rowling. |
| • The scale at which something falls or rises | The temperature has risen/fallen by 5 degrees Celsius. |
| • The way of travelling (apart from walking and horseback riding) | by car by plane by bus by train |
| Preposition on | |
| • Moving on foot or horseback | to walk on foot I like travelling on horseback. |
| • When we get on public transport | to get on the train to get on the plane to get on the bus to get on board |
| Preposition in | |
| • When we get in a car or a taxi | to get in the car |
| Preposition at | |
| • Associated with age (a certain point in life) | I learned to swim at five. |
| • If we look at someone | She looked at me and started laughing. |
| Preposition out of | |
| • If we leave a place or a vehicle | to get out of the house to get out of the car |
| Preposition about | |
| • Expresses what a matter is about | The last lesson was about prepositions. |
| Preposition for | |
| • For whom | I have something for you. |
| Preposition over | |
| • Covering something | Put the tarp over the car. It's going to rain. |
| • Meaning more than | He looks quite old. I am sure that he is well over fifty years old. |
6 Prepositional Phrases
We already mentioned that prepositions often don’t correspond across different languages. A preposition in one language might not have a translation in English and vice versa. So, let’s take a look at some frequent prepositional phrases in English:
Listening to music:
- I listen to American music.
Watching television:
- She likes to watch _ television.
Surgery:
- Only the very best doctors can operate on politicians.
The verb suffer:
- She often suffers from headaches.
Divorce:
- He is going to divorce _ his wife.
Regret:
- They felt sorry for me.
Playing instruments:
- I can play _ the violin.
The prepositions are commonly found nearby the word they are related to (for example: We are at school). In some situations, the prepositions change their place in the sentence – they move behind the verb, often to the very end of the sentence (for example: Where are you going to?).
Now, let’s have a look at the situations in which this phenomenon occurs:
Wh-question, i.e. questions that start with interrogative pronouns what, which, who, etc.:
- Who did you talk to?
However, in this situation, the shift to the end of the sentence is optional. We can also say: To whom did you talk to? However, the “postponed” prepositions sound more natural in English.
Some other examples:
- Where are you (at)? = At which place are you?
- What is it good for? = For what is it good?
- How long for? = For how long?
If we use passive voice:
- We have already paid for the car. – active voice
- The car has already been paid for. – passive voice
In this case, it is necessary to move the preposition because we cannot say: For the car it has already been paid. Nor can we say: The car has already been paid, because we would destroy the phrase pay for – pay for something.
Relative clauses
- The man who I was robbed by is over there.
Again, we can leave the preposition in place but the previous option is much more frequent. The sentence would then look like this: The man by whom I was robbed is over there.
If there is an infinitive in the sentence:
- Laura is difficult to deal with.
This option also allows us to put more emphasis on the verb.
Exclamations:
- What have I done to be yelled at!