Confusing 

preposition pairs in English is one of the most common mistakes for ESL students. To help you
avoid this mistake, review some of the most commonly confused pairs of prepositions below. 

In / Into 

The key difference between 'in' and 'into' is that 'in' indicates a state of being, whereas 'into' indicates
motion. For example, 'into' is often used to describe the movement of something from outdoors to
indoors, such as in the sentence, "I walked into the house." By contrast, 'in' is used when a thing or person
is stationary. For example, "I found the book in the drawer."

FEATURED VIDEO
0 seconds of 2 minutes, 9 secondsVolume 0%
02:00
 
Can You End a Sentence With a Preposition?

Examples

 Jack drove his car into the garage.

 My friend lives in that house.
 The teacher came quickly into the room and began the lesson.
 The dishes are in that cupboard. 

On / Onto
Similar to 'into' and 'in', 'onto' indicates motion where 'on' does not. 'Onto' normally indicates that
something is placed onto something else. For example, "I put the dishes onto the table when I set it." 'On'
shows that something already rests on a surface. For example, "The picture is hanging on the wall." 

Examples

 I carefully placed the picture onto the wall.

 He put the book onto the desk.
 You can find the dictionary on the table.
 That's a beautiful picture on the wall.

Among / Between 
'Among' and 'between' are almost exactly the same in meaning. However, 'between' is used when
something is placed between two objects. 'Among', on the other hand, is used when something is placed
among many objects.

Examples

 Tom is between Mary and Helen in that picture.

 You'll find the letter among the papers on the table.
 Seattle is located between Vancouver, Canada, and Portland, Oregon.
 Alice is among friends this weekend.

Beside / Besides
'Beside' - without an s- means 'next to'. For example, "Tom is seated beside Alice." In contrast, 'Besides' -
with an 's' - states that something is in addition to something else. For example, "Besides math, Peter is
getting an A in history."

Examples
  Hang your coat beside mine over there.
 There is so much work to do besides the normal tasks.
 Come sit down beside me.
 Besides potatoes, we need some milk.

Among / between
Among means surrounded by, in the company of, or being a member of a larger set. For example:
She was among the first 50 students to enroll in the music program.
Wild mushrooms were hidden among the roots of the tree.

Between means at, into or across the space separating two objects or separating two points in time. For
example:
The children snack between lunch and dinner.
The border between the US and Canada is the longest undefended border in the world.

Around / about
Around means located or situated on every side. For example:
We all sat around the table.
The castle was built around a courtyard.

About means either on a subject/concerning, or is used to indicate movement within a particular area. For
example:
About 1,000 participated in the Fun Run this weekend.
I am reading a book about flying kites.

Here’s where the use of around and about can get confusing as there are times either of the two
prepositions can be used. For example:
We strolled about / around the town square.
The handyman does odd jobs about / around the house.

Beside / Besides
Beside means at the side of or next to. For example:
She sat beside her friend on the bus.
They put the drinks beside the snacks on the table.

Besides means in addition to or apart from. For example:

She’s capable of doing the work and a lot more besides.
She didn’t play with anybody else besides Ava.

From / of
From means the origin of something or someone. For example:
Cathy walked away from school.
The train came from Boston.

Of means possession or a property of something. For example:

What’s the name of that painting?
She’s the daughter of Margie and Dan.

In / into
In means something that is enclosed or surrounded by something else, or  period of time during which an event
takes place. For example:
They met in 1995.
We live in Chicago.

Into means movement or action with the result that someone or something becomes enclosed or surrounded
by something else. For example:
Bob came into the room.

Into also means an action with the result that someone or something makes physical contact with something
else.
She crashed into a parked car.

Like / as
Like means similar to or to draw attention to an action or event. For example:
You’re just like your father. You both love to cook.
Sorry for coming over unannounced like this.

As means to refer to the function or character that someone or something has, or during the time of being. For
example:
She had often been sick as a child.
She got a job as a truck driver.

On / onto
On means being physically in contact and supported by a surface, or forming a distinctive or marked part on
the surface of something. For example:
The water jug was on the table.
She has a scratch on her arm.

Onto means moving to a location on the surface of something, or moving aboard a vehicle for traveling. For
example:
We got onto the train to go see grandma.
They hiked up onto the ridge.

10 Most Confusing Prepositions

Published on Saturday, June 09, 2018

1. Make of/ Made from

Both refers material used.
Made of is used when the shape of material is not changed. 

Eg:

o A notebook is made of papers. 

o A house is made of bricks. 
Make from is used when shape of the material has undergone a total change. 

Eg:

o Butter is made from milk. 

o Sugar is made from sugarcane. 

2. In/With
In is used in the following situations:

o Place thought of as an area: in London, in Europe. 

o Within a location: in the room, in the building. 
o Large units of time: That happened in March, in 1992. 
o Within a certain time: I will return in an hour. 
o By means of: write in pencil; speak in English. 
o Condition: in doubt, in a hurry, in secret. 
o A member of: He is in the orchestra, in the navy. 
o Wearing: The boy in the blue shirt. 
o With reference to: lacking in ideas, rich in oil. 
With is used in following situations:

o Accompanying: He came with her; I have my keys with me. 

o Containing: Here is a book with a map of the island. 
o By means of, using: I repaired the shoes with glue. 
o Manner: with pleasure, with ease, with difficulty. 
o Because of: We are paralyzed with fear. 
o Agreement: I agree with you. 

3. Opposite/In front of
Opposite is used meaning antonym and position in front. In front of always means front
position. 

Eg:

o Ram is sitting opposite to Shyam. (Ram is facing Shyam) 

o People living on one side of a street will talk of the houses on the other side as the houses
opposite rather than the houses in front of us. 
o His house is opposite to ours. 
In front of is used in the following ways:
o He parked the car in front of the hotel. 
o He put the plate on the table in front of us. 

4. By/Before
By a time/by a date usually implies before that time or date. 

Eg:

o The train starts at 7.15 so you had better be at the station by 7.00. 
By +a time expression structure is often used with future perfect Tense. 

Eg:

o By the end of July I’ll have read all those books. 

Before can be used as a preposition or as a conjunction or as an adverb. 

Eg:

o Before signing this agreement let us discuss each and every point. 
o Before you sign this you can discuss it with your father. 
o I have seen her somewhere before. 

5. After/Afterwards
After must be followed by a noun, pronoun or gerund. 

Eg:

o After breakfast, he booked a taxi. 

o After attending the class, I went to meet Rahul. 
If we do not like to use a noun/Pronoun or gerund, we cannot use After but we can use
Afterwards. 

Eg:

o Don’t have a meal and run immediately afterwards. 

o I felt very light on my feet afterwards. 

6. But/Except
Both have the same meaning and are usually interchangeable.
After nobody/none/nothing/nowhere etc. usually but is used.

Eg:

o Nobody but Shyam knew the way. 

o Nothing but the best is sold in our shop. 
Except is used when prepositional phrase comes later in a sentence. 

Eg:

o Nobody knew the way except Shyam. 

o He works every day except Sunday. 
Note: After but and except bare infinitive (infinitive without to) is used. 

Special uses of some prepositions

SEPTEMBER 13, 2010 - 

In and at

Both at and in can be used with the names of cities, towns and villages. We use in when we are talking about
the place as an area; we use at when we see it as a point.

Compare:

 My sister lives in Tokyo.

 Our plane stopped at Tokyo on the way to Iran. (Tokyo = Tokyo airport)

We use at to talk about group activities and shops/workplaces.

 I first met him at a party. (NOT …in a party.)

 There weren’t many people at the meeting.
 I saw him at the baker’s. (= baker’s shop)

We use in with the names of streets and at when we give the house number.

 He lives in MG Street.
 He lives at 128 MG Street.

We use on when we think of a place as a surface.

 The cat is lying on the floor.

 Hang this picture on the wall.

Till and until

Both till and until are used of time.

 We waited till / until 12 o’ clock.

 He slept till / until 11 am.

Since

Since is used before a noun or phrase denoting some point of time. It is preceded by a verb in the perfect
tenses.

 He hasn’t eaten anything since yesterday.

 He has been ill since last Monday.
 It has been raining since yesterday.

In
In is used before a noun denoting a period of time. It means ‘at the end of’. Within means ‘before the end of’.

 I shall return in an hour. (= at the end of one hour)

 I shall return within an hour. (= before the end of one hou

 Complete the following sentences using an appropriate

preposition.
 1. You are still ---------------- 18, so you can't watch that film.
(under / below)
 2. There is a cat ----------------- the cot. (under / underneath /
below)
 3. ----------------- philosophy, we have to learn psychology
and literature. (Beside / Besides)
 4. I didn't like that gown; ----------------, it is too expensive.
(beside / besides)
 5. A lot of businesses are going ---------------- because of the
financial crisis. (below / under)
 6. Who is that pretty girl sitting ---------------- Raghu? (beside
/ besides)
 7. The car is parked -------------------- the school. (before / in
front of)
 8. The murder took place right ----------------- my eyes.
(before / in front of)
 9. I saw her running ------------------ the road. (along / over)
 10. She was silent all ------------------ the journey. (along /
through)

 Answers
 1. You are still under 18, so you can't watch that film.
 2. There is a cat under / underneath the cot.
 3. Besides philosophy, we have to learn psychology and
literature.
 4. I didn't like that gown; besides, it is too expensive.
 5. A lot of businesses are going under because of the financial
crisis.
 6. Who is that pretty girl sitting beside Raghu?
 7. The car is parked in front of the school.
 8. The murder took place right before my eyes.
 9. I saw her running along the road.
 10. She was silent all through the journey.

englishgrammarpass.com/exercises/test/92/2.html

https://www.englishgrammar.org/commonly-confused-prepositions-2/
perfectyourenglish.com/grammar/confusing-prepositions-worksheet.htm

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uKQknI9EdrM

www.youtube.com/watch?v=2qTMzFsROic

Due to
This phrase is used to modify the nouns. In other words, due to is used to present the
reason for a noun.
Simple Example 1: The traffic jam was due to a terrible accident at the intersection.
In the above-mentioned sentence, the phrase due to has been used to present the reason
for the noun traffic jam. The reason for traffic jam, grammatically a noun entity, is a terrible
accident. Hence, usage of due to correct in this sentence.

Because of
This phrase is used to modify the actions. In other words, because of is used to present the
reason for an action.
Simple Example 2: The traffic jam happened because of a terrible accident at the
intersection.
In the above-mentioned sentence, the phrase because of has been used to present the
reason for the action happened. The reason why the traffic jam took place is that there was
a terrible accident. Hence, usage of because of is correct in this sentence.
Lower in number: under, below

Another meaning for “under” and “below” relates to measurement. It means “lower than in age,
number or level.”

The word “under” is common in reference to age:

It is unlawful to buy cigarettes if you are under 21 years of age.

In this example, the word “under” is a preposition. It has an indirect object: 21 years of age.

Now here it is again but serving an adverb:

It is unlawful to buy cigarettes if you are 21 years of age or under.

Now, onto measurements.

We usually use “below” when discussing such things as height and temperature. Have a listen:

Temperatures in the Midwest fell below zero last week.

A large part of New Orleans is at or below sea level.

More about ‘under’

I want to quickly tell you two more meanings of the word “under” since it’s such a common word
with a lot of meanings.

It can mean “guided by or managed by,” as in this:

The restaurant will be under new management starting in March.

It can also mean “in a condition or state,” as in this:

The shopping center is under construction until next year.

Used as a prefix

“Under” can also be used as a prefix – a group of letters added at the beginning of a word to
change its meaning.

As such, it can mean “below” or “less than an expected or correct amount” and can be an
adjective or a verb. Listen to the first sentence, which uses an adjective, and the second, which
uses a verb:

I cannot permit you to enter this club. You’re underage.

Oh no! They undercooked the chicken. I can’t eat it now.

‘Under’ expressions

And, lastly, “under” is also used in common English expressions, such as:

under the weather

under pressure
under the law
under arrest and
under your breath

Compare:

 A book for children about Africa and its peoples.

A textbook on African history.

 A conversation about money.

A lecture on economics.

We use about to talk about ordinary, more general kinds of communication. On suggests that a book, talk etc is more
serious, suitable for specialists.

https://grammarsimple.com/prepositions-pdf-documents/?
fbclid=IwAR2FFVJOg7uG2sl3tro1s8BmFJmyPaUIkdT23vDzWrY51yNn3ojCH49_FSs

https://moocs.openenglishprograms.org/courses/122/discussion_topics/420?module_item_id=2700