Prepositions are words which show the relationship between a noun or a pronoun

object and some other words in the sentence. They are always followed by nouns or
pronouns. They are called "the biggest little words” in English because they have very
important functions.

Three Groups of Prepositions:

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

SOME COMMON PREPOSITIONS

PLACE POSITION DIRECTION TIME OTHER
above beyond on after except
across by opposite before as
along down out (of) at like
among from outside by about
at in over for with
away from in front of around during without
behind inside through from by
below into to in for
beside near towards
between off under
up

Although prepositions are hard to generalize with separate rules, there is one simple rule
about them. And, unlike most rules, this rule has no 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 + Verb Preposition "noun"

The pen is on the table.
He lives in England.
Henry is looking for you.
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 The newspaper is under your green book.
Pascal is used to English people.
She isn't used to working.
We ate before coming.

Prepositions of Time / Place at, in, on

• At for a PRECISE TIME
• In for MONTHS, YEARS, CENTURIES and LONG PERIODS
• On for DAYS and Dates
At In On
At 4:30 pm in March on Monday
At 3 o'clock In Winter On 6 March
At noon In the summer On 22 Dec.2012
At dinnertime In 1990 On Christmas Day
At bedtime In the next century On your birthday
At the moment In the future On New Year's Eve

Notice that use of the prepositions of time in and on in these common expressions:

• In the morning /On Monday morning

• In the mornings / On Sunday mornings
• In the afternoon(s) / On Sunday afternoons
• In the evening(s) / On Friday evenings
When we say next, last, this, every we do not use at, in, on.
I went to New York last June (not in last June)
She is coming back next Monday. (not on next Monday)
I go home every Easter . (not at every Easter)
We'll call you this afternoon. (not in this afternoon)

Place: at, in, on

In General:

• At for a POINT (dog, money, love)

• In for an ENCLOSED SPACE
• On for a SURFACE

At In On
At the bus stop In London On the wall
At the corner In the garden On the ceiling
At the entrance In a box On the floor
At the crossroads In a building On the carpet
At the top of the page In a car On a page

Some other common uses of at / on / in

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 At In On
At home In a car On a bus
At work In a taxi On a train
At school In a helicopter On a plane
At university In an elevator On a bicycle
At the top In the sky On the radio
At the bottom In the street On the left
At the side In a row On a horse
At reception In a boat On 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 Prepositions
Prepositions use Example
during while in during the movie, during
the flight, during my stay
for for two days, for an hour
from / to from Saturday to
Monday, from 5 to 9
between the time period between 1986 and 2012,
from one to between Saturday and
another Monday
until/till before a certain until/till Sunday,5
time o'clock
by at the least by Tuesday, by next
month, by tomorrow
to movement to school, to work, to the
towards station
into movement into the cinema, into the
towards inside car
something
out of to leave a place/a out of the theater, out of
thing the car
by near/next LINK stand by me, by the
to/beside lake
through through the tunnel,
through the room
across opposite ends across the river, across
the street
against against the wall, against
the door
into movement into the cinema, into the
towards inside car
something

Prepositions - Questions
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1.He knows very well (a) / what is expected from him (b) / but he is not able to fulfil all the
expectations. (c) / No error (d).

2.My brother (a) / has ordered (b) / for a Laptop. (c) / No error (d)

3.I do not understand (a) / why she is (b) / so angry at me. (c) / No error (d)

4.I am hearing (a) / a lot about (b) / the problem of ragging these days. (c) / No error (d)

5.As the meeting was about to end (a) / he insisted to ask (b) / several questions. (c) / No error (d)

6.Man needs (a) / security and leisure (b) / of free thinking. (c) / No error (d)

7.They walked (a) / besides each other (b) / in silence. (c) / No error (d)

8.Our Physics teacher (a) / often emphasises on (b) / the end for a lot of practice. (c) / No error (d)

9.Please put away (a) / the candle (b) / before you leave. (c) No error (d)

10.Most of the Andhra Pradesh (a) / is an extremely fertile plain (b) / between which the river
Krishna flows. (c) / No error (d)

11.On a holiday (a) / Sruthi prefers reading (b) / than going out visiting friends. (c) / No error (d)

12.After opening the door (a) / we entered into the room (b) / next to the kitchen. (c) / No error (d)

13.The students were (a) / awaiting for (b) / the arrival of the chief guest. (c) / No error (d)

14.I could not convince them (a) / because they persisted to suggest (b) / that I was lying. (c) / No
error (d)

15.I was taken with surprise (a) / when I saw (b) / the glamorous Tamanna. (c) / No error (d)

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 Prepositions - Answers

1.Option :b. Replace ‘from’ by ‘of’

2. Option : c. Remove ‘for’

3. Option :c. The correct form is ‘angry with

4. Option : b. Replace ‘about’ by ‘of’

5. Option :b. The correct form is ‘he insisted on asking’

6. Option : c.Replace ‘of’ by ‘for’

7. Option :b. Replace ‘besides’ by ‘beside’

8. Option : b. Remove ‘on’

9. Option :a. The correct usage is ‘put out the candle’.

10. Option : c. Replace ‘between’ by ‘through’

11. Option :c. ‘to’.

12. Option : b. Remove ‘into’. ‘Enter’ does not take any proposition.

13. Option :b. Remove ‘for’

14. Option :b. Replace ‘to suggest’ by ‘in suggesting’

15. Option a. Replace ‘with’ by ‘by’

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