FATHER AGNEL SCHOOL

CLASS VIII-PREPOSITIONS

I.PREPOSITIONS OF TIME-We use:

i.In for MONTHS, YEARS, CENTURIES and LONG PERIODS

Months: in January / in April

Seasons: in spring / in winter
Years: in 1984 / in 2015
Centuries: in the 20th century
Times of day: in the morning / in the evening
Longer periods of time: in the past / in the 1990s / in the holidays

ii.On for DAYS and DATES

Days of the week: on Monday

Days + parts of days: on Tuesday afternoon / on Saturday mornings
Dates: on November 22nd
Special days: on my birthday / on New Year’s Eve

iii.At for a PRECISE TIME

Clock times: at 7.30 a.m. / at 5 o’clock

Festivals: at Christmas / at Easter
Exceptions: at night / at the weekend

iv.When we say last, next, every, this we do not also use at, in, on.

 I went to London last June. (not in last June)

 I go home every Easter. (not at every Easter)

v. after / later
RULE-: Use after + phrase, and use later alone (at the end of a sentence or phrase).
E.g. I’ll call you later.
I’ll call you after I get home from work.

RULE-: You can say “later + time period” to refer to an unspecified time in the future, for
example: I’ll finish the project later this week.

RULE-: Never end a sentence with “after.” Instead, you can use “afterwards”

“No, we went out for dinner afterwards.“

 vi. ago / before/by/until/between-RULE-:
1.Use ago to talk about past times in reference to the current moment.
e.g.I met her five years ago.

2.Use before to talk about past times in reference to another moment in the past.
E.g. I met her before leaving for France.

3.Use by for one specific event that will happen before a certain time in the future.
E.g. Please send me the information by Monday.

4.Use until for a continuous event that will continue and then stop at a certain time in the
future. E.g.He’s staying in London until the 30th.

5.Use between ... and (limits of a period) E.g. between Monday and Friday

6.Use within (in less time than) E.g.within a day

.vii. during/while

RULE-: Both during and while mean that something happens at the same time as something
else.
1.Use during + noun.
 She cried during the movie.
2.Use while + subject + verb, or while + gerund.
 She cried while she was watching the movie.
 She cried while watching the movie.

viii. from… to / till / until

RULE-: We use from + to / till / until to define the beginning and end of a time period.
 The museum is open from 8 AM to 4 PM.
 Jack will be on vacation from tomorrow until next Friday.
 I studied English from 2001 till 2004.

ix. past / to
RULE-: We can use these prepositions with minutes in relation to the hour:
 3:50 = Ten to four 6:15 = Quarter past six

x.for / since
RULE-: For is used for a period of time, and since is used to reference a specific point in
time.
 I’ve been waiting for three hours.
I’ve been waiting since ten o’clock.

xi.as soon as / as long as

As soon as means “immediately after another event.”
 We’ll call you as soon as we arrive.
(As long as means “for the period of time” or “on the condition that”:
II.PREPOSITIONS OF PLACE

Sentences with prepositions of place and direction

Preposition Use Sentences

above higher than sth. The picture hangs above my bed.

You mustn't go across this road here.

from one side to the other
across
side
There isn't a bridge across the river.

The cat ran after the dog.

after one follows the other

After you.

against directed towards sth. The bird flew against the window.

in a line; from one point to

along They're walking along the beach.
another

among in a group I like being among people.

around in a circular way We're sitting around the campfire.

at* position at a point I arrived at the meeting.

behind at the back of Our house is behind the supermarket.

Preposition Use Sentences

Death Valley is 86 metres below sea

below lower than sth.
level.

beside next to Our house is beside the supermarket.

Our house is between the supermarket

between sth./sb. is on each side
and the school.

By Near He lives in the house by the river.

close to Near Our house is close to the supermarket.

down from high to low He came down the hill.

From the place where it starts Do you come from Tokyo?

the part that is in the Our house is in front of the

in front of
direction it faces supermarket.

inside opposite of outside You shouldn't stay inside the castle.

place seen in three

We slept in the car.
dimensions
in*

larger areas I was born in England.

Preposition Use Sentences

Into entering sth. You shouldn't go into the castle.

Near close to Our house is near the supermarket.

next to Beside Our house is next to the supermarket.

Off away from sth. The cat jumped off the roof.

touches a surface There is a fly on the table.

We were on the way from Paris to

on* is seen as a point on a line
Rome.

by a lake or sea London lies on the Thames.

Onto moving to a place The cat jumped onto the roof.

opposite on the other side Our house is opposite the supermarket.

out of leaving sth. The cat jumped out of the window.

outside opposite of inside Can you wait outside?

Over above sth./sb. The cat jumped over the wall.

Preposition Use Sentences

Past going near sth./sb. Go past the post office.

round in a circle We're sitting round the campfire.

going from one point to the

through You shouldn't walk through the forest.
other point

I like going to Australia.

To towards sth./sb. Can you come to me?

I've never been to Africa.

towards in the direction of sth. We ran towards the castle.

under below sth. The cat is under the table.

Up from low to high He went up the hill.

III.PREPOSITIONS OF AGENCY & INSTRUMENTALITY

These prepositions are usually placed to connect the doer and the doing, basically the noun and
the verb. Agent, as you know, is the connector. It’s that which makes something happen.

i.By: is usually used to show a doing by a person. E.g.

 This food store is constructed by my father. Harry Potter was written by J.K. Rowling.

 This sweater was knitted for me by my grandmother.

ii. With: Usually used to show a doing by a thing.

E.g. We drove away the mosquitoes with the repellant spray.

We flushed out the dirt from the terrace with water.

IV.COMPOUND PREPOSITIONS

Definition :which are generally formed by prefixing a Preposit ion to a Noun, an

Adject ive or an Adverb.

i.Above indicates : at a higher place, at a higher level, earlier , negative action, expressions.

ii.Against indicates : touching something for support, touching forcibly, in opposition to,
toward a force in the opposite direction.

iii.Among indicates : with each other, to the individuals in a group.

iv.About indicates: a definite topic ,not exactly

v. Across indicates : one side ,other side, in every area of

vi.Around (on all sides) indicates : movement in a circular direction in place, following a
boundary, in all areas of, on another side of.
vii.Between (in or within two)indicates : separation of two things, a choice of, together.
viiiBeyond (on the other side of, farther on)iindicates : past the limits of, later than, more
distance after that.
viii. Before (advance, about priority in a sequence) indicates : earlier than, in a more
important position than, facing, in the future, in the presence of.

ix. Through (movement) indicates: length of time, passage within, vision beyond something,
finish something .E.g. The train sped through the tunnel .
xi. Towards (in the direction of) indicates : near a period of time, moving .
xii.Inside (within )Inside indicates : indoors, within.
xiii.Outside (not within) indicates : out. E..g. It’s raining heavily outside.
xiv.Within (inside the limits) indicates : length of time, less than a distance, not outside a
place, possible, not exceeding the limits of something.
e.g.He’ll return within a week
I will stay within three miles of the city center.
xv. Without indicates : absence of somebody, not using, not performing an action
e.g. The President will come without his wife.

V.DOUBLE PREPOSITIONS
They are words having two prepositions (joined together to make a whole new one) such as
into, onto, outside of, out of, within, from behind, because of,

Double prepositions are two simple prepositions used together, often indicating direction.
Some examples are into, upon, onto, out of, from within.
 It is up to us to find the answer.
 The loud noise came from within the stadium.
 I was unable to get out of the boring party

VI.A PREPOSITIONAL PHRASE includes a preposition, its object, and any modifiers of
the object. The preposition’s object is the noun or pronoun that follows the preposition.
Prepositional phrases can function as either adjective phrases or adverb phrases to modify
other words in a sentence.E.g.She likes all colors except for yellow.

 I tore a piece off of the loaf.

 They appeared out of nowhere.