I.

Prepositions of Place

 on = pe
The book is on the table./ The hotel is on a small island.
There are many posters on that wall.
!!!He is on that bus/plane/train/boat. (He is travelling by bus/plane/train/boat)
Let’s do the exercise on page four.

 in = în

Joe is in the kitchen.

There’s nothing in the fridge.
He lives in Park Street.
- people are IN clothes : Who is the man in the grey suit?
- clothes and jewellery are ON people: She had a ring on every finger.

 at = la - for meeting places, locations or points on a journey = pentru locuri de

întâlnire, locatii sau puncte de pe un anumit traseu)
Let’s meet at Sarah’s house.
John is at the supermarket./ Who is that man standing at the traffic lights?

- we often use AT with “the top”, “the bottom”, “the beginning”, “the end”
There is a beautiful bird at the top of that tree.
You can find exercise four at the bottom of the page.
There are many fights at the beginning of the story.
At the end of the film, we cried.

- we can also use “on top of” (something):

 There are many chocolate flakes on top of that cake. (pe deasupra tortului)

 next to; near; by = (imediat) lângă; lângă; lângă/în apropierea; beside

My grandparents live by the lake.
The book is next to the notebook.
Is there a restaurant near here?
Come and sit here beside me.

 behind = în spatele
There are many toys behind that box.

 between = între
The T-shirt is between the coat and the trousers.

 in front of = în fața
There is a car park in front of our hotel.

 under = sub
Where is my pencil? It is under that book.

 below = sub (fără să atingă)/ la un nivel mai jos de

The fields below us are amazing!
You can find the author’s name below the title.
The temperature is ten degrees below zero.

 over = peste
From the top of the tower you could see for miles over the city!
  above = deasupra, peste (fără să atingă)/ la un nivel mai sus de
There is a picture above the TV.
Temperatures rarely rise above zero in winter.

 opposite = vizavi, în partea opusă

The wardrobe is opposite the sofa.

 among = printre, între (mai mulți oameni/lucruri etc)

There are many insects among the leaves.
He is hiding among the people.

 beyond = dincolo de
The toy train is beyond the sofa.

II. Prepositions of Time

at – with specific moments (of the day/year etc.): at noon, at sunrise/sunset, at half past three,
at Easter
in – with months (in December), years (in 2020), seasons (We usually go to the seaside in
summer.)
on – with days (on Easter (Day), on my birthday, on Monday etc.) and dates (on 5 th
March/March 5th)

at night – I have nightmares at night.

in the night- The dog is barking in the night. (= in noapte, in intuneric)
!!! in the morning, in the afternoon, in the evening
At Christmas, I visited my grandparents.
BUT:
I sang carols on Christmas Day.
- Other prepositions of time: since, for, before, past, until/till, by, during, while
I’ve known him since 1998. (= Il stiu din 1998.)
I’ve known him for two years. (= Il stiu de doi ani)
Yesterday, she cooked for two hours. (Ieri, ea a gatit pentru/timp de doua ore)
Let’s meet before breakfast!
We played chess until midnight. (= Am jucat sah pana la miezul noptii)
I’ll be back by 6 o’clock. (by 6 o’clock = pana la/ pana in ora 6)

BY-UNTIL
(inainte de, pana in) – (pana la)
I can do it by 5 p.m. (before 5 p.m. the project will be finished)
I can do it until 5 p.m. (I will work until 5 p. m., but I don’t know whether it will be
finished or not)
I can’t do it by 5 p. m. (the project won’t be finished by this time)
I can’t do it until 5 p. m. (the project will be finished after 5 p. m. , I’ll start at 5 p. m.)

DURING - WHILE
during + noun (in timpul)
He prefers studying during the night. ( Prefera sa studieze in timpul noptii)
You are not allowed to talk during the exam.

while + verb (in timp ce)

John was watching Tv while Mary was reading a book.

on time = punctual, not late

The 11.45 train left on time. (Trenul de 11.45 a ajuns la timp.)
We got at the party right on time.
in time = 1. soon enough, early enough
Will you be home in time for dinner? (Vei ajunge acasa la timp = destul de devreme pentru
cina?)
If we don’t hurry up, we won’t be in time to catch the train.

2. in the future – You’ll forget John in time. (Il vei uita pe John cu timpul)

III. Prepositions of Movement (Direction): up, down, from, past, through, across,
around, along, over, into, out of, onto, to, towards, off etc.

We were climbing up the mountain.

He was walking/sailing down the river.
I ran up/down the stairs.
I’m coming back from school.
Go past the post office and you’ll see the cinema on your right side.
We drove through the tunnel/ They love walking through the forest./We cycled through
those small villages. (through = prin)
I drew a line across the paper. (across = pe = dintr-o parte in partea cealalta)
We sailed across the river.
- sometimes, we can use either “across” or “through”, depending on the type of
movement we want to describe:
We walked across the park. (in this case, the best translation for “walk across” would be
“am traversat”)
We walked through the park.

We can also say: We walked along the park. (along = de-a lungul)
I slipped as I stepped onto the bridge. (Am alunecat cand am pasit/calcat pe pod.)
The dog was running around the tree.
He opened the door, went into the room and sat down.
Get out of my car!
She stood up and walked towards him. (towards = inspre, catre)

Don’t jump off that wall! (Nu sari de pe zidul acela!)

Take that book off the table!
 IV. Prepositions of Instrument (Agent) – is used for a thing which is a cause of
another thing in the sentence

“Amintiri din Copilarie” was written by Ion Creanga.

The cat was hit by a bike.
She came to school by bus.

He opened the door with a key.

You can’t play soccer without a ball.

They are playing for the other team.

Red is for danger and green is for safety.
I exchanged my old tv for a new one.

V. Other prepositions:

about (formal) – on (informal) = concerning (= despre, referitor la)

This is a text on physics.

That’s a book about animals.

after – afterwards

after + noun/pronoun: Let’s meet after lunch.

- we use “afterwards” on its own (afterwards = dupa aceea): Afterwards we lay on the
beach.

at - to – against
She threw the ball at him. (to hit him) = A aruncat cu mingea in el.
She threw the ball to him. (for him to catch it) = A aruncat cu mingea catre el.
She threw the ball against the wall. (there is no idea of “taking aim”) = Ea a aruncat cu mingea
in perete = Ea a dat cu mingea de perete.

because – because of

We left the party because it was noisy.

We left the party because of the noise. (because of + noun/pronoun)

beside – besides

beside + noun/pronoun = next to – Sit beside me.

besides = in afara de, pe langa – There were many other people besides us.

except for = cu exceptia (fara)

Everybody was at the party, except for Mary.

between – among

Divide this between you both.

Were you among the people at the party?

like – as
like = 1. to compare with ( +noun/pronoun) – There is no one like you.
2. such as – Invite people like the Johnsons.
3. in the same way as – He acts like a king.

as (+ object) = 1. in the capacity of (= in calitate de)– She works as a receptionist.

2. to give a reason – As the bus had left, we walked home. (Intrucat/ Deoarece
autobuzul plecase, noi am mers pe jos acasa.) (as = because)

due to – owing to

- we often use either one or another; however, “due to” is related to a noun:
Our delay was due to (caused by) the heavy traffic.
- “owing to” is related to a verb:
The concert was cancelled owing to (because of) the weather.