Prepositions of Place

At
At, in, on for location:
At: when sthg is at a place it is close
to it but not touching it
Well meet at the cinema
When we talk about a point on a
scale or journey
Bake the cake at 170
We stopped at Enfidha on our way to
Sousse
 In
in: to mean inside
The money is in the purse
To talk about a place as a general
area such as a region or a country
The couple are in France for their
honeymoon
 On
On: in contact with a surface
The keys are on the table
To talk about a place in relation to a
line such as a road or river:
Its on the way to Sousse
Its a small town on the Nile river
Verbs and nouns with at, in , on
At before an object that is the target of the action:
shout, smile, bark, glance, laugh, look, scream, stare,
swear, yell
In before objects that describe ideas or things as if
they were place:
Indulge, interfere, include, believe, invest, join,
meddle, result, specialize, wallow
On: comment, concentrate, depend, focus, insist,
lecture, plan, rely, remark, report
On with nouns (before other nouns): a ban on, attack,
resrtictions, constraint, effect, emphasis, imposition,
limit, perspective, sanctions
 Below / under
Below and under: one thing is in lower position
than another
Below: scale

Under: covered/ underneath (emphasis)

Figuratively: less than

 Above/ over
Above/over: one thing is in higher
position
Above: scale/level
Over: A covers B
Above: figuratively (better than)
Over: (more than)
 Between/ among
Between and among:
Between: a place between two or
more separate people or things
Figuratively: how two things are
connected
Among: a place among more than
two people or things together as a
group
Figuratively: to mean included in
Prepositions of movement and place
from, across, into, onto
From, to, towards:
From-to:
starting point to goal/ end point of
movement
Figuratively: starting and end point of changes
Towards: in the direction of/ to focus on the
direction of movement
Figuratively: the direction of development or
change
 Into/ onto
Into: focus on movement to a place
inside something
Onto/ on to: movement to a surface
of some kind
 Across, over, through
For movement from one side of
something to the other
Across: for movement to the other side
of surface or area
Over: for movement to the other side
of something viewed as high or as a
line
Through: movement that enters and
leaves s.thg
 Along/ Past
Along: for movement in one direction
or to describe the position of
something which is somewhere in
that direction
Past: for movement beyond a specific
point or to describe the position of
something beyond a specific point
 Off/ Out of
Off: movement away from a surface
or to describe the position of
something in relation to a surface
Out of: movement from the inside of
something or to describe the position
of something which is no longer
inside
 Prepositions used for connections
of, with, by
Of and with: talk about people/
things being connected
Of: can be put between two noun
phrases to show that the 1st belongs
to or is part of the 2nd
(a friend of mine)
Of / with after adjectives:
Aware of/ familiar with
 With/ by
With+ (det+ noun) for instrument:
with a knife
By+ noun/ gerund: for means
By credit card/ by breaking the law
By-phrases: By car/ by e-mail
 Prepositions used for exceptions
except for/ besides/ without
Except for, besides, apart from:
Except (for) (Not including): with someone or
something not included in a general statement,
usually after a quantifier such as every
Except for: with information added to a specific
statement that makes it not completely true
E.g: She says shes stopped smoking except for an
occasional cigarette at a party.
Except: before preposition phrases and clauses
 Besides
Besides= except for: In negative
sentences
Besides Henry, no one came.
Besides= In addition to
Besides footbal what other sports do
you like
Apart from= except for: not including
Apart from= in addition to
 Without/ Minus
Without: for something not included
in the wider sense of
Not having/ including: I prefer coffee
without milk
Not doing s.thg: He left without
saying goodbye
Minus: to emphasise that something
has been removed