List of Prepositions, their Uses, Definition, Rules, Types & Examples

What is a Preposition in English Grammar?

Preposition meaning a word used to link nouns and pronouns or phrases to other words within a sentence.

Key features of Prepositions:

 Preposition words show the relationship between the words in a sentence. 

 Some prepositional phrase has various definitions, so the meaning changes quite a bit according to context. 

 Use of preposition word at the end of the sentence is not a grammatical error.

  

Types of Prepositions in English with Examples:   

 Types of preposition are described in detail in the below section.  

Preposition of Direction:  

The purpose of these types of prepositions are - 

 To show the way in which something is done. 

 To express the direction of something. 

Here is the complete preposition list which are indicative of direction with their meanings.

Preposition of Direction	Prepositions Meaning
Above	Higher relative to something else
Across	On the other side of
Along	Beside
Among	Within a group
Around	In a circular way
At	Indicates a particular point
Behind	At the back of
Below	Lower relative to something else
Beside	Next to
Close to	Near
Over	Above
Through	From one point to the next
Toward	In the direction of
Up	From low to high
Down	From high to low
Between	In the space separating two things
By	Near
Inside/In	Within
Near	Close by
Next to	Beside
On	Touching something
Onto	Moving on top of something
Off	Away from
Past	On the father side of
Under	Below something

Some appropriate preposition examples list is provided below:

1. They went by bus.

2. Look to the right and you will see your destination.

3. Meet me at the flower shop.

4. The dog climbed onto the bed.

  

Preposition of Time: 

According to English Grammar rules, the words are used to refer to time in various aspects.

These types of preposition words are gathered in the below preposition list with their meaning.

Preposition of Time	Preposition Meaning
On	Days (of the week) & dates
In	Months/seasons/year, part of the day, after a period
At	A specific point of time, exceptions
Since	From a specific point in time until now (past till now)
For	Over a certain period of time
Ago	From now to a specific point in the past (now till past)
During	Throughout the course
Before	Previous to in time, earlier than
After	Subsequent in time, at a later time than
Until (Till)	Up to a certain point in time
To/ past	Telling the time
From/ To	A starting point/ an end point
By	Not later than

  

Following is the preposition exercises with answer to understand easily by the aspirants.

1. We arrived on Monday.

2. The seminar starts at 10 a.m.

3. The company was founded in the 20th century.

4. They got married on Friday the 5th June.

Preposition of Place: 

Those words which indicating positions of the object in the sentence, it’s the place preposition definition.

The below preposition list covers all these kinds of prepositions which are indicating the place.

Preposition of Place	Prepositions Meaning
In	Position or state inside
At	In the area of, specific position, an event (or a place related to it)
On	Position above, in contact with, for a certain side, the state or process of & means of conveyance
Off	From a place or position
By, Beside	At the side of, close to & next to
Under	In a lower position, beneath the surface
Over	In or at a position above, more than
Below	In or to a lower place, beneath
Above	Overhead
Up	From a lower towards a higher point
Down	A descending direction

 Some appropriate preposition examples according to grammar rules are provided below:

1. We live in India.

2. There is a cat under the table.

3. I hung my coat behind the door.

4. A path above the lake. 

Other English Grammar Prepositions: 

The prepositions in English grammar which are not satisfy the conditions of time, place & direction they take place in this section.

All these kinds of preposition words in grammar are catered in the following preposition list with meaning.

English Grammar Prepositions	Preposition Meaning
Or	Originating from, composed of,associated with, belonging to
By	In the name of; through the agency oraction of
About	Estimation of quantity, on the subject of
For	Indicates the object, aim or purpose
With	In the presence or use of

  

Uses of Prepositions in English in the different Manners 

Sometimes English grammar prepositions are used in the different manners through which the meaning changes quite a bit according to context.

They are provided in the below section. 

Prepositional phrase functioned as Conjunctions: 

Some words are preposition, but they are functioning as conjunctions.

Preposition Rules: The preposition which is used before a clause, is functioning as a conjunction. But when a word is used before a noun phrase it stays as a preposition.

The words which are most common among these kinds of prepositions i.e. after, as, since, before, until etc.

Conjunction & Preposition Exercises: Some conjunction - preposition sentences are catered below:

1. After the lecture, they went to the movie. (Preposition)

2. After they ate, they went to the movie. (Conjunction)

3. He stood before the judge and declared his innocence. (Preposition)

4. Before he declared his innocence, he looked at the judge for a long time. (Conjunction) 

Prepositions act as Adverbs: 

Sometimes, words you might think of as prepositions act like adverb. When a word is modifying a verb, it is starting act like an adverb.

These types of prepositions in English which follow this rule i.e. about, across, around, before, beyond, in, inside, near, opposite, outside, past, round, through, under, up, within.

Preposition Worksheets: Following are some adverbs - preposition examples sentences -

1. Dorothy colors outside the lines.

Here outside the lines is an adverbial phrase and outside is a preposition.

2. If you want to see the eclipse, you will need to go outside.

Here outside tells you where you will need to go and without an object outside is an adverb.

Use of Prepositions with Adjectives: 

Sometimes preposition words appear after adjectives to complete or elaborate on the ideas or emotions that adjectives describe.

There are no specific preposition rules to use adjectives and English grammar prepositions combinedly.

Following are some adjective - preposition examples sentences:

1. Jenny is afraid of swimming in the ocean.

2. The kids are very fond of the ice-cream.

3. She was highly skilled in physics and chemistry.

4. Eating healthy is good for your health. 

Use of Preposition with Noun: 

Some preposition words can be used with nouns to connect or provide clarification for ideas explained in sentences. In this type of combination, the preposition always come after the noun.

Here are some noun - preposition examples:

1. Her answer to the teacher’s question was correct.

2. Tony has so much admiration for his father.

3. My friend has a fear of the dark.

4. He has little experience in backpacking. 

Preposition Definition with Verbs: 

To connect with the objects, certain verbs need prepositions. Verbs are usually followed by the prepositions before the object of the verb. These types of prepositions are known as the dependent prepositions.

Following are some preposition examples list with verb:

1. I applied for the job, but I didn’t get it.

2. Has he recovered from his illness yet?

3. He believes in ghosts.

4. This shampoo smells of blossoms.

English Grammar Preposition Exercises with Answers 

In the below section preposition exercises with answer are provided to understand the use of prepositional phrase better.

1. We live in India.

2. Would you like to go to the cinema tonight?

3. We are going on holiday next week.

4. There is a bridge across the river.

5. Come into the sitting room, we want to watch TV.

6. Lucky is arriving on 13th February at 8 o’clock in the morning.

7. They usually go to the Shimla in the summer.

8. I usually go to my parent’s house at We eat turkey together on Christmas Day.

9. I like to drink coffee in the morning and tea in the afternoon.

10. Lucky went to New York at New Year.

11. Stop worrying about your exam, everything will be fine.

12. Don’t forget to pay for the newspaper.

13. The boat passed under the bridge.

14. Unfortunately, I’m very bad at music.

15. It’s great you got that job, you should be proud of yourself.

16. He has been absent since Monday.

17. This material is different from that.

18. He said that he was very pleased with my work.

19. A dark cloud was above the house.

20. The plane flew over the building.

21. The car went through the tunnel.

22. She put the flowers by the window.

23. The loud noise came from within the stadium.

24. She never leaves without her phone.

25. I was unable to get out of the appointment.

26. I attended a quick meeting before leaving for the day.

27. She set beside Anushka.

28. My car is parked behind the store.

29. He was between jobs at the moment.

30. The teacher said no talking during class.