List of Prepositions in English • 7ESL

When speaking or writing in English, you often come across prepositions. These are vital in showing relationships between words or phrases in a sentence. This reference provides a comprehensive list of prepositions commonly used in both spoken and written English. You will find sections covering different types of prepositions like those of time, place, movement, and manner. This resource is useful to enhance your English fluency.

Contents

List of Prepositions

Prepositions are words that tell how one thing is relating to or interacting with another. For example, “The man sat聽on聽the chair.” The preposition in this sentence is聽on. Prepositions tell us where something is in relation to something else. The man isn’t聽under聽the chair, for example. He’s聽on聽it.

There are around 150 prepositions in the English language, and we’re going to list all of them we could find. They are broken down into categories of prepositions, based on how that type of preposition functions.

This list contains one-word prepositions as well as complex prepositions. Complex prepositions are when more than one word works together as a preposition. This is not the same as a prepositional phrase, which is a phrase starting with a preposition but ending in a noun.

Some of these prepositions can function in multiple categories, depending on how they’re used. They will appear in more than one list.

Some of these words also fit into other speech categories, especially adverbs and conjunctions.

Prepositions of time

Prepositions of time are prepositions that we use to indicate something’s relationship with time.

About
After
Ago
Around
At
Before
By
Circa
During
Following
For
From
Gone
In
On
Past
Prior to
Since
Until/till
Up to
Up until

Prepositions of Place

Prepositions of place are ones that tell where one thing is in space compared to another.

Aboard
Above
Across
Against
Alongside
Amid
Among
Apart from
Astride
At
Atop
Behind
Below
Beneath
Beside
Between
Beyond
By
Close to
Far
Far from
Forward of
From
In
In between
In front of
Inside
Into
Minus
Near
Near to
Next to
Of
Off
On
On board
On top of
Onto
Upon
Opposite
Out
Out of
Outside
Outside of
Over
Round
Through
Throughout
To
Together with
Toward/towards
Whether this word ends with an聽-s聽depends on what region’s English is being used.
Under
Underneath
Up against
With
Within
Without

Prepositions of Movement

Prepositions of movement (also known as prepositions of direction) tell how something moves in relation to another thing. Many of these are also prepositions of place. Prepositions of place tell where something is, and prepositions of movement tell how something is moving.

Above
Across
Against
Ahead
Along
Along with
Amid
Around
Away
Away from
Behind
Below
Beneath
By means of
Down
Further to
In between
Into
Off
Off of
On
Onto
Over
Out of
Past
Round
Through
Toward/towards
Under
Up
Via

Prepositions of Manner

Prepositions of manner (also known as prepositions of agency or prepositions of instrument) tell us how something is done. This category also includes many legal phrases and whether or not people are includes or excluded.

About
According to
Anti
As
As for
As per
As to
As well as
Aside from
Bar
Barring
Because of
Besides
But for
By
But
Concerning
Considering
Contrary to
Counting
Cum
Depending on
Despite
Due to
Except
Except for
Excepting
Excluding
Given
In addition to
in case of
In face of
In favor of/in favour of
In light of
In spite of
In view of
Including
Instead of
Less
Like
Notwithstanding
Of
On account of
On behalf of
Other than
Owing to
Pending
Per
Plus
Preparatory to
Pro
Re
Regarding
Regardless of
Save
Save for
Saving
Than
Thanks to
Unlike
Versus
With
With reference to
With regard to
Worth

Prepositions with Examples

Prepositions in Sentences

The following are some examples of prepositions being used in sentences. There is one example for each category of preposition we include in the list of prepositions below.

That happened聽during聽the 1900s.

This is a preposition that shows how the event relates to time. Prepositions of time have a lot of overlap with adverbs, and many words are listed as both adverbs and prepositions.

The ball is聽on聽the box.

This preposition shows where the ball is in relation to the box. It is a preposition of place.

He ran聽around聽the corner.

This preposition tells how he moved in relation to the corner. It is a preposition of movement or direction.

She wrote the paper聽with聽Sarah.

This preposition tells the manner in which the paper was written in relation to these two people. This category is a little more open, and it’s named differently according to who you consult. It primarily focuses on how people or things relate to functioning together. This category of prepositions often includes words that are also conjunctions.

More examples of prepositions:

– about: She was talking about her trip to Paris.

– above: The birds were flying above the clouds.

– across: We walked across the bridge to get to the other side.

– after: We went to the movies after dinner.

– against: The soccer team played against their rivals.

– along: We took a scenic drive along the coast.

– among: The children played among the trees in the park.

– around: The dog ran around the backyard chasing its tail.

– at: We met at the coffee shop for a quick chat.

– before: We need to finish our work before the deadline.

– behind: The car was driving behind us on the highway.

– below: The fish swam below the surface of the water.

– beneath: The treasure was hidden beneath the sand.

– beside: She sat beside her best friend during the movie.

– between: The cat was hiding between the two pillows on the couch.

– beyond: The mountain range was beyond the horizon.

– by: The book was written by Jane Austen.

– concerning: The meeting was about the new policy concerning vacation time.

– despite: Despite the bad weather, we still went for a hike.

– down: The leaves fell down from the trees in the autumn.

– during: We learned a lot during our trip to Japan.

– except: Everyone was invited to the party except for Mark.

– for: She bought a gift for her sister’s birthday.

– from: The package was shipped from China.

– in: He was born in New York City.

– inside: The cat was hiding inside the box.

– into: The bird flew into its nest in the tree.

– like: She danced like a ballerina on stage.

– near: The store was located near the train station.

– of: The color of the sky was blue.

– off: The plane took off from the runway.

– on: She placed the book on the table.

– onto: He climbed onto the roof to fix the shingles.

– out: The fire went out after we poured water on it.

– outside: The children played outside in the park.

– over: The plane flew over the mountains.

– past: We drove past the gas station without stopping.

– regarding: She received an email regarding her job application.

– round: We walked round the block to get some exercise.

– since: She has been working at the company since 2015.

– through: We walked through the tunnel to get to the other side.

– throughout: The festival lasted throughout the weekend.

– to: She gave a present to her mother for Mother’s Day.

– toward: The car was driving toward the city center.

– under: The cat was hiding under the bed.

– underneath: The keys were underneath the pile of papers.

– until: We waited until the store opened to buy our groceries.

– up: He climbed up the ladder to reach the top shelf.

– upon: The prince rode upon his white horse into the sunset.

– with: He cooked dinner with his girlfriend.

Prepositions of Place with Examples

Learn the preposition words list with pictures, meanings, and example sentences.

Meaning: Indicates the location of someone or something within a specific container, place, or area.

Example: The basketball is in the box.

Meaning: Used to indicate when an object is touching or supported by a surface.

Example: The basketball is on the box.

Under

Meaning: Refers to something being in a lower position or covered by something else.

Example: The basketball is hiding under the box.

Next to

Meaning: Something is situated closer to the front than another thing or person.

Example: There is a basketball next to the box.

Between

Meaning: Indicates a position in the middle of two objects or places.

Example: The basketball is hiding between the two boxes.

Among

Meaning: Refers to being in the midst of other people or things.

Example: The basketball is hiding among the boxes.

In front of

Meaning: Indicates something is located ahead of someone or something else.

Example: The basketball is situated in front of the box.

Behind

Meaning: Indicates something is located at the back of something else is “behind.”

Example: The basketball is hiding behind the box.

Above

Meaning: Indicates that something is in a position higher than something else.

Example: The basketball is above聽the box.

Below

Meaning: Indicates something is positioned at a lower level than another object.

Example: The basketball is聽below the box.

Near

Meaning: Indicating proximity, but with a slight distinction in distance between the two objects.

Example: The basketball is situated near the box.

Far from

Meaning: Indicates a significant distance between two things.

Example: The basketball is located far from the box.

Meaning: Specify the precise location of something or someone.

Example: The basketball is at聽the door.

Prepositions of Place List – Created by 7ESL

Prepositions of Movement with Examples

Learn prepositions list with pictures, meaning, and example sentences.

Down

The meaning of the preposition “down” is to move from a higher position to a lower one.

Example: The tennis ball comes down聽the stairs.

The preposition up is used to show that something is moving from a lower position to a higher one.

Example: The tennis ball goes聽up聽the stairs.

Out of

The preposition “out of” indicates a transition from within a space to the exterior of that space.

Example: The basketball bounced聽out of the box.

Into

The preposition “into” denotes movement from outside to inside a three-dimensional space, often indicating movement towards something and potentially resulting in contact.

Example: The basketball bounced聽into the box.

Toward

The preposition聽toward is used to indicate movement, direction, or orientation towards a person, place, or thing.

Example:聽The basketball is moving toward the box.

Away

The preposition away聽is聽used to say that someone leaves a place or person, or stays some distance from a place or person.

Example: The basketball is rolling away from the box.

Past

The word “past” is a preposition that indicates movement beyond or at the far side of something.

Example:聽The basketball has rolled past the box.

Over

The preposition “over” is typically used to describe movement from one side of a place to another, particularly on two-dimensional surfaces like lawns or tables, or to indicate something positioned on the opposite side of a line such as a river or a bridge.

Example: The basketball bounced over the box.

Onto

The preposition onto is often used to indicate movement towards or onto a specific location.

Example: The tennis ball bounced onto the box.

Off

The preposition “off” is used to indicate movement away from something.

Example:聽The tennis ball gets off the box.

Around

The preposition聽around indicates moving in a circular direction along the edge of something.

Example: The tennis ball goes around the box.

Under

The preposition under indicates a motion beneath the surface of an object.

Example:聽The basketball is moving under the box.

Along

The preposition “along” has multiple uses, including indicating movement along a line, indicating a specific position in relation to a line, or indicating when things are positioned in a line.

Example: The tennis ball is rolling along聽the road.

Across