P for Prepositions

Prepositions must always be followed by a noun or pronoun. 

Ex: The bone was for the dog.

To refer to a direction, use the prepositions "to," "in," "into," "on," and "onto."

Ex: She drove to the store.

Ex: Don’t ring the doorbell. Come right in(to) the house.

Ex: The book is on the table.

To refer to one point in time, use the prepositions "in," "at," and "on."

Use "in" with parts of the day (not specific times), months, years, and seasons.

Use "at" with the time of day. Also use "at" with noon, night, and midnight.

Use "on" with days.

He reads in the evening. The weather is cold in December. She was born in 2007. We enjoy sun in winters.

I go to school at 6:45 am. He eats lunch at noon. She often goes for a walk at night. He woke up at midnight.

I work on Saturdays. He does laundry on Wednesdays.

I have lived in Minneapolis since 2005. (I moved there in 2005 and still live there./ point of time)

He will be in Toronto for 3 weeks. (He will spend 3 weeks in Toronto/ period of time.)

She will finish her homework by 6:00. (She will finish her homework sometime between now and 6:00.)

She will graduate within 2 years. (Not longer than 2 years.)

I will collect data from January to June. (Starting in January and ending in June.)

He works part time during the summer. (For the period of time throughout the summer.)

To refer to a place, use the prepositions "in" (the point itself), "at" (the general vicinity), "on" (the surface), and "inside" (something contained).

Ex : They will meet in the lunchroom. She was waiting at the corner. He left his phone on the bed. Place the pen inside the drawer.

To refer to an object higher than a point, use the prepositions "over" and "above." To refer to an object lower than a point, use the prepositions "below," "beneath," "under," and "underneath."

Ex : The bird flew over the house. The plates were on the shelf above the cups. Basements are dug below ground. There is hard wood beneath the carpet. The squirrel hid the nuts under a pile of leaves. The cat is hiding underneath the box.

 To refer to an object close to a point, use the prepositions "near," "next to," "between," "among," and "opposite."

Ex : The park is near her house. Park your bike next to the garage. There is a deer between the two trees. There is a purple flower among the weeds. The garage is opposite the house.

To refer to a location, use the prepositions "in" (an area or volume), "at" (a point), and "on" (a surface).

They live in the country. (an area)

She will find him at the library. (a point)

There is a lot of dirt on the window. (a surface)

To refer to a spatial relationship, use the prepositions "above," "across," "against," "ahead of," "along," "among," "around," "behind," "below,"

"beneath," "beside," "between," "from," "in front of," "inside," "near," "off," "out of," "through," "toward," "under," and "within."

The post office is across the street from the grocery store. We will stop at many attractions along the way. The kids are hiding behind the tree. Walk toward the garage and then turn left. Please sign within the box.

About: worry, complain, read

EX : He worries about the future. She complained about the homework. I read about the flooding in the city.

At: arrive (a building or event), smile, look

EX : He arrived at the airport 2 hours early. The children smiled at her. She looked at him.

From: differ, suffer

The results differ from my original idea. She suffers from asthma.

For: account, allow, search

EX : Be sure to account for any discrepancies. I returned the transcripts to the interviewees to allow for revisions to be made. They are searching for the missing dog.

In: occur, result, succeed

The same problem occurred in three out of four cases. My recruitment strategies resulted in finding 10 participants. She will succeed in completing her degree.

On: concentrate, depend, insist

EX : He is concentrating on his work. They depend on each other. I must insist on following this rule.

To: belong, contribute, lead, refer

EX : Bears belong to the family of mammals. I hope to contribute to the previous research. My results will lead to future research on the topic. Please refer to your workbooks.

With: (dis)agree, argue, deal

I (dis)agree with you. She argued with him. They will deal with the situation.