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Learning PREPOSITIONS IN
Centre ACADEMIC WRITING
A preposition is a noun and can be defined as any member of a class of words found in many languages that are used
before nouns, pronouns, or other substantives to form phrases functioning as modifiers of verbs, nouns, or adjectives,
and that typically express a spatial, temporal, or other relationship, as in, on, by, to, since. www.dictionary.com, viewed
4 July 2013

The following prepositions are the ones most commonly used in academic writing. You may like to add to the list as
you come across more prepositions in your own reading.

ABOUT / CONCERNING FOR in . . . font

in . . . format
comments about adequate for an improvement in
a conference about to apply for something inherent in
data about appropriate for
a debate about interested in
available for involved in
issues about
a lecture about a capacity for someone to have instruction in
legislation about a challenge for someone intrinsic in
a policy about compensation for to invest in
research about a contract for current issues in
statistics about criteria for to be involved in
a theory about difficult for someone to do in a . . . manner
a thesis about something to occur in
to worry about imperative for someone to do participation in
something persistent in -ing
AGAINST to have implications for proficiency in something
an incentive for -ing in . . . region
discriminated against
a justification for to conduct research in
a mechanism for -ing resident in
AS a need for a revolution in
to conceive of something as an option of someone to have a role in doing something
to emerge as to prepare someone for . . . in scope
to identify someone/something as - a problem for someone in the first semester
ing problematic for someone a shift in
to perceive something as responsible for significant in
its status as scope for in a topic
strategies for to have training in something
AT to be suitable for
a tendency for someone to do
at the end of the semester something
INTO
to estimate something at for a year (e.g. statistics for 2004) to conduct research into
at fault integration into
at a university FROM an investigation into
at a/the x level
derived from
a deviation from
OF
BETWEEN
to discourage someone from doing accused of
a comparison between something an analysis of something
a connection between excluded from to analyse something
a contrast between protected from ashamed of
a differentiation between removed from an awareness of
a distinction between on behalf of
an interaction between IN capable of -ing
a partnership between composed of something
in the area of to conceive of something (as)
BY in conformity with constraints of
in a university department critical of
allocation by to engage in a definition of something
followed by an error in
offset by to have experience in
preceded by in . . . field/sphere
to fill in
Prepositions 11/2012 SLC 1 of 4
 to define something a questionnaire on proportionate to
evidence of a reliance on a reaction to
an extract of to rely on related to
a fear of something to do research on relevant to
a guarantee of to put/lay stress on someone/to stress reluctant to
an implication of something resistant to
the importance of a thesis on restricted to
an incidence of significant to
an indication of TO similar to
indicative of something / to indicate specific to
something to have access to subordinate to
of interest to accustomed to subsequent to
an instance of adjacent to supplementary to
issues of an adjustment to something to transfer to
a limitation of to adjust something
to make use of allocate something to WITH
an objective of an amendment to something
on the part of to amend something to agree with
proud of analogous to to argue with something about
of relevance to to be apparent to something something
the scope of to apply to something associated with
a source of an approach to to coincide with
the status of appropriate to (do) something compared with
a survey of an alternative to (in)compatible with
a theory of an attitude to/towards concurrent with
to be unaware of a challenge to something in conformity with
(in) violation of to challenge something to be consistent with
a vision of a commitment to to deal with
committed to familiar with
ON confined to to identify with someone/something
to consent to interaction with
on average a contribution to partnership with
on a . . . basis corresponding to to provide someone with something
(to) comment on devoted to satisfied with
a concentration on due to
to have an effect on something equivalent to
to affect something exposure to
an emphasis on something external to something
to emphasise something fundamental to
(to) focus on grateful to
(to) impact on important to something
imposed on
identical to
information on
inherent to
a lecture on
intrinsic to
a levy on
known/unknown to
to major on
to object to
a perspective on
obvious to
to prevail on something to do
prior to
something
to answer questions on

These words are mostly taken from Coxhead, A, The academic word list, viewed 21 June 2005, <http://massey.ac.nz/staff/awl/sublists.shtml>.
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Prepositions 11/2012 SLC 2 of 2