PREPOSITIONS

A preposition is a word which shows relationships among other words in the sentence. The relationships include direction, place, time, cause, manner and amount.

Direction (to, toward, into, through, etc.)

For example: She went to the store To is a preposition which shows direction. The football player ran through the stadium to the other end.
Through is a preposition which shows direction.

He came by bus-- by is a preposition which shows manner.

Agent (by) This book was written by a famous author. Instrument (by, with) I heard the news by television. Communication) She came by bus. (Transportation) He opened the door with a key. (Instrument or tool) TIP: We use by + no article for communication and transportation. Examples: by phone, by radio, and by bus, by car

Time (in, on, at, etc.) We can meet at five oclock.

at is a preposition which shows time.

Place (in, on, under, over, near, beside, etc.)

Your book is on the table.

It is under the table-- under is a preposition which shows place.

Accompaniment (with) I like spaghetti with white sauce. Mrs. Vajiona went to Thassos Island with her husband Georgios.

Similarity (like) Mary walks like her mother. Capacity (as) Bill worked as a fireman until a year ago.

Purpose (for) He went to the store for milk and bread. TIP: Never, Never use for + verb + ing to express the purpose of the verb. Example: He went to the store for buying milk and bread. This is wrong usage and a common mistake!
Partition / Possession (of) They painted the front of the building white and green. He broke the top of the table with his fist. Measure (by, of) We buy our olive oil by the 16 kilo container. Please buy a quart of milk from the market.

Some verb preposition combinations take two objects.

Compare with OR to Excuse for Prefer to Remind of Thank for

Why compare me with ( OR to) my brother? I cannot excuse you for being late. She prefers juice to milk. She reminded me of my appointment. I thanked him for letting me use his bike.

The following verb preposition combinations always appear together.

Agree on (something) Agree with (a person) Approve of Arrive at OR in We agree on that issue. I agree with you in that matter. Betty approves of exercising. They arrived in Tokyo last night. Have you arrived at a decision? Complain about Please do not complain about the color.

Consent to
Comment on Consist of Depend on Laugh at Object to

She consented to her daughters marriage.

She commented on his haircut. Water consists of hydrogen and oxygen. I am depending on you to help me. We laughed at his silly shirt. Do you object to my smoking?

Succeed in

He succeeded in making everyone angry.

Adjective - preposition combinations with to be.

Be Be Be Be Be Be Be Be Be

afraid of accustomed to aware of bored with certain of disappointed with familiar with famous for frightened by

Jake is afraid of dogs. I was accustomed to seeing her every day. Are you aware of this problem? Todd is bored with backgammon. He cannot be certain of the date. Susan was disappointed with her meal. Is Doctor Jones familiar with that new pill? Michigan is famous for its Great Lakes. Dont be frightened by the dog, he wont bite.
The Smiths are very happy with their new car. Are you in favor of abortion? John is interested in anthropology. He is really opposed to buying a new car. He is not satisfied with his new school. I was surprised by his behavior. Maria is tired of working for a living. Mark is very worried about his sick mother.

Be happy with Be Be Be Be Be in favor of interested in opposed to satisfied with surprised at (or) by

Be tired of Be worried about

Prepositions in fixed phrases.

According to Along with As well as Because of By means of By way of In addition to In case of In consideration of
In contrast to (or) with

According to the news, it will rain tonight.

Can you take this bottle along with these cans, to the recycle bin?

I enjoy physics as well as math. Because of the strike, there will be no buses today. The child entered the yard by means of an open gate. John went to Paris by way of London.
In addition to studying ballet full-time, Patricia works part-time.

In case of fire, break glass and pull alarm. In consideration of all your hard work I would like to take you to dinner. In contrast to last summer, this summer is quite cool. In deference to her age, we did not argue with her. We came here in hopes of meeting the famous musician. He gave an oral report in lieu of the written exam. The business is in pursuit of excellence. They went into the cave in search of lost treasure.
In spite of his good intentions, he did not study much or do well on the exam. In the face of a severe drought, conservation measures needed to be adopted. He was a good teacher in terms of getting his students to pass their exams.

In In In In In In

deference to hopes of lieu of pursuit of search of spite of

In the face of In terms of

PREPOSITIONS OF PLACE
1: At We use at to refer to a specific and precise place. At the front of the cinema. At the back of the bus. At the top of the page. At the bottom of the page. At the bus stop.

o2: In oWe use in to refer to something that is inside a space, often with four walls around it. oMy suit is in the cupboard. oThere are some cows in the field. oMy papers are in the drawer. oThe mouse is in the box.

3: On We use on to say that something is on a horizontal or vertical surface. The picture is on the wall. The spider is on the ceiling. We are travelling on the road. She is on the top of the car. On the front cover of the magazine. 4: Over We use over with numbers in a general sense. In these cases, over means more than. There were over 1,000 people at the station. You have to be over 18 years of age to see the film. We also use over if something is covering another thing. He had a towel over his face.

5: Above
We use above to describe a point on a scale (such as a thermometer) that is higher than the starting point. Three degrees above zero. Fifteen degrees above zero. 100 meters above sea level
We also use above to refer to an object that is higher than another object. There is a light above your desk. There is a towel above the chair.

6: Below
We use below to describe a point on a scale (such as a thermometer) that is lower than the starting point. Three degrees below zero. Twenty metres below sea level.

7: Under We use under to describe something that is physically lower than another thing. In many cases you can use below as well. His shoes were under the bed. The dog is under the house. 8: Near / Close to We use near and close to to describe things that are within a short distance of one another. We live near a cinema. They live close to the sea. 9: Next to / Beside We use next to and beside to describe something that is very close to another thing, and almost touching that thing. Come and sit next to me. He sat next to me at my birthday party. Go and sit beside the dog.

10: Between
We use between to describe something that is generally between two individuals/groups.

I was sitting between a boy and a girl. The road runs between two rows of houses. The baby is between its parents

11: Among
We use among to describe something that is in the middle of many things.

He is one of the people among the crowd The book was among a big pile of papers. The shirt was among about thirty others of the same colour.

12: Behind
We use behind to describe something that is at the back of another thing. The blackboard is behind the students. The horse is behind the woman.

13: In front of
We use in front of to describe something that is covering another thing in the front. His hands are in front of his face. The teacher is in front of the blackboard

14: Opposite
We use opposite for two things that are facing one another. They are sitting opposite each other. The house is opposite a bank. They are kneeling opposite each other.

15: To the right / left of

We can use to the right of or to the left of to place things on either side of an object. The dog is to the right of the tree. The horse is to the right of the boy. The cat is to the left of the bus.

The ball is in the box

The ball is on the box.

The ball is under the box.

John's house
Jane's house

Bill's house

Jane's house is between Bill's and John's houses.

John's house is next to Jane's house.

Bill's house is next to Jane's house.

The climbers stood the mountain.

on top of

The man stood between the two enemies. The enemies stood opposite each other.
The gardeners stood the pumpkins

behind

The man stood next to the cat and held the umbrella over it.

The man looked through the telescope in his hands.

The man wrote the address on the package.

The man looked at the mail in the post box

The man looked the wall.

At the clock on

The manager sat at his desk on his chair.

_____ breakfast Uncle Tom used __ walk, especially __ spring, ____ Auntie rosy his wife __ twenty years _____ the towpath. __ his opinion these walks were very good ___ his health, and he did them __ good spirits, wishing hed exercised before he had met her __ the dance-hall ______ the war. Tom would talk __ great length __ his wife __ these walks. _______ them was an understanding ______ description. If they got tired ____ their walks __ the fresh air they used to look ___ a convenient bench and sit __ it. When the clock __ the church tower ______ the river showed a quarter __ twelve, they had enough ___ the day. They got __ and started ___, making sure they had left nothing _____ the bench.

After breakfast Uncle Tom used __ to walk, especially _____ __ spring, ____ with Auntie Rosy, his wife __ of twenty years in In his opinion these walks were _____ the towpath. __ along for his health, and he did them __ in good very good ___ spirits, wishing hed exercised before he had met her __ the dance-hall ______ during the war. Tom would talk at __ at great length __ __ these walks. Between _______ them to his wife on was an understanding beyond ______ description. If they got tired from ____ their walks in __ the fresh air they used to for a convenient bench and sit on look ___ __ it. When the clock on __ the church tower across ______ the river showed a quarter __ to twelve, they had enough ___ for the day. They off making sure they had left got up __ and started ___, on the bench. nothing _____