PREPOSITIONS

1. among
Use for a group of things to express
1. Divide these sweets among the children. 1. “with a share for each of”
2. The workers talked among themselves as they 2. “with one another”
waited to see the boss.
3. He was the only one among all my friends who 3. “in the group / company of”
supported me.

2. at
Use to express
1. The train left at midnight / 8.30 p.m. 1. an exact point of time
2a. I´ll meet you at the corner of the street. 2a. an exact position or place
b. The train stops at Birmingham. b. with the name of a city, town or village if we are
I studied at London. interested in a particular point or activity in it rather
than the whole place.
3. Look at this new car. 3. “in the direction of”
Aim at the centre.

Useful expressions:
at all costs/events at hand at peace/war astonished at
at any rate at home/the office at present bad at
at church/the at last at sea clever at
hairdresser´s/school at least at a time (when) good at
at Christmas/Easter at a loss/a profit at the same time (as) shocked at
at ease at lunch at times shoot at
at first (sight) at night at the weekend shout at
at once at work smile/laugh at
surprised at

3. between
Use to express
1. The bank is between the post office and the 1. a position in the middle (with things or people on
baker´s. two sides)
2. The ferry sails between Dover and Ostend. 2. bringing two or more things or people together
An agreement was made between the three super-
powers.
3. Just between you and me, I think he´s awful. 3. sharing something together (a secret)
4. I can´t choose between these three dresses. 4. either one thing or another

4. beyond
Use to express
1. The farm lies beyond that field. 1. “further than” (distance)
2. His story is beyond belief. 2. “outside the understanding or the reach of”
She is beyond help.
3. The success of the plan was beyond anything we 3. “more or better than”
had hoped for.

5. by
Use to express
1. This book was written by Charles Dickens. 1. who does/did/will do an action
2. This model was made by hand. 2. how something is/was/will be done
3. The bank is just by the Post Office. 3. closeness or nearness to
4. By next year I´ll have finished this book. 4. “not later than”

Useful expressions
by accident by all means by post amazed by*
by air/bus/car/plane/sea by chance by sight astonished by*
ship/ train/ (and other by day/night by surprise impressed by
means of transport) by (doing) by yourself (alone) surprised by*
by far upset by
by mistake * = or at

6. except
Use to express
1. All the boys had pens except one. 1. “excluding”
2. The holiday was excellent, except for the rain. 2. “apart from” + noun
3. He´s a good student, except that he´s always late. 3. “apart from the fact that” + clause
7. for
Use to express
1. This is for you. 1. “intended to belong to”
2. We´ve lived here for three years. 2. length of time
3. We walked for several miles. 3. distance
4. Are you for or against nuclear weapons? 4. “in favour of”
5. What did you do that for?
for 5. reason
6. Let´s go out for a meal. 6. purpose (+ noun)
7. They left for America this morning. 7. movement towards

Useful expressions
for ever once and for all anxious for pay for
for goodness´ sake for a while/time as for reason for
for heaven´s sake ask for responsible for
care for search for

8. from
Use to express
1. We travelled from Vienna to Paris by train. 1. place of origin
2. He works from 9 till 5. 2. a starting point in time
3. Prices start from £5. 3. a starting point in quantity
4. I can´t tell one from the other. 4. separation

Useful expressions
from A to Z from morning to night away from prevent from (doing)
from beginning to end from time to time apart from suffer from
from head to toe hear from

9. in
Use to express
1. They´re in the kitchen. 1. place
2. We got married in March / winter / 1985. 2. a point during a longer period of time – weeks,
months, seasons, years and centuries
3. I´ll be back in an hour. 3. “within a certain time”
4. He´s in banking / the local police force / a mess. 4. a job/profession/situation

Useful expressions
in all in general in particular in time
in any case in half in prison in turn
in bed in a hurry in private in a way
in common in ink / pencil in public in a sense
in danger in love in secret dressed in
in debt in a loud voice in sight get in
in difficulties in the morning in spite of interested in
in the end in my opinion in stock succeed in
in fact in other words in tears take part in

10. into
Use to express
1. They came into the room. 1. movement towards

Useful expressions
bump into get into (trouble) jump into throw into
crash into go into run into walk into

11. of
Use to express
1. The cover of this book is attractive. 1. “belonging to”
2. He´s one of my best friends. 2. “from among”
3. a ton bricks 3. measure
a pint of milk
a pound butter
4. He died of starvation. 4. cause
5. a man of 40 / the City of London / made of gold 5. description

Useful expressions
ahead of enough of in front of proof of
because of everyone of instead of remind someone of
by means of example of lack of several of
cure someone of explanation of on account of think of
die of hundreds of on behalf of typical of
dozens of in case of out of
12. off
Use to express
1. A tile has come off the roof. 1. movement away from
2. Our house is off the High Street. 2. “at a distance from”

Useful expressions
off duty off work get off (the bus) take off (your coat)
off limits

13. on
Useful to express
1. The book is on the table. 1. contact (on the surface of)
2. I´ll see you on Saturday morning/Christmas Day/ 2. time – a particular day
your birthday.
3. What´s on TV tonight? 3. what entertainment is being offered
There´s a good film on at the cinema.
4. He´s written a book on insects. 4. what something is about

Useful expressions
on business on the other hand on sale congratulate someone on
on duty on holiday on the whole depend on
on time on purpose agree on have an effect on
on foot

14. out of
Use to express
1. She ran out of the house. 1. movement away from
2. Two out of five children have learning problems. 2. “from among” (with ratios)
3. I copied the recipe out of the newspaper. 3. place of origin
4. The dress was made out of a lace curtain. 4. the material something is made from

Useful expressions
out of breath out of date out of the question out of reach
out of control out of order (impossible) out of stock
out of danger out of practice out of work

15. since
Use to express
1. I hadn´t seen him since 1978. 1. a starting point for actions and situations which
continue up to the moment of speaking
2. Since he had ´flu, he decided not to go to work. 2. “because”

16. to
Use to express
1. We´re going to Paris. 1. “in the direction of”
2. It´s a quarter to 12. 2. before (in time)
3. We´ll be in the office from 5 to 6. 3. “until”
4. He won by 2 games to 3. 4. comparison
I prefer sleeping to working.

Useful expressions
according to due to in order to so as to
in addition to owing to

17. under
Use to express
1. The box is under the stairs. 1. “beneath”
2. Please don´t sweep the dust under the carpet. 2. “beneath” (with movement)
3. The bridge is under repair. 3. “in the process of”

Useful expressions
under control underneath (preposition) under orders under oath (in a court of
= under law)

18. until / till

Use to express
1. I´ll keep the ring until we meet again. 1. up to a certain time
2. Stir the mixture until it thickens. 2. “up to the point or degree when”
19. up
Use to express
1. Don´t run up the stairs. 1. movement to a higher place
He went up to the next class.

Useful expressions
up-to-date (modern) uphill ups and downs (good fed up (bored or
times and bad ones) unhappy)

20. with / without

Use to express
1. Be patient with the children. 1. “as regards”
2. He hit the burglar with a hammer. 2. instrument
3. You´ll have to go with/without
with without me. 3. accompanying / not accompanying
4. A room with/without
with without a view. 4. having / not having

Useful expressions
with best wishes angry with disgusted with trembling with (fear)
with/without difficulty do without impressed with (what´s) wrong with (?)
without any fuss filled with pleased with
with love green with envy shivering with (cold)
with pleasure have difficulty with
agree with