In English, Prepositions indicate relationships between words or ideas. Most prepositions deal with location and are easy to learn.
| above inside beside near up before* with into between like despite | below outside beyond nearby down after* without out (of) among as in spite of | over around behind by toward during within off except than beneath | under through in front of next to along (side) since* until* upon but* about underneath |
- *These can also be used as conjunctions.
Some prepositions, however, have more than one meaning and can be very confusing.
| into | on from | at for | of |
Generally, in, on and at indicate location. See also: Prepositions of Location
To and from imply movement toward or away from something. However, to can also function as part of an infinitive. See also: Infinitves.
To and for can introduce indirect objects. See also: Indirect Objects
For and since can also indicate duration. See also: Present Perfect Progessive
Of is used in partitives (all of, some of . . .) and other expressions. See also: Quantifiers
Many prepositions are also used in expressions. See also: Grammar: Preposition Collocations with “Be”; or Verb and Preposition Collocations