Preposition

Prepositions often describe the position of something, the time when something happens or the way in which something is done.^[1] The prepositions "of", "to" and "for" have other functions.^[2]

Prepositions may sometimes be used to end sentences. For example, "What did you put that there for?" (better English is the alternative: "Why did you put that there?")^[3] Example 2: "A pen is a device to write with" (better English is "A pen is a writing device"). In general, because they are links, prepositions belong in the middle of sentences, rather than at the end.

The table below shows some examples of how prepositions are used in sentences.

Function	Sentence
Position	The cat is under the table. He is sitting on the chair. The pencil is in the box.
Time	The class starts at 8 am. I am going to Spain on Wednesday.
How something is done	We travelled by car.
Possession	The book belongs to Colin. The door of the house is red.

List of common prepositions

• About
• Above
• Across
• After
• Along
• Amid
• Among
• Around
• As
• At
• Before
• Behind
• Below
• Beneath
• Between
• Because of
• Down
• During
• Except
• For
• From
• In
• Into
• Inside
• Instead of
• Near
• Next to
• Of
• Off
• On
• onto Archived 2023-06-04 at the Wayback Machine
• Outside
• Out of: unusual in needing two words, e.g. "The bat flew out of the cave".
• Over
• Past
• Round
• Since
• Than
• Through
• Till
• To
• Towards
• Under
• Underneath
• Until
• Unto
• Upon
• Without
• With