Prepositions

Prepositions are words that are used to show See also:

relationships between different parts of a clause, Infinitives and participles 51 Verbs with prepositions 54
Singular and plural nouns 69 Personal pronouns 77
for example relationships of time, place, or reason.

SIMPLE PREPOSITIONS
Prepositions describe the relationship between two other words. They are usually
part of a prepositional phrase, which is made up of a preposition followed by an
object (a noun, pronoun, or noun phrase).
“By” describes where the park
is in relation to the house.

“On” helps to describe when

Chrissy goes to the gym.

COMPLEX PREPOSITIONS
Some prepositions are
made up of two words
which act as a single unit.
They behave the same way
as one-word prepositions.

PARALLEL PREPOSITIONS
When the same preposition
applies to more than one
word in a list, the preposition
only needs to be used once.

When different words need

different prepositions, each
preposition must be used.

288
 PREPOSITIONS AND GERUNDS
If a verb comes immediately after a preposition, it
has to be a gerund, which is the “-ing” form of a verb.

Preposition Gerund

FURTHER EXAMPLES

PREPOSITIONS AT THE END OF SENTENCES

Prepositions can come
in many different places
in a sentence, including
at the end.

“TO”
“To” can cause confusion because it
can be a preposition, but it is also
used to form infinitives.
Here, “to” is part of the infinitive verb
“to see.” When used like this, it is not
a preposition.

Here, “to” is part of the phrasal verb

“look forward to,” and is a preposition.
Therefore, it must be followed by
a noun, pronoun, or gerund. Gerund

289
 Prepositions of place
Prepositions of place are used to relate the position or See also:
location of one thing to another. Using a different Question words 35
Prepositions 105
preposition usually changes the meaning of a sentence.

“IN,” “AT,” AND “ON”

“In” is used to position
something or someone
inside a large area or in a
three-dimensional space.

“In” positions David

inside his bedroom.

“At” is used to talk about

an exact point.

“On” is used to position

something in line with, next
to, on top of, or attached to
something else.

FURTHER EXAMPLES

290
 PRECISE PREPOSITIONS OF PLACE
Some prepositions of place show the precise position or location of something
in relation to something else. They can be used to answer a “where” question.

FURTHER EXAMPLES

291
 Prepositions of time
Prepositions of time are often used to talk about See also:
schedules and routines. They give information about Present perfect continuous 12
Prepositions 105
when something happens, and how long it lasts.

“ON” “–s” can be added to the day of

the week to show that the thing
“On” is often used before happens regularly on that day.
days of the week to say
when something happens.

In US English the
preposition can be left out.

FURTHER EXAMPLES

“AT”
“At” is usually used
to express what time
something happens.

FURTHER EXAMPLES

292
 “ON” AND “AT” WITH “THE WEEKEND”
When talking about the
weekend, US English
“On the weekend” is more common in the US.
uses “on,” whereas UK
English uses “at.”

“At the weekend” is more common in the UK.

“IN”
“In” has a similar meaning as
“during” and is used before
months, years, seasons, and
general times of day, e.g.
“morning” and “afternoon.”

FURTHER EXAMPLES

“PAST” AND “TO”

“Past” and “to” are prepositions of time that
are mainly used when telling the time.

“Past” means “after the hour.”

“To” means “until the hour.”

293
 PREPOSITIONS SHOWING DURATION
“From… to…” or “between… and…” are used
to say when an activity starts and finishes.
“From” is used “To” is used “Between” is used “And” is used
to say the time to say the time to say the time to say the time
something starts. something finishes. something starts. something finishes.

9AM 5PM

“Until” can be used to say when an “Since” can be used to say when
ongoing situation finishes. an ongoing situation started.
“UNTIL” + TIME OR DATE “SINCE” + TIME OR DATE

9AM 5PM 9AM NOW

“For” can be used to express “FOR” + QUANTITY OF TIME

how long something has
been happening.

6 HOURS AGO NOW

“During” can be used to

express when something was
happening, rather than how
long it went on for.

BREAK NOW

294
 COMMON MISTAKES TENSES WITH “SINCE”

“Since” is usually used The present perfect continuous

with perfect tenses with is often used with since.
reference to the past. It
is not used with the
present simple.

Since can’t be used with the present simple.

OTHER PREPOSITIONS OF TIME

“BY” + TIME
“By” is used to talk about
when something will be
done or finished. It means
“at” or “before.”

NOW 3PM

“Before” is used to “BEFORE” + TIME

talk about something
that happens prior
to something else
or a certain time.

NOW 6PM

“After” is used to refer

to an event that follows
another event.

NOW BREAK FUTURE

295
 Other prepositions
Prepositions can be used to express relationships See also:
other than place and time, such as origin, ownership, The passive 24 Verb patterns with
prepositions 54 Prepositions 105
and absence.

“BY”
“By” has several common uses in English.

RESULT ACTION
When used to talk about
an action, it refers to
something that is done
to achieve a certain result.

It is used to say who wrote

or made something.

It is used to talk about

methods of travel.
“On foot” is an
exception to this rule.

It can be used to form

the passive voice.

FURTHER EXAMPLES

296
 “WITH” AND “WITHOUT”
“With” has several common uses in English.

It can mean “accompanied by.”

It is used to talk about possession.

It is used to talk about the thing

used to perform an action.

“Without” is used to talk about

the absence of something.

FURTHER EXAMPLES

“ABOUT”
“About” is mainly used to mean “on the subject of.”

FURTHER EXAMPLES

297
 Dependent prepositions
Some words must be followed by a specific preposition, See also:
called a dependent preposition. These words can be Types of verbs 49 Singular and plural nouns 69
Adjectives 92 Prepositions 105
adjectives, verbs, or nouns.

ADJECTIVES WITH DEPENDENT PREPOSITIONS

Some adjectives are always followed by the
same preposition when used in a sentence.

ADJECTIVE + PREPOSITION

Some adjectives can take one of a choice of

prepositions in the same sentence without
changing their meaning. “Surprised” can be followed by either
“at” or”by” without a change in meaning.

FURTHER EXAMPLES

298
 VERBS WITH DEPENDENT PREPOSITIONS
Some verbs are
followed by a specific
VERB + PREPOSITION
preposition before an
object. Different verbs
are followed by
different prepositions.

FURTHER EXAMPLES

VERBS WITH “TO” OR “FOR”

Some verbs can take either “to” or “for,” depending on the context.
“To” is usually used when there is a transfer of something, whereas
“for” is used when someone benefits from something.

299
 NOUNS WITH DEPENDENT PREPOSITIONS
Some nouns are always followed by the
same preposition when used in a sentence.

NOUN + PREPOSITION

Some nouns can take one of a choice of prepositions

in the same sentence without changing their meaning.
“Advantages” can be followed
by either “in” or”to” without a
change in meaning.

FURTHER EXAMPLES

300
 WORDS WITH DIFFERENT DEPENDENT PREPOSITIONS
Some adjectives, verbs, and nouns can be followed by a choice of prepositions. The meaning
of the phrase is dependent on which preposition the adjective, verb, or noun is paired with.

FURTHER EXAMPLES

301
 Prepositions
Prepositions are words that are used to show
relationships between different parts of a clause,
for example relationships of time, place, or reason.

MATCH THE PICTURES TO MARK THE SENTENCES

THE CORRECT SENTENCES THAT ARE CORRECT

256

256-257_U105_Prepositions.indd 256 17/01/19 2:27 PM

 FILL IN THE GAPS USING THE PREPOSITIONS IN THE PANEL

REWRITE THE SENTENCES, CORRECTING THE ERRORS

257

256-257_U105_Prepositions.indd 257 17/01/19 2:27 PM

 Prepositions of place
Prepositions of place are used to relate the position
or location of one thing to another. Using a different
preposition usually changes the meaning of a sentence.

CROSS OUT THE INCORRECT WORDS IN EACH SENTENCE

MATCH THE BEGINNINGS OF THE SENTENCES TO THE

CORRECT ENDINGS

258

258-259_U106_Prepositions_of_place.indd 258 17/01/19 2:27 PM

 LOOK AT THE PICTURES AND COMPLETE THE SENTENCES
USING THE PREPOSITIONS IN THE PANEL

259

258-259_U106_Prepositions_of_place.indd 259 17/01/19 2:27 PM

 Prepositions of time
Prepositions of time are often used to talk about
schedules and routines. They give information
about when something happens, and how long it lasts.

MATCH THE PICTURES MARK THE SENTENCES

TO THE CORRECT SENTENCES THAT ARE CORRECT

260

260-262_U107_Prepositions_of_time.indd 260 17/01/19 2:27 PM

 MATCH THE BEGINNINGS OF THE SENTENCES TO THE
CORRECT ENDINGS

REWRITE THE SENTENCES, PUTTING THE WORDS IN THE

CORRECT ORDER

261

260-262_U107_Prepositions_of_time.indd 261 17/01/19 2:27 PM

 FILL IN THE GAPS USING THE PHRASES IN THE PANEL

REWRITE THE SENTENCES, CORRECTING THE ERRORS

262

260-262_U107_Prepositions_of_time.indd 262 17/01/19 2:27 PM

 Other prepositions
Prepositions can be used to express
relationships other than place and time,
such as origin, ownership, and absence.

MATCH THE PICTURES TO THE CORRECT SENTENCES

CROSS OUT THE INCORRECT WORDS IN EACH SENTENCE

263

263-264_U108_Other_prepositions.indd 263 17/01/19 2:27 PM

 MATCH THE BEGINNINGS OF THE SENTENCES TO THE
CORRECT ENDINGS

REWRITE THE SENTENCES, PUTTING THE WORDS IN THE

CORRECT ORDER

264

263-264_U108_Other_prepositions.indd 264 17/01/19 2:27 PM

 Dependent prepositions
Some words must be followed by a specific
preposition, called a dependent preposition.
These words can be adjectives, verbs, or nouns.

MATCH THE PICTURES TO THE CORRECT SENTENCES

REWRITE THE SENTENCES, PUTTING THE WORDS IN THE

CORRECT ORDER

265

265-267_U109_Dependent_prepositions.indd 265 17/01/19 2:27 PM

 CROSS OUT THE INCORRECT WORD IN EACH SENTENCE

266

265-267_U109_Dependent_prepositions.indd 266 17/01/19 2:27 PM

 FILL IN THE GAPS USING THE PHRASES IN THE PANEL

REWRITE THE SENTENCES, CORRECTING THE ERRORS

267

265-267_U109_Dependent_prepositions.indd 267 17/01/19 2:27 PM