A preposition is a word which precedes a noun (or a pronoun) to show the noun's (or the pronoun's) relationship to another word in a sentence. The word preposition means positioned before. A preposition almost always precedes a noun or a pronoun. across, against, along, around, at, before, behind, below, beneath, beside, between, beyond, by, down, during, except, for, from, in, into, like, near, of, off, up, upon, with and within are some examples of prepositions.

1. By Arundathie Abeysinghe
Lecturer/Trainer
Sri Lankan Aviation College
& Presidential Secretariat
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2.  Short words (on, in, to)
 Usually stand in front of nouns (sometimes
also in front of gerund verbs)
 Prepositions of Time and Place (Position and
Direction)
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3.  for
 over a certain period of time (past till now)
 for 2 years
 ago
 a certain time in the past
 2 years ago

 before
 earlier than a certain point of time
 before 2004
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4.  to
 telling the time
 ten to six (5:50)

 to / till / until
 marking the beginning and end of a period of time
 from Sunday to/till Monday

 till / until
 how long something is going to last
 He is on holiday until next month.
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5.  by
 at the latest
 up to a certain time
 She will be back by 9 o’clock.
 By 10 o'clock, I had read two chapter of the
book.
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6.  in
 building, country, street, town, village
 news paper, book, magazine
 plane, car, , train, taxi
 picture, world
 e.g.: in the house, in Sydney
 in the news paper
 in the plane
 in the world
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7.  at
 ■meaning next to, by an object
 ■for table
 ■for events
 ■place where you are to do something typical
(watch a film, study, work)
 ■at the door, at the station
 ■at the table
 ■at a concert, at the party
 ■at the cinema, at school, at work
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8.  on
 attached
 a floor in a house
 public transport
 television, radio
 a place with a river
 a surface
 a certain side (left, right)
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9.  by, next to, beside
 left or right of somebody or something
 Jane is standing by / next to / beside the car.

 under
 ■on the ground, lower than (or covered by)
something else
 ■the bag is under the table

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10.  below
 lower than something else but above ground
 the fish are below the surface

 over
 covered by something else
 meaning more than
 getting to the other side (also across)
 overcoming an obstacle
 put a jacket over your shirt
 over 16 years of age
 walk over the bridge
 climb over the wall
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11.  above
 higher than something else, but not directly over it
 a path above the lake

 across
 getting to the other side (also over)
 getting to the other side
 walk across the bridge
 swim across the lake
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12.  through
 something with limits on top, bottom and the
sides
 e.g. drive through the tunnel
 to
 movement - person or building
 movement to a place/country
 e.g. go to the cinema/restaurant/museum
 go to Sydney / New Zealand
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13.  into
 enter a room / a building
 go into the kitchen / into the house

 towards
 movement - in the direction of something (yet,
not directly to it)
 go several steps towards the office

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14.  onto
 movement to the top of something
 jump onto the table

 from
 in the sense of where from
 a flower from the garden
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15.  in
 entering a car / Taxi
 get in the car
 by car, by bus
 by
 rise or fall of something
 travelling (other than walking or horseriding)
 prices have risen by 10 percent
 by car, by bus

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16.  at
 age
 she learned French at 15

 about
 for topics - what about
 They were talking about her
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17.  off
 leaving a public transport
 e.g. get off the train
 out of
 leaving a car / taxi
 get out of the car
 by
 rise or fall of something
 prices have risen by 50 percent
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18.  by
 ■who made it
 ■a book by Mark Twain

 on
 ■walking or riding on horseback
 ■entering a public transport vehicle
 ■on foot, on horseback
 ■get on the bus
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19.  Thank you!
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