A preposition is a word that usually comes before a noun or pronoun, to connect them to other elements in the sentence and helps provide additional information. Prepositions help clarify various relationships between the words and indicate location, time, direction, and manner…, to provide a context for the reader or listener.
Preposition of time
| preposition | usage | examples |
| at | used for precise times of the day (8:00 a.m., night, afternoon). | – I eat breakfast at 9:30 A.M. – The party starts at midnight. |
| in | used for months, years, seasons, centuries. | – They usually go on vacation in December. – She was born in 1999. – The flowers bloom in spring. – The company was founded in the 20th century. |
| on | used for days and specific dates. | – He has an appointment on Monday. – The wedding is on April 23th. |
Note :
to express extended times we use specific prepositions that indicate duration or long periods, such as:
since : they have lived here since 2013.
during : I traveled during the winter.
for : she studied in France for two years.
from…to : the store is open from Monday to Saturday.
throughout : he worked hard throughout the month of march.
Examples
- They have a meeting on Tuesday.
- she was born in 2000.
- the train arrives at 11 A.M.
- he has lived there since 2005.
- I traveled to japan during the summer.
- we have been studying for five hours.
- The library is open from 6 AM to 8 PM.
- my birthday is on December 8th.
- The flowers bloom in the spring.
- She studies best at noon.
- we have known each other since childhood.
- It rained heavily during my lunch break.
- I like to study on weekends.
Preposition of location
| preposition | usage | examples |
| at | indicates a specific place or location. | – I was waiting at the bus station. – you will find him at the restaurant. |
| in | indicates being inside a space or area. | – we live in Paris. – she is sleeping in her room. – I left my key in the car. |
| on | indicates a surface. | – the phone is on the table. – the store is on the right side. |
- To indicate a position higher than something else, we use “above“, to refer to a lower position, use : “under“, “below“, “underneath“.
- To indicate an object close to a point, we use :
between : He sat between his sisters.
next to : The store is next to the school.
in front of : I parked my car in front of the house.
behind : She stood behind the cat.
beside : I sat beside my father.
Examples
- The book is on the shelf.
- The key is in my pocket.
- he is at his friend’s house.
- There is a paper below the picture.
- There is a tree in front of my house.
- The temperature is above average today.
- There’s a coffee shop next to the pharmacy.
- I chose the pen between the red and blue ones.
- She stood behind her friend in line.
- The cat sleeps beside the sofa.
- I have stickers on my laptop.
- her cat is playing in the yard.
- she works at a tech company.
Understanding prepositions is essential for English learners, as they help to construct the relationships between words in a sentence and provide clear and effective phrases in English. Prepositions often indicate time (he was born in 1992), location (she was waiting at the restaurant), direction (they ran toward the park), and other relationships between objects (I went to the movie with him).
