100 Common Prepositions: A Comprehensive List in English

Are you looking for a list of common prepositions used in English? In this article, we’ll provide a list of 100 of the most popular prepositions in English. This list is a great resource for improving your understanding of prepositions and using them effectively in your writing and speaking.

Prepositions are small words that are used to connect nouns, pronouns, and phrases to other words in a sentence. They can be tricky to master, but once you have a solid understanding of common prepositions and how to use them, you’ll find that they add a lot of depth and precision to your writing.

Common Prepositions

Here is the list of 100 most important prepositions in English:

Table of Contents

Common Prepositions

About
Above
According to
Across
After
Against
Ago
Ahead of
Along
Amidst
Among
Amongst
Apart
Around
As
As far as
As well as
Aside
At
Away
Because of
Before
Behind
Below
Beneath
Beside
Besides
Between
Beyond
By
By means of
By way of
Close to
Despite
Down
Due to
During
Except
For
From
Hence
In
In accordance with
In addition to
In case of
In front of
In lieu of
In place of
In regard to
In spite of
In to
Inside
Instead of
Into
Like
Near
Next
Next to
Notwithstanding
Of
Off
On
On account of
On behalf of
On to
On top of
Onto
Opposite
Out
Out from
Out of
Outside
Over
Owing to
Past
Per
Prior to
Round
Since
Than
Through
Throughout
Till
To
Toward
Towards
Under
Underneath
Unlike
Until
Unto
Up
Upon
Via
With
With a view to
Within
Without
Worth

Preposition List

Common Prepositions of Time

Prepositions	Examples
at	at 2 PM, at the park
on	on Monday, on the weekend
in	in January, in the morning
during	during the movie, during class
for	for five minutes, for a year
since	since yesterday, since 2010
until	until midnight, until tomorrow
by	by 6 PM, by next week
after	after dinner, after the game
before	before noon, before the meeting
from	from 9 AM to 5 PM, from Monday to Friday
to	from 9 AM to 5 PM, Monday to Friday
past	ten minutes past the hour, half past the hour
around	around noon, around the corner
about	about 3 o’clock, about a month
over	over the weekend, over the summer
throughout	throughout the day, throughout the year
within	within an hour, within a week
beyond	beyond the deadline, beyond my expectations
behind	behind schedule, behind the building

Common Prepositions of Place

Prepositions	Examples
Above	above the clouds, above the surface
Across	across the street, across the bridge
After	after the game, after the party
Against	against the wall, against the rules
Along	along the river, along the coast
Amid	amid the chaos, amid the crowd
Among	among the trees, among the people
Around	around the corner, around the world
At	at the station, at the beach
Before	before the storm, before the deadline
Behind	behind the house, behind the curtains
Below	below the surface, below the line
Beneath	beneath the surface, beneath the ground
Beside	beside the point, beside the road
Between	between the lines, between two cities
Beyond	beyond the horizon, beyond the border
By	by the river, by the book
Down	down the stairs, down the road
During	during the day, during the show
Except	except for him, except for that one
For	for the night, for the weekend
From	from the airport, from the store
In	in the room, in the park
Inside	inside the house, inside the box
Into	into the water, into the cave
Near	near the beach, near the station
Of	of the city, of the group
Off	off the coast, off the record
On	on the table, on the phone
Onto	onto the roof, onto the bus
Out	out the door, out of reach
Outside	outside the building, outside the box
Over	over the bridge, over the top
Past	past the building, past the sign
Through	through the door, through the woods
Throughout	throughout the year, throughout the book
To	to the store, to the party
Toward	toward the city, toward the future
Under	under the bed, under the tree
Underneath	underneath the surface, underneath the table
Until	until tomorrow, until the end
Up	up the stairs, up the hill
Upon	upon arrival, upon completion
With	with the team, with the family
Within	within the city, within the park

Common Prepositions of Movements

Prepositions	Examples
across	Walking across the street
along	Running along the beach
around	Turning around the corner
away from	Moving away from danger
back	Going back to the starting point
backwards	Walking backwards slowly
down	Climbing down the ladder
forward	Moving forward with confidence
forwards	Running forwards to the finish line
from	Jumping from the top of the cliff
in	Stepping in the room
into	Entering into the car
off	Getting off the bus
on	Jumping on the trampoline
onto	Climbing onto the roof
out	Running out of the building
outside	Walking outside the house
over	Jumping over the puddle
past	Running past the park
through	Walking through the forest
to	Running to the finish line
towards	Walking towards the sunset
under	Crawling under the table
up	Climbing up the stairs
upon	Stumbling upon a hidden treasure

Preposition Examples

About: I’m not sure about the answer.
Above: The moon is above the clouds.
According to: According to the weather report, it will rain tomorrow.
Across: We walked across the street to get to the park.
After: I always have coffee after breakfast.
Against: The wall is against the sofa.
Ago: We met a year ago.
Ahead of: We need to plan ahead of time for the project.
Along: We went for a walk along the beach.
Amidst: The flowers bloomed amidst the green grass.
Among: The book is among the other books on the shelf.
Amongst: The birds chirped amongst the trees.
Apart: The two buildings are miles apart.
Around: We went for a walk around the neighborhood.
As: She works as a teacher.
As far as: As far as I know, he hasn’t arrived yet.
As well as: She is a singer as well as an actress.
Aside: Aside from English, she speaks French fluently.
At: We will meet at the coffee shop.
Away: He lives far away from the city.
Because of: She was late because of the traffic jam.
Before: Let’s have dinner before the movie starts.
Behind: The dog is behind the fence.
Below: The temperature is below freezing.
Beneath: The fish are swimming beneath the surface of the water.
Beside: The lamp is beside the bed.
Besides: Besides studying, she also enjoys playing tennis.
Between: The park is located between two buildings.
Beyond: The view from the top is beyond beautiful.
By: The package was delivered by the mail carrier.
By means of: He solved the problem by means of his expertise.
By way of: We can reach the park by way of the shortcut.
Close to: The store is close to the station.
Despite: Despite the rain, we had a good time at the beach.
Down: The ball rolled down the hill.
Due to: The flight was delayed due to bad weather.
During: I read a book during my lunch break.
Except: Everyone came to the party except John.
For: She bought a present for her sister.
From: I received a gift from my friend.
Hence: He moved to a new city, hence he left his job.
In: The book is in the backpack.
In accordance with: The project was completed in accordance with the client’s specifications.
In addition to: In addition to his job, he volunteers at a shelter.
In case of: In case of an emergency, call 911.
In front of: The car is parked in front of the house.
In lieu of: They gave him extra vacation time in lieu of a bonus.
In place of: She used butter in place of margarine in the recipe.
In regard to: The manager spoke in regard to the new policy.
In spite of: In spite of the rain, we had a picnic.

FAQs on Prepositions

What Are Prepositions?

Prepositions are words that are used to connect nouns, pronouns, and phrases to other words in a sentence. They show the relationship between the noun or pronoun and the rest of the sentence, and often indicate time, place, direction, or possession.

For example, in the sentence “I put the book on the table,” the word “on” is a preposition that shows the relationship between the noun “book” and the noun “table.” It indicates that the book is physically located on the surface of the table.

Other common prepositions include “in,” “at,” “by,” “for,” “of,” and “with.” Prepositions are a crucial part of the English language and are used extensively in both written and spoken communication.

How Many Prepositions Are There?

Some estimates suggest there are around 150 prepositions in English, while others suggest there may be up to 250. However, it’s important to note that the number of prepositions is not fixed, and new prepositions can be created over time.

How Many Types of Prepositions Are There?

Simple Prepositions: These are the most common type of prepositions, such as “in,” “on,” “at,” “to,” “with,” and “by.”
Compound Prepositions: These are prepositions that consist of two or more words, such as “according to,” “in front of,” “in spite of,” and “out of.”
Phrasal Prepositions: These are prepositions that consist of a verb and a particle, such as “give up,” “look after,” and “take off.”
Participial Prepositions: These are prepositions that are formed from a participle, such as “concerning,” “assuming,” and “notwithstanding.”
Double Prepositions: These are prepositions that consist of two simple prepositions used together, such as “into,” “onto,” and “within.”

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