Prepositions: list with meanings and examples
A preposition shows how a noun or pronoun relates to the rest of the sentence, often in place or time, such as in, on, at, from, to, with and during.
List of prepositions (66)
- abouton the subject of; concerning
- abovein or to a higher position than
- acrossfrom one side to the other of
- afterlater than; following
- againsttouching and pressing on
- alongfrom one part of a road, river or line towards the other end
- amidin the middle of or surrounded by
- amidstamid; a more literary form
- amongin the middle of, or surrounded by
- amongstamong; used more often in British English
- aroundon every side of; surrounding
- asin the role or form of
- atused to show an exact position or place
- beforeearlier than
- behindat the back of
- belowlower than
- besideat the side of; next to
- betweenin the space or time separating two things
- beyondon or to the further side of
- butexcept
- bybeside; near
- concerningabout; relating to
- consideringtaking into account
- despitewithout being prevented by
- downtowards a lower place on, or along
- duringthroughout, or at some point in, a period of time
- exceptnot including; apart from
- excludingnot including
- forintended to be given to or used by
- fromused to show where someone or something starts or comes from
- ininside or within a place, object or area
- includinghaving as part of the whole
- insidewithin
- intoto the inside of
- likesimilar to; in the same way as
- neara short distance from
- ofbelonging to or connected with
- offaway from a place or surface
- ontouching and supported by the surface of
- ontoto a position on
- outthrough and away from
- outsidebeyond the walls or limits of
- overabove or across
- pastbeyond in position or time
- perfor each
- regardingabout; on the subject of
- roundaround; used more often in British English
- sincefrom a time in the past until now
- thanused to compare two things or people
- throughfrom one side or end to the other
- throughoutin every part of, or during the whole of
- tilluntil
- toin the direction of; towards a place
- towardin the direction of; the usual form in American English
- towardsin the direction of; the usual form in British English
- underdirectly below, or covered by
- unlikedifferent from
- untilup to the time of
- untoto; an old or formal form
- uptowards a higher place on
- uponon; used in more formal English
- versusagainst, in a game, legal case or comparison
- viatravelling through a place on the way to somewhere else
- withtogether with; in the company of
- withininside a period of time, distance or limit
- withoutnot having or not using