SIMPLE PREPOSITIONS
Definition Of Simple Prepositions:
Simple Prepositions are "short" or "little" words that express relationships including those of space, time, and degree.
Examples Of Simple Prepositions
Simple Prepositions |
at | by | for |
from | in | into |
of | off | on |
out | over | till |
to | up | upon |
with | under | down |
Definitions of some important simple prepositions
At (near, close to, with a purpose)
At is a common preposition with two main meanings. 1.At indicates a position in space. 2. at indeicates a point in time.
1. » ‘at a position in space’
At is used for place or location, when we cannot use ON or IN.
Examples
My son is sitting at the table, doing their homework |
There’s someone at the front door: I heard the bell ring. |
at the beginning | at the end | at the front |
at the back | at the bottom | at the entrance |
In some common phrases, the is omitted.
2. » ‘at a position or point in time or stages’
At is used with expressions of clock time.
Examples
The concert starts at 6.30 on Staturday evening |
at the moment | at lunch time | at midday |
3. At with Numbers
Examples In Numbers
Now a days most people retire at the age of 60 |
She lives at 244, North Street, England. |
The police arrested him for driving a car at 120 Kmph |
4. At for towards (a goal of the action)
Examples In Action
Aim at the tiger |
Point at the lion |
Throw a stone at the dog |
By (Place, Means, After a Passive, and Time)
By as a word indicating place
By (preposition) referring to position means ‘near’ or ‘besite’ or ‘next to’
Examples
There’s a policeman standing by my car |
Who’s been parking by a ‘No Parking ’ sign? |
We drove by your house |
The bus was going by the supermarket as I came out |
Way of doing something
By as a preposition indicating means, method
Examples
You start the car by turning this sky |
The thief must have left the building by the back door |
We drove by your house |
In taking of means of transport in general, we use by + noun without a or the
Examples
Tom goes to school by bus / train |
I came home by bicycle / air |
More Examples
done by a carpenter | made by |
by the storm | by the side of |
by begging | by airmail |
by Route 55 | by the rules |
by six P.M. | by now |
by the time | by mine |
For (only, particular)
For indicates : a receipient of beneficiary
Examples
We have a present for you |
I have news for you |
She sang a song for me |
For indicates : a special purpose
Examples
You need a coat for winter |
He has a bicycle for transportation |
We need room for ten people for our party |
This pills are for headache |
For indicates : the intended result of an action
Examples For Preposition "For"
The boys were screaming for help |
What are you looking for? |
We need room for ten people for our party |
From
For indicates :s a source, point of departure, separation, motion or movement
Examples For Preposition "From"
I hear from him every week |
Keep away from the crowd |
I come from London |
Three from nine equals six |
Please start from the beginning |
I had an excellent flight from Delhi to London |
In
In indicates : location inside, place, time, within, membership of group
Examples For Preposition "In"
The pens are in the box / cupboard |
He sat down in the chair and read his novel |
Is your brother in? (at home) |
There is a boy in the river |
Please fill in this form |
We went in the car, but they went in a helicopter |
He can’t come to the phone because he’s in bed |
She was born in the 1800s |
Into
In indicates : motion, entrance, forced contact, divition, conversion
Examples For Preposition "Into"
He went into the room |
I got to go into hospital |
They went into business together in 1979 |
She cut the pie into eight wedges |
He always gets into trouble at school |
I have translated the language English into French |
Of (link of meaning)
Of indicates : belonging or connection
Examples For Preposition "Of"
The pages of the book | belonging |
A book of mine | belonging |
A guest of myfather | belonging |
The heart of a lion | belonging |
The owner of the car | belonging |
The top of the hill | part to whole |
A member of Parliament | member to its group |
A litre of oil | expression of amount |
A group of student | crowd, group, bunch |
Much of his advice | crowd, group, bunch |
A bowel of fruit | container or units |
A bottle of milk | container or units |
The roar of the lion | realtionship between |
The difficulty of learning English | link of the verb be |
The art of painting | refer to the same person or thing |
The job of being president | refer to the same person or thing |
The game of foodball | linking two nouns |
I am afraid of snakes | linking adjectives or verbs |
You must be tired of watching T.V. | linking adjectives or verbs |
A guest of myfather | belonging |
Off
Off indicates : place or movement, separate, conneted, behaviour
Examples For Preposition "Off"
The car ran off the road | movement |
They shoveled the snow off the driveway | movement |
She cut off her beautiful long hair | separation |
Our street is off Main Street | connected |
The children are off school today | behavior |
She went off her diet again | behavior |
On
On indicates : place, movement, means of travel or time, higher than something and touching it, on the top of
Examples For Preposition "On"
Please sign your name on the dotted line | place |
Let’s have a barbecue on the balcony | place |
She rides her bicycle on the sidewalk | place |
That is the only place on earth where she feels safe | place |
The child pasted the picture on the page | place |
The porch is on the side of the house | place |
The cat is sitting on the floor | place |
The cat jumped on the table / window | movement |
I go to work on the bus | travel |
On Saturday we stayed at home | time |
How is going on? | happening |
What’s on at the movies? | happening |
I heard it on the radio | through the medium of |
Would you mind putting a tape on? | through the medium of |
Are you going to watch anything on T.V.? | through the medium of |
Watch on Star Movies | through the medium of |
Out (Adverb of place or motion)
Out indicates : removal, distribution, movement from inside, absence, a distance from, no longer in supply, position
Examples For Preposition "Out"
He pulled out a sharp knife | movement from inside |
The fist player to go out loses the game | removal |
Please take the trash out | removal |
The teacher told me to hand these papers out | distribution |
He was freezing when he got out of the water | movement from inside |
She took the cake out of the oven | movement from inside |
The boss is out of the office | absence |
My neighbors are out of the country this month | absence |
The restaurant is about three miles out of town | a distance from |
They had to walk to the gas station because they ran out of gas | no longer in supply |
Over
Over indicates : motion, above, higher than, more than, to the other side, covering, during
Examples For Preposition "Over"
The dog jumped over the fence | movement above |
He ran over the bridge | movement above |
There is a picture of my father over my bed | above |
We can see the tree over the tree | above |
We often walk over the fields | to the other side, acrose |
I hurt my knee when I fell over | movement |
The child is always running over the floor with muddy feet | covering |
I stayed with my aunt over the weekend | during |
We are driving at a speed of over a hundred Kmph. | more than |
I have gained over five pounds this month | more than |
I can do simple math, but that problem is way over my head | more than |
She is over there, by the doctor | the other side |
Till
Till indicates : a particular time
Examples
I waited till 10 o’clock | at the end of time |
The boys studied till midnight | at the end of time |
To
To indicates : destination, movement and direction, time, receiver, idioms
Examples For Preposition "To"
Are you coming to the party in this evening | destination of a verb |
How are you getting to the Ariport tomorrow | destination of a verb |
They ride to school on the bus | destination of a verb |
Count from one to hundred | movement |
The traffic lights changed from red to green | destination |
The train is to New York | destination of a noun |
The normal working week is from Monday to Friday | time |
Mr.David gave a present to her girl friend Sarah | receiver |
He delivers the mail to the office | receiver or transfer |
Some verb + to (Preposition)
Examples
come to | get to | go to |
bring to | walk to | move to |
sink to | run to | return to |
Up
Up indicates : movement to a higher place, motion towards the sky, next
Examples For Preposition "Up"
He always walks up the steps to the sixth floor | movement |
Come up here | adverbs of motion |
Coming up next | motion towards |
He will be getting up late today | motion towards |
The balloon is up | motion towards the sky |
She lives two blocks up the street | location further along |
Their farm is three miles up the road | location further along |
She is going to travel up Route 55 | movement along a way |
They swam up the river for exercise | against a current of water |
With
With indicates : in the company of, instrument, having
Examples For With
We are going out for dinner. Are you come with us? | together |
She danced with me | together |
She left her children with the babysitter | in the same place as |
She always drinks her coffee with sugar | having or adding |
The man with gray hari | having |
I have an article with pictures for my presentation | having |
She sang with great skill | having |
He hit me with a stick | instrument |
I opened it with this key | instrument |
I write with pen | instrument |
Under
Under indicates : motion, place, control
Examples Of Under
Children under the trees | in a lower position |
The children hid under the table | covered by something else |
He has three children under age ten | less than |
She stores all her jewells under the bed | covered by something else |
You are under attest | control |
She is under the care of a doctor | control |
I paid under TEN Dollars for this camera | less than |
This game is only for under 19 | less than |
Down
Down indicates : movement
Examples Of Down
The road runs down into a valley | movement from a higher place |
The old man went down the road on foot | covered by something else |
The intruder broke the door down | destruction |