Prepositions are one of the hardest parts of English to master, because usage is often fixed by convention rather than logic — the same relationship can use different prepositions in different contexts, and rules don't always translate between languages.
Prepositions of time: in, on, at
| Preposition | Used for | Example |
|---|---|---|
| in | Months, years, seasons, longer periods | in July, in 2020, in the morning, in summer |
| on | Days and dates | on Monday, on July 4th, on my birthday |
| at | Precise clock times, and a few fixed expressions | at 6 p.m., at noon, at night, at the weekend |
Prepositions of place: in, on, at
| Preposition | Used for | Example |
|---|---|---|
| in | Enclosed spaces, cities, countries | in the box, in London, in France |
| on | Surfaces, and things like streets/floors | on the table, on Main Street, on the second floor |
| at | Specific points or addresses | at the door, at 24 Elm Street, at the bus stop |
Prepositions of movement
| Preposition | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| to | Movement toward a destination | She walked to the station. |
| into | Movement to the inside of something | He walked into the room. |
| through | Movement from one side to the other | We drove through the tunnel. |
| across | Movement from one side to the other of a surface | She swam across the lake. |
| along | Movement following a line | They walked along the river. |
Fixed preposition + verb/adjective pairs
Many verbs and adjectives are followed by one specific, fixed preposition — these need to be learned as a pair, not derived from a rule.
| Expression | Example |
|---|---|
| interested in | She's interested in psychology. |
| afraid of | He's afraid of spiders. |
| good at | They're good at chess. |
| depend on | It depends on the weather. |
| married to | She's married to a teacher. |
| responsible for | He's responsible for the budget. |
Prepositions vs. particles in phrasal verbs
Many English prepositions double as "particles" in phrasal verbs, where the combination creates an idiomatic meaning unrelated to the preposition's normal use — "look into" (investigate) has nothing to do with physically looking inside something. See our full Phrasal Verbs section for these combinations.
A practical approach to learning prepositions
- Learn time and place prepositions (in/on/at) as a system first — the table above covers the large majority of everyday cases.
- For fixed verb/adjective + preposition pairs, keep a running list of ones you personally get wrong, and review that list — not a generic master list.
- Notice prepositions while reading or listening rather than only studying rules; real exposure builds the intuition that pure rule-memorising can't.
Where to go next
Prepositions connect naturally to phrasal verbs and to idioms, many of which are built on fixed prepositional phrases. Practice what you've learned with our Grammar Quiz.