At a glance
Kinds of prepositions
- Simple: one short wordin, on, at, by, for, of, with, to, from
- Double: two joinedinto, onto, upon, within, without, throughout
- Compound: a + word, be + wordabout, above, across, along, behind, beside, between
- Phrase: a group of wordsbecause of, in front of, according to, instead of, in spite of
- Participle: from -ing or V3 formsduring, regarding, considering, concerning, given
- Start
- Is there a noun or pronoun after it?YesPrepositionHe sat behind me.
- Is there a subject + verb after it?YesConjunctionI left before he came.
- Adverb: nothing after itHe stayed behind.
Examples
The ball is in the box. (simple)
The ball goes into the box. (double)
The ball is between the boxes. (compound)
We stayed at home because of the rain. (phrase)
She slept during the film. (participle)
Phrase prepositions
according to, ahead of, along with, apart from, as for, because of, by means of, due to, in addition to, in front of, in place of, in spite of, instead of, on account of, owing to, with regard to.
Preposition or conjunction?
| Preposition + noun | Conjunction + subject + verb |
|---|---|
| because of the rain | because it rained |
| despite / in spite of the rain | although it rained |
| during the film | while we were watching the film |
| due to the traffic | as the traffic was heavy |
| before lunch | before we ate lunch |
Preposition or adverb?
He is inside the house. (preposition)
He is inside. (adverb)
Also: in, out, up, down, on, off, over, above, below, near, around.
A preposition at the end
In everyday English, a preposition can end a question or a clause: Who are you talking to? This is the house I live in.
Practice
Answer the questions. Get 7 out of 10 to finish this lesson.