EF

Prepositions

Space
Geography
Means of transportation
Time
"To" with indirect objects
Related topics

Space

In their simplest form, prepositions are used to indicate position (in time or space) of one thing with respect to another:

I put the book on the table.
She arrived before the others.
He came toward me.

There are many prepositions. Here is a partial list, with examples:

to -- He gave the book to his friend.
at -- They arrived at his house at 5 o'clock.
of -- It was the third day of the month.
from -- That young women comes from Thailand.
on -- She put the plate on the table.
under -- The cat crawled under the bed.
over -- The boy threw the rock over the tree.
underneath -- The rabbit escaped underneath the fence.
before -- (time) She arrived before the movie started.
after -- He called his mother after he finished shopping.
in front of -- His mother parked her car in front of his apartment.
behind -- The dog ran behind the house.
for -- He went to the store for more milk.
toward -- The criminal walked toward him with a gun.
against -- Everyone was against that idea.
around -- The athletes ran around the track six times.
close to -- He placed the food close to the squirrel.
far from -- He placed the food far from the lion.
next to -- He was hot, so he sat down next to the air conditioning.
facing -- She sat down on the other side of the table, facing him.
in the midst of -- I don't know where to find any free time in the midst of these emergencies.

Usage of prepositions

The use of prepositions is one of the most complex aspects of English, and it is impossible to cover all cases. Some general guidelines, however, may be helpful.

Geography

Movement toward a town, country, state, or continent is generally expressed by the preposition "to"; presence in a city, state, etc. is expressed by "in"; movement away from a city, state, etc., is expressed by "from" (if the verb requires a pronoun):

When are you going to Canada.
He went to Asia last year.
I spent three years in London.
She was born in Normandy.
He comes from Mexico.

Transportation

As a general rule, the preposition "by" is used to describe how one has traveled. The prepositions "in" and "on" describe one's presence inside a vehicle. In the case of small vehicles (a car, a helicopter...), the preposition "in" is required:

I came by bike.
Traveling by plane is my favorite.
I was already on (in) the train when he arrived.
She is waiting for me in the car.

Time

To designate an hour the preposition "at" is used:

Let's meet at six o'clock.
They arrived at 4:45.

For dates and days of the week, one uses "on":

His birthday is on Monday.
It happened on March 3, 1997.

For months one uses "in":

My birthday is in September.
We will begin work in August.

To express duration, the preposition "for" is used; "in" can be used to express the time it will take to complete a task:

I am going away for a few days.
He worked with them for three years.
I can read that book in a day.

Indirect objects

The preposition "to", which generally precedes an indirect object, will disappear before a noun (or pronoun) when the indirect object precedes a direct object. ("To" will be retained when the indirect object follows a direct object.)

Examples :

She gave John the ticket.
Mais : She gave the ticket to John.

or:

He sent her a letter.
Mais : He sent a letter to her.
Ou : He sent it to her.

This can also be seen in certain phrases in which the direct object is implicit.

I already told it to him.
Mais : I already told him (the news).

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