In this article, we take a look at prepositions and provide a list of some of the more common prepositions in use in the English language.
A preposition is a relationship or directional word that is used to link nouns, pronouns, verbs and phrases to one another within a written sentence. Prepositions are critical to the meaning of a sentence and changing a preposition can significantly change the meaning of the sentence.
If you want to learn more, take a look at our guide to identifying prepositions and prepositional phrases.
For example:
The snagglepus took the turnip in the garden.
The snaglepus took the turnip into the garden.
In the first sentence, “in the garden” modifies the turnip, and specifies which turnip the snaglepus took. In the second sentence, “into the garden” modifies “took”, and specifies where he took the turnip.
The following is a list of the most common prepositions in use in the English language.
List of Common Prepositions
There are several hundred prepositions in the English language, all of which are used to show the relationship between ideas. One good way to remember prepositions is to think about anywhere a mouse can run. A mouse can run up, over, down, under, to and from. Those are all prepositions. While this rule doesn’t cover every single preposition, it certainly can help you identify quite a few of them.
Common prepositions
- about
- above
- across
- after
- against
- along
- among
- around
- at
- before
- behind
- below
- beneath
- beside
- between
- by
- down
- during
- except
- for
- from
- in
- in front of
- inside
- instead of
- into
- like
- near
- of
- off
- on
- onto
- on top of
- out of
- outside
- over
- past
- since
- through
- to
- toward
- under
- underneath
- until
- up
- upon
- with
- within
- without
- according to
- because of
- by way of
- in addition to
- in front of
- in place of
- in regard to
- in spite of
- instead of
- on account of
- out of
If you would like a fun way to learn prepositions, check out our free preposition games.
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