English
What is a preposition?
Quick answer
A preposition is a word that shows how a noun or pronoun is linked to something else, often by place or time, like in, on, under, behind, before or during.
In one sentence
A preposition is a linking word that shows where, when or how something is in relation to something else.
Explained
Picture a cat and a box. The cat can be in the box, on the box, under the box, behind the box, beside the box or between two boxes. Those little words are prepositions. They tell you the relationship between two things.
A preposition is always followed by a noun, a noun phrase or a pronoun. Together they make a prepositional phrase: in the garden, after lunch, with my sister, for them.
Prepositions show:
- place: in, on, under, above, behind, next to, opposite, among
- time: at, on, in, before, after, during, since, until
- direction or movement: to, into, through, across, towards, past
- other links: with, without, about, by, for, like
Time prepositions follow a pattern worth learning: at a clock time (at noon), on a day or date (on Friday, on 5 May), in a month, season or year (in July, in winter, in 2030). One UK/US difference: people in the UK usually say at the weekend, while Americans say on the weekend.
Some words can be prepositions or conjunctions, depending on what follows. After lunch (a noun follows, so preposition) versus after we ate (a clause follows, so conjunction).
box
cat
table
Examples
- The keys are under the mat.
- We have swimming on Tuesdays.
- The bird flew through the window.
- I'll wait until six.
- She went with her cousins.
Common mistakes
- "Off of." In standard UK English, Get off the table is enough.
- Mixing in, on and at with time. Learn the clock–day–month pattern above.
- Believing you can never end a sentence with a preposition. Who are you going with? is natural, correct English.
Quick quiz
Prepositions
Check what you know with 4 quick questions.
Question 1 of 4
Find the preposition: The ball rolled under the sofa.
Practise it
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For grown-ups
Related topics
Nouns
A noun is a word that names a person, place, thing or idea, such as teacher, Lagos, pencil or happiness.
Conjunctions
A conjunction is a joining word that links words, phrases or clauses, such as and, but, or, so, because, when, if and although.
Fronted adverbials
A fronted adverbial is a word, phrase or clause at the start of a sentence that tells how, when, where or why, followed by a comma, as in Later that night, the owl hooted.
Sentences
A sentence is a group of words that makes complete sense on its own. It starts with a capital letter, ends with a full stop, question mark or exclamation mark, and usually has a verb.
Adjectives
An adjective is a word that describes a noun, telling you what kind, which one or how many, like a huge elephant, a sour lemon or three red balloons.
Adverbs
An adverb gives more information about a verb, adjective or another adverb, telling how, when, where or how often, like slowly, tomorrow, outside or always.