Types of Prepositions

A preposition is a word that shows the relationship of a noun or pronoun to other words in a sentence. It connects the noun or pronoun to the rest of the sentence, indicating relationships such as time, place, direction, agency, or instrument.

Examples: on, in, of, to, at, by, for, with, under, above, into, onto, upon, about, behind, besides, before, after, towards, inside, outside, below, around.

Prepositions are generally classified into six main types:

1. Prepositions for Time
2. Prepositions for Place
3. Prepositions for Direction
4. Prepositions for Agency
5. Prepositions for Instruments
6. Prepositional Verb

1. Prepositions for Time (e.g., at, on, in)

Time prepositions are used to refer to time. They indicate the relationship between actions or events and points in time.

Preposition	Time Nature	Examples
In	1. Month or Year	in March, in July, in 2019, in 2015
	2. A particular time of a day, month, or year	in the evening, in the morning, in the 3rd week of April, in winter, in summer
	3. Century or a specific time in the past or future	in the 20th century, in the early days, in the Stone Age, in ancient times, in the future, in the past
On	1. A Day	on Sunday, on Friday
	2. Dates	on 8th February, on February 8, on the 8th of February, on 15th April 2018
	3. Particular days	on my birthday, on Independence Day, on the first day, on the last day
At	1. Time of a clock	at 3 O’clock, at 4 PM
	2. Short & precise times	at night, at sunset, at noon, at lunchtime, at the moment, at bedtime

Examples:

• She was born in 1998.
• His father died in a car accident in 2018.
• I was very happy on the first day of my job.
• It is quite hot here in summer.
• The shop closes at 10 PM.
• The meeting was held on 15^th February 2021.
• I will meet him on Monday.
• He gets up early in the morning.

2. Prepositions for Place (e.g., on, at, in)

Place prepositions indicate the location, place, or position of a noun or pronoun.

• In: Used for enclosed spaces or places with physical or virtual boundaries.
• On: Used for surfaces.
• At: Used for specific points or locations.

Preposition	Nature of the Place	Examples
In	Place having some physical or virtual boundary	in a hall, in a school, in the building, in the box, in the car, in a library, in a garden, in England, in a room, in a cupboard
On	Surface of things	on the table, on the blackboard, on the page, on a wall, on a roof, on the map
At	Specific places	at bus stop, at the entrance, at the door, at the bottom of the glass, at the edge of the roof

Examples:

• They live in England.
• The kids were playing in the room.
• There is a book on the table.
• She was drawing a map on the wall.
• I met him at the bus stop.
• She waited for her kids at the gate of the school.
• The cat is sleeping under the table.

3. Prepositions for Direction (e.g., into, to, through, towards)

These prepositions indicate the direction of something. They show movement and the relationship of a moving entity to its destination.

• To: Indicates places which are generally the endpoint of movement.
• Towards/Toward: Emphasizes direction; the endpoint may or may not have been reached.
• Into: Indicates movement that ends inside something.

Examples:

• They are going to the library.
• He will go to London.
• The snake was coming towards him.
• They started their journey towards the border.
• He threw a ball into the river.
• Please come into the house.
• She threw the letter into the fire.

4. Prepositions for Agency (e.g., by, with)

Agency prepositions express the relationship between the doer (noun or pronoun) of an action and the action itself. They are commonly used in the passive voice.
Examples:

• This book is written by John Keats.
• A lot of noise was made by the kids.
• Some schools have been made by the government.

5. Prepositions for Instrument, Devices, or Machines

These prepositions indicate the instrument, tool, or device used to perform an action.

Examples:

• He goes to college by bus.
• They opened the lock with a key.
• This car runs on diesel.
• He broke the glass with a hammer.
• We washed the car with the help of a water pipe.

Click here to read "Prepositional Verb"