How to Use Prepositions

Location

At, by, in, on, near, past, up with, below, above, among, beneath across, around, beside, inside, before, between, against, beyond, behind, over under, with, without, within, in front of, along.

Direction

By, to, from, down, off, through, up, out, past, about, along, after, between, against, behind, over, under, into, upon, throughout, out of, by way of.

Relationship

In, from, of, with, for, about, above, beneath, against, before, over, under

Process

By, on, to, from, through, along, throughout, by means of, by way of

Example

For, like, as

Condition

But, but for, under, through, throughout, with, without, upon, on, from, because of, as to, beyond, over and above, according to, on account of, aside from

Relative to Time

At, by, in, on, almost, though, throughout, of, about, after, beyond, over, under, upon, over, within, in, subsequent to, prior to.

Sample phrases

Location

At the well. near the house. He lives past the traffic light. It is located along the coast. Place it in the box [see Direction].

Direction

He passed by the market. He is coming from Canada [See Relationship]. Put it into the box [See Location] He was walking about the park.

Relationship

He is from Canada [See Direction]. Without friends

Process

By way of analogy, along those lines, from what you say

Example

For example, love is like a rose.

Condition

He rose above his humble beginnings. Within this context, He thought about her.

Relative to Time

Within two weeks, beyond the year 2010, prior to 1968, about three o’clock