A GUIDE TO PREPOSITIONS
Though over 100 prepositions exist in our vocabulary, few English
speakers think about the rules of prepositions. Prepositions are a
class of words that show relationships to space, time, or ideas. In
formal writing, prepositions are followed by a noun, a pronoun, or a
noun phrase–this makes a prepositional phrase. Prepositional
phrases give the audience more detail and show logical thought.
HOW TO USE PREPOSITIONS
1. Prepositions show spatial, chronological, or logical relationships – This may be a literal or
figurative relationship.
Ex. She placed the note under her ma ress.
Ex. Out of respect for the professor, we use the prefix ‘Dr.’
2. Prepositions appear at the end of a sentence in informal writing – Though ending a sentence
with a preposition is not incorrect in informal writing, consider rewording your sentence to
choose what Williams and Colomb (2010) call the “elegant option” (p. 20).
Informal: School is the thing she cares most about.
Formal: School is the thing she cares about the most.
Formal: She cares about school more than anything.
3. Prepositions can become other parts of speech – Some words act as prepositions in some
contexts and other types of words in other contexts. Know the difference:
a. Conjunctions – Words like after, since, before, and until are prepositions when they come
before a noun phrase and conjunctions when they come before a clause (Cambridge
Dictionary, n.d.).
Conjunction: I baked her a pie since she was so kind to me.
Preposition: The phone has been ringing off the hook since yesterday.
b. Adverbs – Words like around, before, beyond, through, and under act as prepositions when
they have an object and adverbs when they do not (Cambridge Dictionary, n.d.). The
object will be a noun, pronoun, or noun phrase.
Adverb: We were just passing through.
Preposition: Just walk through the door.
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c. The infinitive to – In a sentence, the infinitive version of a verb may come with the
word to as a marker. The infinitive to will be followed by a verb while the preposition to
will be followed by a noun, pronoun, or noun phrase.
Infinitive: She wanted to drive.
Preposition: She walked to the bus stop.
4. Remove unnecessary prepositions – Many times, extra prepositions end up at the end of
sentences and make the writing sound quite conversational.
x I don’t know where that book went to.
5. Remove unnecessary prepositional phrases – In a empt to provide plenty of detail, many
students include too many or too-long prepositional phrases. Now that you know how to use
them, keep it concise!
x The knowledge of scientists does not yet reach to the exact number of stars in the
entirety of the universe.
✓ Scientists do not yet know how many stars are in the universe.
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COMMON PREPOSITIONS
SINGLE-WORD PREPOSITIONS
about above across after against along
among around as at before behind
below beneath beside between beyond by
despite down during except for from
in inside into like near of
off on onto opposite out outside
over past round since than through
to towards under underneath unlike until
up upon via with within without
Adapted from Prepositions, by Cambridge Dictionary (n.d.).
MULTIPLE-WORD PREPOSITIONS
ahead of apart from as for as well as because of
due to except for in addition to in front of in spite of
inside of instead of near to on account of on top of
out of outside of such as thanks to up to
Adapted from Prepositions, by Cambridge Dictionary (n.d.).
References
Cambridge Dictionary. (n.d.). Prepositions. In Cambridge dictionary. Retrieved January 24, 2023, from
h ps://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/grammar/british-grammar/prepositions.
NMU Writing Center. (n.d.). Infinitive phrases. Northern Michigan University.
h ps://nmu.edu/writingcenter/infinitive-phrase.
Williams, J. M., & Colomb, G. G. (2010). Style: Lessons in clarity and grace. Longman.
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