PrepositionsBeginner

Prepositions of Time and Place

At, on and in for time and place; since and for; between and among; and common fixed prepositions after verbs and adjectives that exams test.

A preposition links a noun or pronoun to the rest of the sentence. The commonest are at, on and in.

Time: at, on, in

At — exact times and festivals: at 7 o'clock, at noon, at night, at Eid.
On — days and dates: on Monday, on 14 August, on my birthday.
In — longer periods: in June, in 2024, in summer, in the morning, in the 20th century.

Place: at, on, in

At — a point: at the bus stop, at the door, at school.
On — a surface or a line: on the table, on the wall, on the road, on the second floor.
In — inside an area or space: in the room, in Lahore, in Pakistan, in the car.

Other useful pairs

Since / for: since 2010 (point) — for ten years (length).
Between / among: between two, among more than two. Divide it between the two brothers; among the five students.
Beside / besides: beside = next to; besides = in addition to.
In / into: in = position; into = movement inside. He jumped into the river.
By / with: by the doer or means; with an instrument. Killed by a hunter with a gun.

Fixed prepositions (often tested)

accuse of, afraid of, aware of, capable of, consist of
agree with a person, agree to a proposal, angry with a person, angry at a thing
good at, interested in, married to, prefer tea to coffee, superior to, senior to
depend on, insist on, congratulate on, comment on
deal with, comply with, part with a thing, part from a person
abstain from, refrain from, differ from, die of a disease

No preposition needed

Some verbs take a direct object, so no preposition is used: discuss the matter (not "discuss about"), reach home, enter the room, marry someone, order food.