Preposition Collocations

PREPOSITION COLLOCATIONS. accuse (someone) of ([doing] something) add (something) to (something else) admire (someone) for ([doing] something) agree on (topic) agree with (someone) apologise to (someone) for ([doing] something) apply to (a place) for (something) approve of (something) argue with (someone) about (topic) arrive at (a building, room, site, event) arrive in (a city, country) ask (someone) about (someone/topic) ask (someone) for (something) believe in (something) belong to (someone) blame (someone) for ([doing] something) borrow (something) from (someone) care about (someone/something/topic) comment on (topic) compare (something) to/with (something else) complain to (someone) about (something) concentrate on ([doing] something) congratulate (someone) for/on ([doing] something) consist of (some things) consent to ([doing] something) contribute to (something) count on (someone) to (do something) cover (something) with (something else) decide on (topic) depend on (someone) for (something) discuss (something) with (someone) distinguish (something) from (something else) dream about/of (someone/something) escape from (somewhere) explain (topic) to (someone) excuse (someone) for ([doing] something) forgive (someone for ([doing] something) get rid of (something) graduate from (a place) happen to (someone) help (someone) with (something)

hide (something) from (someone) insist (up)on (something) introduce (someone) to (someone else) invite (someone) to (an event) keep (something) for (someone) matter to (someone) object to (something) participate in (something) pay (price) for (something) plan on ([doing] something) pray for (someone/something) prefer (something) to (something else) prevent (someone) from ([doing] something) prohibit (someone) from ([doing] something) protect (someone) from (something) provide (someone) with (something) recover from (something) rely (up)on (someone/something) remind (someone) of (something) rescue (someone) from (something) respond to (someone/something) save (someone) from (something) search for (something) separate (something) from (something else) scold (someone) for ([doing] something) smile at (someone) for ([doing] something) speak to/with (someone) about (topic) stare at (something/someone) stop (someone) from ([doing] something) subscribe to (something) substitute (something) for (something else/someone) subtract (something) from (something else) succeed in ([doing] something) suffer from (something) take advantage of (someone/something/ situation) take care of (something/someone) talk to/with (someone) about (topic) thank (someone) for ([doing] something) travel to (somewhere) vote for (someone) vouch for (someone) wait for (someone/something)

wish for (something) work for (company/something/someone)

Prepositions of place and direction at, in, on AT

AT: He is at the airport; at the train station; at the bank; at the office; at work; at home; at school; at the university; at the tennis club. She is at the doctor's; at the dentist's; at her sister's. AT : She works at a bank; at a library; at a hospital; at a newspaper; at a plant; at IBM. We ate at a restaurant; at McDonald's. She stayed at a small hotel. He studied economics at a business school; at a technical school. AT: Turn left at the traffic lights; at the bank; at the school; at the church. He is standing at the bus stop; at the corner of the street; at the door; at the window. She is sitting at her desk; at the table. AT: It is at the top of the page; at the top of the list; at the bottom of the page; at the end of the list; at the beginning of the book; at the end of the chapter; at the end of the street; at the top of the mountain; at the bottom of the sea; at sea level; at a height of 25 meters; at a distance of 200 meters. She lives at 15 Main Street. AT : They are at a concert; at a party; at a meeting; at a conference; at a football game; at the movies; at the cinema; at the theater; at the opera; at dinner; at lunch. IN

IN: The key is in this box; in your bag; in my pocket; in her hand; in the desk drawer; in the living room; in the corner of the room; in the kitchen; in the hall; in the closet; in the car. There are four rooms in his house. There is no elevator in this building. It was very cold in her apartment; in the office; in the theater. IN: He is sitting in an armchair; in a rocking chair; in a wheelchair. They walked in the park; played in the garden. We saw flowers in the field; clouds in the sky; balloons in the air; birds in the trees; animals in the woods; fish in the river.

IN: He is in the army; in bed; in class; in prison / in jail. AmE: to be in the hospital. BrE: to be in hospital IN: She lives in a large house; in a small apartment; in a large city; in the center of the city; in a small town; in the country; in a village; in Paris; in London; in England; in the United States; in the North; in the South. What is the largest country in the world? IN: I read it in a book; in a dictionary; in a newspaper. I saw it in a film; in a movie; in a dream. I know the man in this photograph. I like the landscape in this picture. She looked at herself in the mirror. IN: The house is in the center of the picture, with the forest in the background and the mountains in the distance. He is sitting in the sixth row. Please stand in line. IN: There is a hole in your coat; a pain in my foot. There were tears in her eyes; strange thoughts in his head. ON

ON: The book is on the table; on the shelf; on the windowsill; on the floor. The picture is on the wall. Read the text on page 5. She is sitting on the sofa; on the bed; on a chair; on a bench; on a stool. He walked on crutches for a month. ON: There is a smile on his face; a hat on his head; black shoes on his feet; a shawl on her shoulders; a stain on your coat; ice on the water; snow on the roof. Fruit grows on trees. Money doesn't grow on trees. ON: We spent our vacation on a small island in the Caribbean Sea. London is on the Thames River. Our house is on the left; on the right; on the corner of the street. Her apartment is on the third floor. She lives on Green Street. ON: They are on the train to Bern; on the plane to Rome. Who is that boy on a bicycle? She got on the bus on Oak Street. ON: I saw it on TV. I heard it on the radio. I spoke to her on the telephone. I found it on the Internet. Note: at, in, on AT/IN: She works at a bank / in a bank. He works at a library / in a library. I ate at a restaurant / in a restaurant.

AT/ON: She will wait for us at the corner of the street / on the corner of the street. IN/ON: There are a lot of people in the streets / on the streets. AmE: She lives on Main Street. BrE: She lives in Main Street. inside, outside

INSIDE: What is inside this box? Are there any people inside the house? Stand inside the circle, please. OUTSIDE : He left his dog outside the house. There was some sound outside the door. by, beside, near, next to, against

BY: She is standing by the window; by the door; by the car; by the table. She sat by his bed. Let's take a walk by the river. BY: They went by the post office; by the bank; by the church. He went by me without saying hello. BESIDE : Stay beside me. She sat beside his bed. He waited beside the door. Put the napkin beside the plate. NEAR : He sat near the door; near the window; near the stage. Their house is near the lake; near the river; near a nice park; near the subway station; near the school. NEXT TO : The post office is next to the bank; next to the drugstore; next to the gas station. Their house is next to our house. She sat next to me on the bus; in the theater; in class. AGAINST : The table stands against the wall. He placed the ladder against the wall. She leaned against the wall; against the back of her chair. The rain is beating against the window. He threw the ball against the wall. AGAINST: The red looks darker against the black. below, under, above, over

BELOW : below the horizon; below sea level; below zero; below average; below the norm; below the surface; the rooms below us; the text below. Antonym: above.

UNDER: under the table; under the chair; under the roof; under the sky; under the floor; under the carpet; under the bed; under the pillow; under the blanket; under the bridge; under a tree; under water; under the surface; under the skin; dark circles under her eyes; the ground under his feet. Antonym: over. ABOVE: above the horizon; above sea level; above zero; above average; the picture above the piano; the rooms above us; the text above; the sky above. Antonym: below. OVER : the roof over your head; the sky over the city; the clouds over the mountains. Her apartment is directly over mine. The plane flew over our house; over the city; over the fields; over the lake; over the ocean. He jumped over the fence; over the stone. Antonym: under. in front of, behind, opposite

IN FRONT OF : The garden is in front of the house. The bus stop is in front of the building. His car is in front of the garage. He stood in line in front of me. BEHIND : The garden is behind the house. The bus stop is behind that building. The boy hid behind a tree. Stand behind the line, please. He stood behind me. OPPOSITE: The bank is opposite the post office. My hotel room is opposite yours. He sat opposite me. to, toward, into, out of

TO : the road to Boston; the flight to London; my trip to Italy; the way to his house; the village is to the north of the city. She went to the store; to the bank; to a restaurant; to the center; to the cinema; to the theater; to the party; to the kitchen; to the door; to the doctor; to the park; to the lake; to the sea; to the mountains. Go to page 5. TOWARD: He went toward that building; toward the river; toward the station; toward the center. INTO : Come into the room; into the house. Get into the car. He poured some tea into her cup. He got into trouble; into difficulties. Her teddy bear fell into the water. This river flows into a large lake. He went into accounting; into banking. Translate this passage into English; from English into Russian. Snow turned into rain.

OUT OF : to go out of the room; to go out of the building; to run out of the door; to look out of the window; to take a handkerchief out of the pocket; to get out of the car; to get out of the cage. through, across, around, past

THROUGH: the road through the village; a path through the forest. He went through the park; through the tunnel; through the building. He walked through the door; through the gate. She looked through the hole; through the glass; through the window. ACROSS : There is a bridge across the river. He went across the street; across the park; across the bridge. Several fallen trees were lying across the road. The bookstore is across the street. Do you see that yellow bulding across the street? AROUND: Go around this house. There is a large park around his house. He travelled around the world. We took a walk around town. The bus stop is around the corner. PAST : She walked past him; past the post office; past the bank; past the school. ALONG : the book shelves along the wall; the trees along the road; to walk along the road; to walk along the street; to walk along the river; to sail along the coast; down, up

DOWN: to go down the stairs; to go down the hill; to go down the ladder. Go down this street and turn left. They sailed down the river on a raft. UP: to go up the stairs; to go up the hill; to climb up the ladder. Go up this street and turn left. The ship sailed up the river. between, among

BETWEEN: The bank is between the post office and the bookstore. The sofa is between the table and the bookcase. Tom is sitting between Lisa and Ella. There is no train between Redford and Bedford. AMONG: Your book is probably among the other books on the table. She is among her friends now. Is there a doctor among the guests? They shared the money equally among the members of the family.

Prepositions of time at, in, on

AT: My train leaves at three o'clock; at 9:00 a.m.; at 10:00 p.m. I called him at seven in the morning; at nine in the evening; at ten; at about five; at noon; at midnight. They are going away at the beginning of October; at the end of March. He started to work at 15 / at the age of 15. AT: at present, at the present time; at the moment, at this moment; at the same time; at Christmas / at Christmas time; at noon; at night; at dawn; at sunset; at first; at last; at the latest. IN: I went there in the morning; in the afternoon; in the evening; in winter; in spring; in summer; in autumn; in the fall; in the middle of June. The action takes place in the future; in the present; in the past. IN: I was there in May; in November; in 1985; in 1991; in 2007; in 2010; Such hats were popular in the '60s; in the 1950s; in the twenties; in the 19th century. IN: He will come back in a minute; in ten minutes; in an hour; in half an hour; in a day or two; in five days; in a week; in a month; in a year; in three years. ON: I will do it on Monday; on Wednesday; on Sunday; on Christmas Day; on Labor Day. She was busy on Friday morning; on Saturday night; on Thursday evening. He works on Tuesdays; on weekdays; on weekends. ON: He left on May third; on June 1st; on January seventh; on the 10th of August; on the sixth of November. She was born on December 3, 1985 (Read: on December third / on the third of December, nineteen eighty-five.) for, since

FOR: She talked to him for five minutes; for half an hour; for an hour. He has been waiting for three hours; for two days; for a week; for six months; for a year; for years; for a long time. SINCE: I have been waiting here since noon, since morning, since two o'clock. He has been sick since yesterday; since Monday. She has known him since childhood; since 1998; since 2005; since last year.

from...to, from...till, from...until, from...through

FROM ... TO : Banks work from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. This bank is open from nine to five. He works from nine to six; from Monday to Friday. She was busy from two to four. He lived in Boston from 1980 to 1985. They live in their summer house from May to October. He was in college from 2003 to 2007. FROM ... TILL, FROM ... UNTIL: Banks work from 10:00 a.m. till/until 5:00 p.m. This bank is open from nine till five. He works from nine till six; from nine until six; from morning till night; from ten in the morning till seven at night. He lived in Boston from 1980 until 1985. They live in their summer house from May till October. FROM ... THROUGH: He works from Monday through Saturday. He works Monday through Friday. He lived in Chicago from 1986 through 1995. They live in their summer house from May through October. while, during

WHILE: It happened while we were watching TV; while she was listening to music; while he was sleeping; while they were eating lunch; while she was on vacation. The telephone rang while I was making breakfast. DURING: It happened during the lesson; during the flight; during the concert; during lunch; during her vacation; during her trip to London. He worked during the day; during the night; during the week; during the weekend. before, after, by, till, until

BEFORE: He called me before eleven o'clock; before dinner; before the concert; before his exam; before my trip; before he went home. AFTER: She called him after six o'clock; after dinner; after the concert; after his exam; after work; after she finished her work. BY: We have to be there by nine o'clock. They should receive our report by Tuesday. She submitted her application by the first of June. He promises to finish his new novel by the end of the year. TILL: Banks work till 5:00. The post office is open till seven o'clock. He slept till ten. He lived in Chicago till 2005. They will stay there till Friday. Please wait till tomorrow.

UNTIL: Banks work until 5:00. He slept until ten. He lived in Chicago until 2005. They will stay there until Friday. Wait until tomorrow. They worked in the yard until it grew dark. TILL, UNTIL: Banks do not open until 10:00 a.m. He will not get up until ten. He did not visit New York until 2010. She did not visit him till today. The repairmen did not leave until they fixed everything. Some other prepositions by, with

BY: The lock was repaired by a locksmith. This novel was written by Theodore Dreiser. His brother was killed by a robber. The dog was hit by a car. The village was destroyed by the hurricane. Their houses were destroyed by fire. WITH: He opened the door with a key. The teacher made corrections with a red pencil. Cut it with a knife and eat it with a fork, not with a spoon. She saw it with her own eyes. He made this table with his own hands. by, in, on

BY: She came here by bus. We went there by taxi; by car; by bus; by train; by plane. He likes to travel by car. He usually travels by train. IN: She came here in a car. She went there in a taxi. ON: She likes to travel on a train. She does not feel safe on a plane. She does not like to travel on a bus. We went there on foot.