Prepositions

The rule in one minute

Prepositions are small linking words such as in, on, at, to, for, with, by, from and about. They show how one thing relates to another in place, time or meaning.

• Place: The book is on the table.
• Time: We met on Monday.
• Relationship: She is good at chess.

They split into two groups.

Patterns you can reason about. In is for larger spaces and longer periods (in Malaysia, in July). At is for exact points (at 5 o’clock, at the station). On is for surfaces and days (on the desk, on Friday).

Fixed pairs you must learn. Many verbs and adjectives come with one set preposition: depend on, arrive at, interested in, afraid of. Logic cannot tell you why we arrive at a station but arrive in a city. Learn the whole phrase.

Why they cost marks

Prepositions are one of the biggest sources of accuracy errors for ESL writers, because they almost never match another language word for word. The home-language habit comes out on the page.

ESL writing marks correctness directly, and prepositions appear in nearly every sentence. A few wrong ones in each paragraph pull the accuracy mark down.

Because so many are fixed pairs, the fastest gain comes from learning verbs and adjectives together with their prepositions, not from memorising a chart.

Common mistakes, corrected

• Wrong: She is married with a lawyer. Right: She is married to a lawyer.
• Wrong: We discussed about the problem for hours. Right: We discussed the problem for hours. Discuss takes no preposition.
• Wrong: He is good in mathematics. Right: He is good at mathematics.
• Wrong: I am waiting my results. Right: I am waiting for my results.
• Wrong: The decision depends of the weather. Right: The decision depends on the weather.
• Wrong: They arrived to the airport late. Right: They arrived at the airport late.

Notice that each one is a verb or adjective with a preposition. Learn the pair, not the preposition alone.

Try it yourself

Correct the preposition in each sentence, then check below.

1. She apologised for being late but blamed it to the traffic.
2. This dress is different than the one in the window.
3. He has been living in this city since three years.
4. I am not interested about politics at all.
5. Congratulations for passing your exam.

Answers: (1) blamed it on the traffic. (2) different from the one in the window (the usual British form). (3) for three years.

Use since with a starting point, such as since March. (4) interested in politics. (5) Congratulations on passing your exam.

Make it a habit

Rules will not solve this, so collect phrases. Keep a list of pairs from your reading and write them whole: rely on, capable of, keen on, consist of. Learn them in chunks, like spellings.

When you proofread, look at every verb or adjective followed by a small word. Say the phrase aloud. A wrong preposition often sounds odd once you hear it.

Also remember the verbs that take no preposition: discuss, enter, mention, answer, attend. Adding one is a common mistake. (We say attend a meeting, not attend to a meeting.)

Where students get stuck, and how we help

Students often translate a phrase from their first language and end up with the wrong preposition. In our English as a Second Language lessons, a teacher builds your personal list from the pairs you actually get wrong and tests you on them in later lessons.

Lessons start from RM70/hr. You can book a paid one-hour trial to try it.

Next step

Do more sets in the practice area. Then read about subject-verb agreement and articles. Use the proofreading guide on your last essay.

Next, visit our original practice tasks to use the rule in your own writing. Our IGCSE English tuition page explains how lessons run. When you are ready, the paid one-hour trial is the first step.