Verbal Ability - Prepositions

Prepositions, as per their name, are always used before nouns. They are used to mention the location, position, or order of occurrence of something.

List of Widely Used Prepositions

The following is a list of the most widely-used prepositions.

Preposition	Meaning	Examples
Above	higher than, or over	The stars are above our heads
Across	from one side to other	It's dangerous to run across the road.
After	Following later than	he dog ran after the cat. I'll call you after the game.
Against	Opposite to in contact with	Lying is against my principle. The painting is against the wall.
Along	from one end to the other	Let’s walk along the street.
Among	surrounded by	I was among the viewers.
Around	in a circle near, approximately	We walked around the fountain. It costs around ten rupees now.
Before	earlier than in front of	I left the day before yesterday. She bowed before me in respect.
Behind	at the back of	I like to sit behind the wheel.
Below	lower than	There’s a scar below his chin.
Beneath	under	The plane was beneath the clouds.
Beside	next to	My home is beside the stall.
Between	in the space separating two things	Maya sat between Taj and me.
By	near, at the side of	The park is by the lake
Close To	near	My office is near the traffic junction
Down	from higher to lower	She pulled down the calendar.
For	what is intended	I got this rose for her.
From	where something starts	This tunnel starts from here.
In	at a point within an area	The pen is in my pocket.
In Front Of	directly before	I had to stand in front of the lift.
Inside	on the inner part of	The bird is inside its nest.
Into	enter a closed space	He went into the building.
Near	close to	My school was near the airport.
Next To	beside	The mall is next to theater.
Off	down or away from	He fell off his cycle.
On	in a position touching a surface	The cutlery is on the dining table.
Onto	move to a position on a surface	The cat jumped onto the tin roof.
Opposite	facing, on the other side	I sat opposite Chetan in the library.
Out Of	move from a closed space without	He got out of the taxi. Jane is out of work at the moment.
Outside	on the outer side	The garden is outside the suburbs.
Over	above/across on the surface of	We flew over the Pacific. She put a lid on the dish.
Past	beyond	She drove past the school.
Round	in a circular motion	The earth moves round the sun.
Through	from one side to other	We will be traveling through the town.
Throughout	in every part	The news spread throughout the country.
To	in the direct of / towards	I am on my way to office.
Towards	in the direction of	The child ran towards her father.
Under	beneath, below	Water flows under the bridge.
Underneath	beneath	There was dust underneath the rug.
Up	towards or in a higher position	She walked up the stairs.

verbal_ability_prepositions.htm