Prepositions may be small words, but they are very important ones and their correct use

shows your mastery of the language. Here are some hints about the correct use of some
prepositions.
Beside and besides
Beside means ‘by the side of’. Besides means ‘in addition to’.
• They have a house beside the sea. (by the side of the sea)
• He stood beside me. (by my side)
• He plays the violin besides the piano and the guitar. (He plays three instruments.)
• Besides being a good actor, he is also a good singer. (= In addition to being a
good actor, he is also a good singer.)
Since and for
Since should be used with a point of time in the past. It is used with a present perfect
tense. For is used only when you refer to a period of time.
• He has been absent since Tuesday. (NOT He has been absent for Tuesday.)
• I have been ill since last week.
• He has been absent for three days. (NOT He has been absent since three days.)
• I have been ill for two weeks.
Between and among
Between is used to refer to two or three separate people or things. Among is used when
the reference is to a group of people or things which we do not see separately.
• She sat among the children.
• She sat between Susie and Ann.
• This is a custom which exists among the Hindus.
• He has a house between the river and the woods.
By and with
By is used to refer to the doer of the action. With is used to refer to the instrument with
which the action is performed.
• The spider was killed by the boy.
• The boy killed the spider with a stone.
In and At
In is usually used with large places – countries, districts, large cities etc. At is generally
used for small and unimportant places like villages, small towns etc.
• We shall meet him at the club this evening.
• His brother lives in Paris.
Notes: This rule is not very rigidly followed. In is often used with small places. At,
however, is seldom used for big places.
On, in, at and by
At shows an exact point of time; on shows a more general point of time and in shows a
period of time.
• I have a meeting at 4 pm.
• The train leaves at 2 o’clock.
• I was born on a Monday.
• I was born on April 21st.
• I was born in January.
• We will visit them in the summer.
• It is very hot in the day but quite cold at night.
By shows the latest time at which an action will be finished. So it is usually used with a
future tense.
• I will be leaving by 6 o’clock.
• I hope to finish the work by next week.
On and upon
On is generally used to talk about things at rest. Upon is used about things in motion.
• She sat on a chair.
• He jumped upon his horse.
In, within
With reference to time, in means at the end of a certain period; within means before the
end of a certain period.
• I will finish writing this book in three days. (at the end of three days)
• I will finish writing this book within three days. (before the end of three days)
In and at
Both at and in can be used with the names of cities, towns and villages. We use in when
we are talking about the place as an area; we use at when we see it as a point.
Compare:
• My sister lives in Tokyo.
• Our plane stopped at Tokyo on the way to Iran. (Tokyo = Tokyo airport)
We use at to talk about group activities and shops/workplaces.
• I first met him at a party. (NOT …in a party.)
• There weren’t many people at the meeting.
• I saw him at the baker’s. (= baker’s shop)
We use in with the names of streets and at when we give the house number.
• He lives in MG Street.
• He lives at 128 MG Street.
We use on when we think of a place as a surface.
• The cat is lying on the floor.
 • Hang this picture on the wall.
Till and until
Both till and until are used of time.
• We waited till / until 12 o’ clock.
• He slept till / until 11 am.
Since
Since is used before a noun or phrase denoting some point of time. It is preceded by a
verb in the perfect tenses.
• He hasn’t eaten anything since yesterday.
• He has been ill since last Monday.
• It has been raining since yesterday.
In
In is used before a noun denoting a period of time. It means ‘at the end of’. Within
means ‘before the end of’.
• I shall return in an hour. (= at the end of one hour)
• I shall return within an hour. (= before the end of one hour)
Cases where prepositions are omitted
Prepositions of time are generally omitted before words like ‘last’, ‘first’, ‘next’ or ‘this’.
• I met him last Friday. (NOT I met him on last Friday.)
• We will discuss the matter next time.
• I will visit my parents this week.
The use of preposition in the following types of sentences is optional.
• I was here (in) the July before last.
• They visited us (on) the day before yesterday.
• He left the city (on) the next day.
• We lived there (for) three months.
Prepositions are after certain verbs
Some intransitive verbs become transitive when a preposition is placed after them.
Examples are: listen to, apply to, partake of, aware of, beware of, depend upon, dispense
with, dispose of and prevail upon
Different prepositions
Some words which differ slightly in form and meaning from each other take different
prepositions after them.
Examples are:
Desire for; desirous of
Confidence in; confident of
According to; in accordance with
Sensible of; insensible to
Affection for; affectionate to
Ambition for; ambitious of
Fond of; fondness for
Neglectful of; negligent in
Dislike to; liking for
Gerund after preposition
The infinitive cannot be used with certain words which require a preposition followed by
a gerund.
• I am thinking of visiting my parents.
• He is bent of attending the meeting.
• You have no excuse for being late.