Prepositions of Movement: to and No Preposition

We use to in order to express movement toward a place. They were driving to work together. She's going to the dentist's office this morning. Toward and towards are also helpful prepositions to express movement. These are simply variant spellings of the same word; use whichever sounds better to you. We're moving toward the light. This is a big step towards the project's completion. With the words home, downtown, uptown, inside, outside, downstairs, upstairs, we use no preposition. Grandma went upstairs Grandpa went home. They both went outside.

'Here' and 'there'

With verbs of movement, here means towards or with the speaker:

Come here (= towards me) It's in here (= come with me to see it)

There means away from, or not with the speaker:

Put it there (= away from me) It's in there (= go by yourself to see it)

Here and there are combined with prepositions to make many common adverbial phrases: down here, down there; over here, over there; under here, under there; up here, up there Here and there are placed at the beginning of the sentence in exclamations or when emphasis is needed. They are followed by the verb if the subject is a noun:

Here comes the bus. (followed by the verb)

Or by a pronoun if this is the subject (it, she, he etc.):

Here it is! (followed by the pronoun) There she goes! (followed by the pronoun)

NOTE: most common adverbs of place also function as prepositions.

Examples:
about, across, along, around, behind, by, down, in, off, on, over, round, through, under, up. Go to Prepositions or Phrasal Verbs Other adverbs of place: ending in '-wards', expressing movement in a particular direction: backwards forwards downwards upwards inwards outwards Example:

northwards southwards eastwards westwards homewards onwards

Cats don't usually walk backwards. The ship sailed westwards.

BE CAREFUL! 'Towards' is a preposition, not an adverb, so it is always followed by a noun or a pronoun:

He walked towards the car. She ran towards me.

expressing both movement and location: ahead, abroad, overseas, uphill, downhill, sideways, indoors, outdoors

Example:

The child went indoors. He lived and worked abroad.

in and on as prepositions of movement

The core function of the preposition in is as an indicator of the position of something in relation to the three-dimensional space that surrounds it, e.g: They were having a picnic in the park. Ive left my bag in the office. The money is in the top drawer of my desk. However, in can also be used to express movement towards the inside of a container, place or area:

Can you put the milk in the fridge? The farmer fired a few shots in the air. This use is triggered by verbs which express actions rather than states. Compare the following two examples: Ill keep the letter in my briefcase. Ill put the letter in my briefcase. In the second example, in is functioning as a preposition of movement, and has the same meaning as the preposition into, as described in Through and into. The core function of the preposition on is as an indicator of position in relation to a two dimensional surface, e.g: The letter is on my desk. There was a beautiful painting on the wall. However on can also be used to show movement in the direction of a surface, e.g: We could hear the rain falling on the roof. I dropped my bags on the floor. As with the preposition in, this use is triggered by verbs which express actions rather than states. Compare the following two examples: The vase was lying on the kitchen floor. The vase fell on the kitchen floor. In the second example, on is functioning as a preposition of movement, and has the same meaning as the preposition onto, which is usually used to show movement towards a two dimensional surface, e.g: Lets get back onto the path. She stepped onto the platform.

Through and into

The preposition through refers to movement within a space which can be thought of as threedimensional, e.g: They couldnt get the new sofa through the door. We drove through some spectacular countryside. The canal flows through the city centre. You wont be able to see it unless you look through the binoculars. Through usually suggests movement across an entire space, from one side of something to another, e.g: He cut through the wire.

The preposition into refers to movement from the outside to the inside of a three dimensional space, e.g: We got into the back of the car. She reached into her bag and found the keys. With certain verbs into can be used to express the idea of movement in the direction of something, often resulting in actually hitting it, as in the second example below, e.g: He looked straight into her eyes. She swerved and crashed into the fence.

Across, over and along

The prepositions across and over are used to talk about movement from one side of a place to another. They usually refer to movement in relation to places which can be thought of as twodimensional, such as surfaces (e.g: a lawn) or lines (e.g: a river), for example: Ill jump over the wall and open the gate. The aircraft flew low over the lake. How are we going to get across the stream? Its the first time Ive flown across the Atlantic. Over also functions as a preposition expressing position. It often has a similar meaning to the preposition above, e.g: There was a mirror above/over the sink. One of its core uses however is to express position in relation to a two-dimensional surface, e.g: A white tablecloth was spread over the table. Or to show when something is positioned on the opposite side of a line, e.g: road, bridge, etc. The hotel is over the bridge. Across is sometimes used to express position in relation to something which stretches from one side of a place to another, e.g: There was a barrier across the road. and like over is also used to show when something is positioned on the opposite side of a place in relation to the speaker, e.g: The bank is across the street. The preposition along is used to show movement following a line, e.g:

We walked along the river. I followed Mr Jackson along the corridor. Well-wishers began placing flowers along the railings. It is also sometimes used to show a specific position in relation to a line, e.g: Somewhere along the path theres a signpost. Or to show when a group of things are positioned in a line next to something, e.g: There were plenty of restaurants along the riverfront.

In and on as prepositions of movement

The core function of the preposition in is as an indicator of the position of something in relation to the three-dimensional space that surrounds it, e.g: They were having a picnic in the park. Ive left my bag in the office. The money is in the top drawer of my desk. However, in can also be used to express movement towards the inside of a container, place or area: Can you put the milk in the fridge? The farmer fired a few shots in the air. This use is triggered by verbs which express actions rather than states. Compare the following two examples: Ill keep the letter in my briefcase. Ill put the letter in my briefcase. In the second example, in is functioning as a preposition of movement, and has the same meaning as the preposition into, as described in Through and into. The core function of the preposition on is as an indicator of position in relation to a two dimensional surface, e.g: The letter is on my desk. There was a beautiful painting on the wall. However on can also be used to show movement in the direction of a surface, e.g: We could hear the rain falling on the roof. I dropped my bags on the floor.

As with the preposition in, this use is triggered by verbs which express actions rather than states. Compare the following two examples: The vase was lying on the kitchen floor. The vase fell on the kitchen floor. In the second example, on is functioning as a preposition of movement, and has the same meaning as the preposition onto, which is usually used to show movement towards a two dimensional surface, e.g: Lets get back onto the path. She stepped onto the platform.

TIPS: Gestures
Mimes and gestures are an obvious first step to clarifying many prepositions of movement. Here are some possible actions and sentences you can use to clarify them. towards walk towards a student; Im walking towards [Alonso]. through walk through the door; Im walking through the door. through mime that you are swimming the breast stroke; Im swimming through the water. into reach into your bag Im putting my hand into my bag. across mime that you are looking both ways, then crossing a busy street; Im walking across the street. over make a chopping motion above your head; It went over my head.

Mime dictation
For this activity, you need to prepare a text that you can mime easily (that also contains several prepositions of movement). There is an example below. Delete the prepositions of movement and make copies of the text for the students. Do not give them the text yet. Read it once, making the movements yourself. Then ask them to stand up and do the movements with you as you read the text a second time. Repeat this process, getting them to say the text along with you a third time. Repeat the text with movement a fourth time with the students, but quicker. If the students (and you!) are up for it, do it a fifth and final time. Then hand out the text and ask the students to complete the gaps. Sample text (a star* indicates where you need to mime an action and delete the preposition):

The robbery
The robber walked through* the doors. He looked around* the bank carefully before walking up* to the tellers desk. The robber looked over* his shoulder nervously. He put his hand into* his pocket and pulled out* his gun. This is a robbery! Put the money in* an envelope and give it to me! he said. The teller, terrified, pushed the money towards* the robber. The robber took the money and

walked out* of the bank calmly. He walked across* the street and got into* the car where his friend was waiting.

Minimal pairs
Many of these prepositions can be highlighted through the use of minimal pair sentences. Here are some examples. Ask the students to try to explain the difference between the two sentences. They could translate them both into their own language and compare. Are there similar prepositional differences in their language? Whats the difference between these two sentences? 1) A. Jenny walked to London. B. Jenny walked towards London. 2) A. He drove his car into the wall. B. He drove his car through the wall. 3) A. The young couple walked along the river. B. The young couple walked across the river. 4) A. The politician walked across the room to say hello to all the people. B. The politician walked around the room to say hello to all the people. To make this task easier for the students, you could give them a follow-up sentence. They have to decide which sentence (A or B) goes best with the follow-up sentence. Here are follow-up sentences for the above examples. She was very tired when she arrived! (matches with A) He came out the other side and fortunately wasnt hurt. (matches with B) There was no bridge. (matches with A) The people were in several different parts of the room. (matches with B)

Prepositions of Movement
Prepositions can be used to show movement. For example:to, through, across We use to to show movement with the aim of a specific destination For example:I moved to Germany in 1998. He's gone to the shops. We use through to show movement from one side of an enclosed space to the other. For example: The train went through the tunnel. We use across to show movement from one side of a surface or line to another. For example: She swam across the river. More prepositions of movement She ran to through across along down over off round into the door. the tunnel. (from one side of an enclosed space to the other) the road. (from one side of an open space to the other) the road. (the length of the road) the road. (the length of the road) the bridge. (from one side of an open space to the other) the stage. the track. the room.

A preposition links nouns, pronouns and phrases to other words in a sentence. The word or phrase that the preposition introduces is called the object of the preposition. A preposition usually indicates the temporal, spatial or logical relationship of its object to the rest of the sentence as in the following examples: The book is on the table. The book is beneath the table. The book is leaning against the table. The book is beside the table. She held the book over the table. She read the book during class. In each of the preceding sentences, a preposition locates the noun "book" in space or in time. A prepositional phrase is made up of the preposition, its object and any associated adjectives or adverbs. A prepositional phrase can function as a noun, an adjective, or an adverb. The most common prepositions are "about," "above," "across," "after," "against," "along," "among," "around," "at," "before," "behind," "below," "beneath," "beside," "between," "beyond," "but," "by," "despite," "down," "during," "except," "for," "from," "in," "inside," "into," "like," "near," "of," "off," "on," "onto," "out," "outside," "over," "past," "since," "through," "throughout," "till," "to," "toward," "under," "underneath," "until," "up," "upon," "with," "within," and "without."