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• Adjectives
• Verbs
• Nouns
• Conjunctions
• Pronouns
• Adverb
• Preposition
• Commas

What is a preposition?

A preposition is a word used to link nouns, pronouns, or phrases to other words within a sentence. They act to connect the people, objects, time and locations of a sentence. Prepositions are usually short words, and they are normally placed directly in front of nouns. In some cases, you’ll find prepositions in front of gerund verbs.

A nice way to think about prepositions is as the words that help glue a sentence together. They do this by expressing position and movement, possession, time and how an action is completed.

Indeed, several of the most frequently used words in all of English, such as of, to, for, with, on and at, are prepositions. Explaining prepositions can seem complicated, but they are a common part of language and most of us use them naturally without even thinking about it.

In fact, it’s interesting to note that prepositions are regarded as a ‘closed class’ of words in the English language. This means, unlike verbs and nouns, no new words are added to this group over time. In a way, it reflects their role as the functional workhorse of the sentence. They are unassuming and subtle, yet vitally important to the meaning of language.

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There are two very important rules to remember when using prepositions. Because they are somewhat vague, learning about prepositions and using them correctly in sentences takes practice. Because 1:1 translation is often impossible when dealing with prepositions, even the most advanced English students have some difficulty at first.

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• The first rule is that to make sentences clear, specific prepositions are needed. For example, the preposition in means one thing and the preposition on cannot substitute for it in all cases. Some prepositions are interchangeable but not always. The correct preposition means one particular thing and using a different proposition will give the sentence a very different meaning. I want to see you in the house now, Bill! means something very different from I want to see you on the house now, Bill!In the house means Bill should go through the door, walk inside, and stand in the hall or living room. On the house means Bill would need to get a ladder and climb to the roof where he would be on top of the house.
• The second rule for using prepositions is that prepositions are generally followed by nouns or pronouns. There was a time in the past when teachers held strictly to this rule, but it made for some clunky sentences. I am seeking someone I can depend on ends with the preposition on, so people who insisted that sentences shouldn’t end with a preposition would be forced to use convoluted and unnatural phrasing. To avoid ending that sentence above with a preposition, you’d have to say, someone I can depend on is whom I am seeking.
• There are more than 100 prepositions in the English language. In addition, there are endless possibilities for creating prepositional phrases, phrases that begin with a preposition and end with a noun or pronoun. In the following sections, you will find examples of prepositions, types of prepositions, a comprehensive list of prepositions, and some helpful preposition exercises. As you read the examples and study the list, remember that prepositions usually convey concepts such as comparison, direction, place, purpose, source possession, and time.

Examples of Prepositions

In the following sentences, examples of prepositions have been italicized. As you read, consider how using different prepositions or even different types of prepositions in place of the examples might change the relationship between the rest of the words in the sentence.

• I prefer to read in the library.
• He climbed up the ladder to get onto the roof.
• Please sign your name on the dotted line after you read the contract.
• Go down the stairs and through the door.
• He swam across the pool.
• Take your brother with you.

Types of Prepositions

There are three types of prepositions, including time prepositions, place prepositions, and direction prepositions.
Time prepositions are those such as before, after, during, and until; place prepositions are those indicating position, such as around, between, and against; and direction prepositions are those indicative of direction, such as across, up, and down. Each type of preposition is important.

Type of Prepositions

Prepositions of Time
Basic examples of time prepositions include: at, on, in, before and after. They are used to help indicate when something happened, happens or will happen. It can get a little confusing though, as many different prepositions can be used.

Prepositions of time examples in the following sentences are in bold for easy identification.

For example:

• I was born on July 4^th, 1982.
• I was born in 1982.
• I was born at exactly 2am.
• I was born two minutes before my twin brother.
• I was born after the Great War ended.

The above makes it seem quite difficult, with five different prepositions used to indicate when something happened. However, there is a set of guidelines that can help decide which preposition to use:

For years, months, seasons, centuries and times of day, use the preposition in:

• I first met John in 1987.
• It’s always cold in January
• Easter falls in spring each year.
• The Second World War occurred in the 20th century.
• We eat breakfast in the morning.

For days, dates and specific holiday days, use the preposition on.

1. We go to school on Mondays, but not on Sunday
2. Christmas is on December 25^th.
3. Buy me a present on my birthday.

For times, indicators of exception and festivals, use the preposition at:

• Families often argue at Christmas time.
• I work faster at night.
• Her shift finished at 7pm.

Before and after should be much easier to understand than the other examples of prepositions of time. Both are used to explain when something happened, happens or will happen, but specifically in relation to another thing.

• Before I discovered this bar, I used to go straight home after work.
• We will not leave before 3pm.
• David comes before Bryan in the line, but after Louise.

Other prepositions of time could include: During, about, around, until and throughout.

• The concert will be staged throughout the month of May.
• I learned how to ski during the holidays.
• He usually arrives around 3pm.
• It was about six in the morning when we made it to bed.
• The store is open until midnight.

Prepositions of Place

To confuse matters a bit, the most common prepositions to indicate time – on, at, in – are also the most common prepositions to indicate position. However, the rules are a little clearer as place prepositions are a more rigid concept than time prepositions.

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Prepositions of place examples in the following sentences are in bold for easy identification.

• The cat is on the table.
• The dogs are in the kennel.
• We can meet at the crossroads.

The guidelines can be broken down as follows:

On is used when referring to something with a surface:

• The sculpture hangs on the wall.
• The images are on the page.
• The specials are on the menu, which is on the table.

In is used when referring to something that is inside or within confined boundaries. This could be anything, even a country:

1. Jim is in France, visiting his aunt in the hospital.
2. The whiskey is in the jar in the fridge.
3. The girls play in the garden.

At is used when referring to something at a specific point:

1. The boys are at the entrance at the movie theater.
2. He stood at the bus stop at the corner of Water and High streets.
3. We will meet at the airport.

Lot’s of other prepositions of place, such as under, over, inside, outside, above and below are used in English. There is, however, a lot less confusion as they refer to rigid positions rather than abstract ones.

• The cat is under the table.
• Put the sandwich over there.
• The key is locked inside the car.
• They stepped outside the house.
• Major is ranked above corporal.
• He is waving at you from below the stairs.

Prepositions of Movement

Prepositions of movement are quite easy to understand as they are less abstract than prepositions of place and time. Essentially, they describe how something or someone moves from one place to another. The most commonly used preposition of movement is to, which usually serves to highlight that there is movement towards a specific destination.

Prepositions of movement examples in the following sentences are in bold for easy identification.

• He has gone on vacation to France.
• She went to the bowling alley every Friday last summer.
• I will go to bed when I am tired.
• They will go to the zoo if they finish their errands.

Other more specific prepositions of movement include: through, across, off, down and into. These prepositions can sometimes get mixed up with others. While they are similar, they have individual meanings that add context to the movement.

Across refers to moving from one side to another.

• Mike travelled across America on his motorcycle.
• Rebecca and Judi are swimming across the lake.

Through refers to moving directly inside something and out the other end.

• The bullet Ben shot went through the window.
• The train passes through the tunnel.

Into refers to entering or looking inside something.

• James went into the room.
• They stare into the darkness.

Up, over, down, past and aroundindicate directions of movement:

1. Jack went up the hill.
2. Jill came tumbling down after.
3. We will travel over rough terrain on our way to Grandma’s house.
4. The horse runs around the track all morning.
5. A car zoomed past a truck on the highway

How to Recognize a Preposition?

Recognizing prepositions can be challenging as they do not always follow a consistent pattern in terms of their position in a sentence, nor do they have a discernible structure or spelling. We do know, however, that prepositions are almost always short words, with the majority having less than six letters. One technique people use to identify a preposition is to think of a preposition as anywhere a mouse can go. Above, below, next to, between, beyond, through, by, with…It won’t cover them all, but it can be a useful question to ask when trying to identify and recognize a preposition. While there are over 100 prepositions, there are around 500,00-700,000 nouns in English! It is unlikely anyone will learn so many nouns, but recognizing and then mastering prepositions might be a worthwhile and attainable goal.

Prepositions with Nouns

There are lots of different nouns that carry specific prepositions to consolidate their meaning. These are called dependent prepositions. Again, there isn’t a set rule that says a particular type of noun will take a dependent preposition, although they normally follow the noun. Moreover, there are many possible combinations. Essentially, it’s case of familiarizing yourself with the different possibilities of nouns and dependent prepositions. Examples:

• He displayed crueltytowards his dog.
• She had knowledgeof physics.
• The troublewith Jack.
• 21 is the age at which you are allowed to drink.
• Bolt made another attempt at the world record.
• The police held an inquiry into the murder.

Prepositions with Verbs

Prepositional verbs – the phrasal combinations of verbs and prepositions – are important parts of speech. The prepositions again act as links between the verb and noun or gerund, giving extra meaning to the sentence. The prepositions most commonly used with verbs are: to, for, about, of, in, at and from. The good news is that these will always come after the verb in the sentence. However, it should also be noted that the prepositional verbs can have slightly different meaning compared to the original verb. For example, to relate a story simply means to tell a story, to relate to a story means you identify with it, find some personally meaning in that story.

Verb + to:

• He admitted to the charge.
• I go to Vancouver on vacation twice a year.
• William can relate to the character in the play.

Verb + for:

• He must apologize for his actions.
• We searched for ages before we found the perfect apartment.
• I provide for my family by working two jobs.

Verb + with:

• I don’t agree with your claim.
• The lawyer said he will meet with your representatives.
• They began with a quick warm-up.

Verb + of:

• I dream of a better life.
• Have you heard of Shakespeare?
• The bread consists of dough, raisins and a little honey.

Verb + in:

• Does Rick believe in miracles?
• Fallon lives in New York.
• The bus accident resulted in my being late to work.

Verb + at

1. We arrived at our destination.
2. Ilene excels at singing.
3. Will the baby smile at her mother?

Verb + on:

• We should really concentrate on our studies now.
• Helen insisted on Brenda’s company.
• Morris experimented on some canvas.

Verb + from:

• Since turning 80, she suffers from lapses in concentration.
• Dad retired from the navy in the 1970s.
• Billy Bob, please refrain from doing that.

Prepositions with Adjectives

Prepositions can form phrases with adjectives to give further context to the action, emotion or thing the adjective is describing. Like verbs and nouns, adjectives can be followed by: to, about, In, for, with, at and by.

• I am happily married to David.
• Ellie is crazy about this movie.
• Michelle is interested in politics.
• We are sorry for your loss.
• Jane will be delighted with her results.
• Is he still angry at the world?
• The entire room was astonished by the election results.

There can sometimes be a pattern in deciding which prepositions go with adjectives, for example, when adjectives have the same or very similar meaning to each other, they might take the same preposition:

• Frightened of, afraid of, scared of, terrified of

Indeed, when adjectives have opposite meaning they might also take the same preposition:

• Good at, great at, superb at, wonderful at
• Bad at, terrible at, woeful at, inept at

There are always many exceptions to the above, but it can help that there seems to be some

consistency when adjectives have the same meaning or opposite meaning.

Nevertheless, perhaps a more general rule is that English speakers simply need to learn which prepositions go with which adjectives, as meaning can change significantly by using a different preposition.

• I am good at sports means I have some athletic talent.
• The nurse was good to my mother means she took care of her and was nice, kind, and helpful.
• I am good with animals means I get along with them and handle them well.
• Swimming is good for your health.
• That was good of you to come means you were begin nice and good to visit.
• My little brother is good inside (his body) means even though you can’t see how he thinks and feels, he is good. Even if his behavior is bad.
• The blueberry jam will be good on toast.

Prepositions Exercises

The following exercises will help you gain greater understanding about how prepositions work. Choose the best answer to complete each sentence.
1. The bone was _______ the dog.
a. About
b. For
c. After
d. Considering

Answer: b. The bone was for the dog.

2. We are going on vacation _______ August.
a. On
b. At
c. In
d. Since

Answer: c. We are going on vacation in August.

3. Please put the vase ________ the table.
a. In
b. On
c. For
d. Over

Answer: b. Please put the vase on the table.
4. I received a present ________ Janet.
a. From
b. Of
c. By
d. About

Answer: a. I received a present from Janet.
5. School begins ________ Monday.
a. In
b. On
c. From
d. Since

Answer: b. School begins on Monday.

List of Prepositions

While there are only about 150 prepositions in the English language, these words are among the most important. Without them, the sentences we speak, read, and write would be difficult to understand. The following list of prepositions is not a complete one, however it is among the most comprehensive lists of prepositions available anywhere.

Aboard

About

Above

Absent

Across

After

Against

Along

Alongside

Amid

Among

Amongst

Anti

Around

As

At

Before

Behind

Below

Beneath

Beside

Besides

Between

Beyond

But

By

Circa

Concerning

Considering

Despite

Down

During

Except

Excepting

Excluding

Failing

Following

For

From

Given

In

Inside

Into

Like

Minus

Near

Of

Off

On

Onto

Opposite

Outside

Over

Past

Per

Plus

Regarding

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Round

Save

Since

Than

Through

To

Toward

Towards

Under

Underneath

Unlike

Until

Up

Upon

Versus

Via

With

Within

Without

Worth

Tony Spilotro inspired Joe Pesci's villain in the movie Casino, but the real man was far worse than the movie let on.

Getty ImagesBy age 22, the unwieldy Tony Spilotro had been arrested at least 13 times.

Among the many Mafia movies, one standout is Martin Scorsese’s Casino — and particularly for the violence. Robert De Niro stars as a Jewish gangster who runs Las Vegas casinos for the Chicago Outfit, with Joe Pesci playing Nicky Santoro, the barbaric mob enforcer who protects him. In real life, Pesci’s role was inspired by the brutal life of Tony Spilotro: and his truth is even more disturbing than the film version.

Indeed, Anthony Spilotro’s unique taste for violence would not only establish him as one of the most fearsome mobsters of the ’60s and ’70s, but also spell his own bloody doom.

Becoming Tough Tony Spilotro

Tony Spilotro might be best known for his success in protecting the Las Vegas casino rackets, but he started out like so many other Mafiosi: as a low-level gangster in Chicago.

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He was born in the Windy City on May 19, 1938. FBI agent William Roemer remarked in his biography on Spilotro, titled Enforcer, that Spilotro grew up the fourth of six sons in an Italian household. His dad, Patsy, ran a popular Italian restaurant that was frequented by mobsters like Sam Giancana.

Four of the five Spilotro boys fell in with some criminal elements, which likely wasn’t helped by the fact that their dad died young. Only one of Spilotro’s brothers went to college and became a respected doctor.

Tony Spilotro became a high school bully before dropping out. He grew a reputation for small crimes like shoplifting and purse snatching. Dubbed a “pissant” by friends and enemies alike, Spilotro received a nickname “Ant.” Alternatively, he was called “the Ant” in reference to his small stature: Spilotro stood five feet, two inches.

Spilotro’s mugshot in ’74.

At sixteen or seventeen, depending on the source, Spilotro was arrested for the first time on charges of larceny. By age 22, he’d been arrested more than a dozen times.

He became a ripe prospect for the Chicago Outfit and drew the notice of one Sam “Mad Dog” DeStefano. The former Chicago cop-turned-Mafia errand boy Mike Corbitt recalled of DeStefano, “He was a real sicko. He would do things to disrespect you, like coming into a bar and pissing on the floor in front of your wife.”

DeStefano took Spilotro under his wing and set up the young man for his next big venture in his criminal career: murder.

Getty ImagesAnthony Spilotro and his wife, Nancy, leave the federal building in Las Vegas after a mistrial was declared in his trail on racketeering charges.

Tony Spilotro And The M&M Murders

Under the thumb of the uber-violent DeStefano, Spilotro got the chance to become a “made man,” or a full member of the Mafia. This opportunity came when he was asked to handle the so-called M&M Boys. The “M&M” in question were two minor thugs: Billy McCarthy and Jimmy Miraglia, who killed several local businessmen due to a drunken argument. Killing legit businesspeople in a neighborhood of mobsters was a no-no, especially as it brought attention to the Mob.

In 1962, Spilotro was dispatched to take care of the M&M Boys, which inspired the infamous torture scene in Casino. Spilotro and buddies — including DeStefano — beat up McCarthy, then stabbed him through the testicles with ice picks. Then, Spilotro “put his captive’s head in a vise and squeezed, then squeezed some more,” according to Dennis Griffin’s Policing Las Vegas, until one of McCarthy’s eyes popped out. In Casino, McCarthy is portrayed by a one “Tony Dogs,” but the scene is as brutal as possible on screen.

Finally, McCarthy gave up Miraglia. Eventually, people uncovered the mangled bodies of both Miraglia and McCarthy, their throats slit, in a car on the South Side of Chicago.

In 1963, Spilotro followed up on his murderous success by killing real estate broker Leo Foreman, who’d gotten on the wrong side of DeStefano. Dragging Foreman down to a cellar, Spilotro hammered Foreman’s private parts, then attacked him with an ice pick, and only then shot him in the head. He dropped the body off in a car trunk as well.

When he was discovered, the corpse of Foreman had chunks of his body removed before he was killed.

Viva Las Vegas

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Phil Greer/Chicago Tribune/MCT via Getty ImagesMichael Spilotro, left, and his brother Tony.

Spilotro was well known even in the mob by this point for his brutality. But it didn’t keep him from rising the ranks of their lucrative operations in Vegas.

The Chicago Outfit controlled the Las Vegas casinos and skimmed a bunch of cash off it for itself. To make the operation seem legit, Dennis Griffin noted in The Battle for Las Vegas: The Law Vs. The Mob, the Mafia put a man known as Frank “Lefty” Rosenthal in charge of the gambling operation. The Jewish Rosenthal served as the inspiration for De Niro’s character in Casino, Sam Rothstein, who makes the Mob’s skimming operations seem legit.

Spilotro’s role was to keep the mobsters working for the Chicago Outfit in line while in Vegas. If any of them tried to take cash where they weren’t supposed to, Spilotro would wield his infamous ice pick and/or fists. He was also supposed to grab as much cash from the casino before it was officially logged in, i.e. “skim.”

In Casino, Joe Pesci’s Nicky Santoro serves this role. In the film, Santoro’s bad temper gets him banned from most Las Vegas casinos and according to Nicholas Pileggi’s book Casino: Love and Honor in Las Vegas, Spilotro also had a notorious anger problem. Pileggi quoted mob enforcer Frank Cullotta as saying that Spilotro grew jealous of Lefty’s fame and fortune as the legit face of the casino.

He said, “Tony sees Lefty walk in the joint, and everybody jumps up to shake his hand. And Lefty’s loving it. Tony’s just watching. He’s getting pissed, especially when Lefty doesn’t even nod over in Tony’s direction for respect.”

So Spilotro decided to branch out on his own and tap into his old skill—theft. He kick-started a group of burglars, arsonists, and thieves called “the Hole-in-the-Wall Gang.” They earned their moniker by busting through walls to get at precious jewelry and other expensive goodies to hawk on the Strip. He even opened his own shop, The Gold Rush, with brother Michael to sell his stolen stuff.

By 1974, the los Angeles Times reported that there was more gangland crime in Las Vegas than ever before, and perhaps with Spilotro to thank for that. By this time, the unwieldy gangster had already been indicted for murder several times.

Tony Spilotro’s Downfall

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But there was more than just bad professional blood between Rosenthal and Spilotro. Rosenthal had married showgirl-turned-girl about town Geri McGee. A former waitress at the famed Tropicana club in Vegas, McGee snared Rosenthal and gambled away tons of his money after she won his heart. In Casino, Sharon Stone plays the McGee-inspired dancer Ginger McKenna and she’s rather true to life.

The Rosenthals’ relationship soon soured, though. Just as Rothstein’s wife fell into bed with her hubby’s arch-rival Santoro, so too did McGee have a torrid affair with Spilotro.

At one point in 1982, Spilotro allegedly tried to car-bomb Rosenthal following McGee’s drug-induced suicide. The attack failed, but the repercussions of his affair with Rosenthal’s wife continued to upset the Vegas mob.

Eventually, this incident together with Spilotro’s other misdeeds caught up to him. Since he was a made man at 25, Spilotro had caught the eye of law enforcement. Naturally, too much attention on the mob spelled danger, which meant Spilotro was a major liability.

Spilotro was arrested again in 1981 after cops caught the Hole-in-the-Wall Gang trying to rob a home goods store in Vegas — thanks to an informant on the inside.

Having Spilotro’s name emblazoned across the news once again didn’t sit well with the Chicago Outfit anymore. William Roemer told The LA Times that “Spilotro wasn’t doing his job in Las Vegas. He maintained too high a profile there. Mobsters flourish in darkness. Spilotro, facing three major trials, was obviously not following that dictum. He was under the glare of the harshest spotlight.”

Spilotro was slapped with numerous charges and suspected of a number of other crimes, including the attempted murder of Rosenthal in a 1982 car bombing.

Bettmann/Contributor/Getty ImagesAnthony Spilotro sits in a Las Vegas courtroom in connection with two old homicide cases. 1983.

The Mob thus decided to off Spilotro and his brother, Michael. They were beaten to death in 1986, their bodies left in an Indiana cornfield.

In 2007, three Mafiosi were finally convicted of the Spilotro brothers’ killings.

In this case, the film Casino truly imitated life – except for the fact, that unlike Santoro, Spilotro was not buried alive, though he was subjected to a torturous end that befitted a mobster as cruel as he was.

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After this look at the bloodlusty mobster, Tony Spilotro, dive into an equally horrifying tale: the story behind the film The Conjuring. Then, check out the amazing true tale of Desmond Doss, a World War II hero.