Prepositions in English

2,710 fill-in-the-gap exercises across 6 forms

Small words that fix a noun in space, in time or in relation to something else. Most of the difficulty is in three of them.

The keys are the sentence

in preposition

the kitchen drawer the noun it governs

Pick a form to practice

Prepositions of Cause and Effect 450 sentences, 45 tests of ten Prepositions of Contrast 450 sentences, 45 tests of ten Prepositions of Manner 450 sentences, 45 tests of ten Prepositions of Place (between, above, below, under, over, inside, outside, behind, in front of) 450 sentences, 45 tests of ten Prepositions of Place (in/on/at) 460 sentences, 46 tests of ten Prepositions of Time (in/on/at) 450 sentences, 45 tests of ten

in, on, at — the core of the problem

These three cover most of the trouble, and each has a place meaning and a time meaning.

Place

in — inside something with limits: in a box, in Oslo, in the garden
on — on a surface or a line: on the table, on the wall, on the second floor
at — a point, or a place seen as a point: at the door, at the bus stop, at work

Time

in — long periods: in June, in 2019, in the morning, in winter
on — days and dates: on Monday, on 14 March, on my birthday
at — clock times and fixed points: at six o’clock, at night, at the weekend

A rough way to remember it: the periods get shorter as you go in → on → at.

The fixed phrases

Some combinations simply have to be learned, because no rule predicts them:

at night but in the morning; on time (punctual) but in time (early enough); at the weekend in British English and on the weekend in American.

After verbs and adjectives

Many words take one particular preposition and no other:

good at, interested in, afraid of, married to, depend on, listen to, wait for, look for, arrive at

And some take none at all, although learners often add one:

discuss, enter, answer, phone, marry — phone me, not phone to me.

What follows a preposition

Always a noun or an -ing form, never a to-infinitive:

before leaving, instead of waiting, good at cooking

This rule has no exceptions, including when the preposition happens to be to: I look forward to hearing from you.

All forms

Kind	Answers	Examples
place	where?	in, on, at, under, between, behind
time	when?	in, on, at, before, during, until
manner	how?	by, with, without, like
cause	why?	because of, due to, thanks to
contrast	despite what?	despite, in spite of, although

Mistakes to avoid

Wrong: I arrived to the station. correct: I arrived at the station.

Arrive takes at for a place and in for a town or country, never to.

Wrong: She is good in cooking. correct: She is good at cooking.

The fixed phrase is good at.

Wrong: We discussed about the problem. correct: We discussed the problem.

Discuss takes no preposition at all.