Prepositions of Time, Place, and Movement

Introduction

Prepositions are small but powerful words that show relationships between things. This lesson covers the most important prepositions of time, place, and movement.

Prepositions of Time

AT — Specific Times

at 3 o'clock, at noon, at midnight, at night, at the weekend, at Christmas

ON — Days and Dates

on Monday, on July 4th, on my birthday, on New Year's Day

IN — Longer Periods

in January, in 2025, in the morning, in summer, in the 21st century

Other Time Prepositions

before/after: before lunch, after the meeting

during: during the holiday, during the film

since/for: since 2020, for three years

until/till: until Friday, till midnight

by: by tomorrow (no later than)

:::tip

AT = precise time, ON = days/dates, IN = months/years/longer periods. Think of it as a funnel: AT is the narrowest, IN is the widest.

:::

Prepositions of Place

AT — Specific Points

at the bus stop, at the door, at the top of the page, at school

ON — Surfaces

on the table, on the wall, on the floor, on the first floor

IN — Enclosed Spaces

in the room, in the car, in London, in the garden

Common Confusions

| Correct | Incorrect |

|---------|-----------|

| arrive at the airport | arrive to the airport |

| arrive in London | arrive at London |

| good at math | good in math |

| interested in music | interested about music |

| married to someone | married with someone |

Prepositions of Movement

to: go to school, travel to Japan

into: walk into the room, jump into the pool

onto: climb onto the roof, put it onto the shelf

out of: get out of the car, take it out of the box

through: walk through the park, drive through the tunnel

across: swim across the river, walk across the street

along: walk along the beach, drive along the coast

towards: run towards the exit, move towards the light

from...to: from Monday to Friday, from London to Paris

:::exercise

Fill in the correct preposition:

The meeting is ___ Monday ___ 9 AM.

She was born ___ 1995 ___ March.

The cat jumped ___ the table and walked ___ the door.

We drove ___ the bridge and went ___ the tunnel.

I haven't seen him ___ last summer.

Answers: 1. on / at, 2. in / in, 3. onto / towards, 4. across / through, 5. since

:::

Summary

Prepositions require practice and exposure. Focus on learning common phrases rather than memorizing isolated rules. Read and listen to English as much as possible to develop a natural feel for which preposition to use.