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Here is a list of some of the most common simple prepositions, together with their most common meanings (‘place’, ‘time’ etc) and an example. Differences in usage or form between British English (BrE) and American English (AmE) are indicated, as well as formal or informal usage.

Most common prepositions are short (usually one or two syllables) and their form does not change. A few prepositions have two forms which have the same meaning and are interchangeable, for example amid/amidst, among/amongst.

Simple one-word prepositions
preposition	meaning	example
about	time	The kids left the house about noon.
about	matter	Harry Gong was talking about his new job.
above	place	Ricky's family lived above their shop.
across	place	The children rowed across the lake.
after	time	Bozo met his friends after the movie.
against	place	Dotty leaned against the wall.
along	place	Bozo and Barney walked along the river.
amid / amidst (formal)	place	Ricky and Bobby played amid the ruined cars.
among / amongst (BrE)	place	There were no adults among the children.
around	place	Barney wrapped himself around Bozo's legs.
around	time	Mr Wing arrived around ten o'clock.
as	comparison	Inspector Fu is just as tall.
at	place	Miss Lee still lives at her old address.
at	time	The movie starts at 7.30pm.
before	place (formal)	Miss Lee made Kitty stand before the group.
before	time	Mr Wong arrived before his wife.
behind	place	Ricky hid behind Mr Wing's bus.
below	place	The MTR runs below street level.
beneath (formal)	place	MegaMonster lived beneath the waves.
beneath (formal)	place (abstract)	Ricky thought that crying was beneath him.
beside	place	The Gong family lived beside a temple.
besides	accompaniment (addition)	Besides books, Bozo always bought sweets.
between	place	Dotty was walking between her two friends.
between	time	Dotty finished between six and seven o'clock.
beyond	place	The Macau ferry sailed beyond the horizon.
but	accompaniment (exception)	Mrs Gong remembered everything but her money.
by	place	The Gong family lived by the harbour.
	time	Mr Wing had to be there by five o'clock sharp.
	means	Mrs Gong learnt French by listening to tapes.
	manner	Mrs Gong used to study by candlelight.
despite	concession	Grandpa Gong slipped despite being careful.
down	place	The children walked down the street.
during	time	Bozo slept during his English class.
except	accompaniment (exception)	Everyone except Bozo arrived on time.
for	purpose	Ricky worked for better grades.
for	behalf	Bozo wrote the essay for a friend.
from	place	The KCR leaves from Kowloon Tong.
from	time	Mr Bow's shop is open from ten o'clock.
in	place	Miss Lee sheltered in a book store.
in	time	"I'll see you in five minutes," said Miss Lee.
inside	place	Bobby hid his pet bird inside his coat.
inside	time (AmE)	Ricky's run was over inside two minutes.
into	place	GrumpyGhost got into the flat without trouble.
like	comparison	Ricky is just like Bobby's brother.
near (to)	place	Bobby's family lived near the railway line.
	time	Dotty will finish work near the end of the week.
	comparison	Mr Bow is near Mr Gong in age.
of	reason (cause)	MegaMonster nearly died of tiredness.
of	possession	Bill was the brother of Bozo's friend.
off	place	The Gong's house was off Queen's Road.
on	place	Mr Bow's shop is on Queen's Road.
	time	Hilda Gong left on Wednesday.
	matter	Mr Gong gave a talk on his favourite subject.
onto (on to)	place	Ricky walked onto the stage.
opposite (to)	place	Inspector Fu parked his car opposite the school.
out	place	Granny looked out the window. (AmE)
outside	place	Kitty was playing outside the kitchen window.
over	place	The boys walked over the bridge.
	duration	The Gongs went to Europe over the summer.
	matter	Ricky's rich friends always argued over money.
past	place	Dotty walked past Miss Lee in a great hurry.
past	time	It was long past Bozo's bedtime.
round	place	The Gongs sailed round Lantau in their own boat.
since	time	Harry Gong has been married since 1985.
than	comparison	Dotty is already taller than her mother.
through	place	Barney rapidly ran through the field.
through	means	Ricky succeeded through his hard work.
throughout	duration	Bozo was conscious throughout his ordeal.
till	duration	The children talked till early morning.
to	place	Mr Gong always walked to work.
towards / toward (AmE)	place	Bozo walked towards his mother.
up	place	Barney ran up the stairs to meet Bozo.
under	place	Miss Lee even looked under the desk.
underneath	place	Mr Bow kept his money underneath his mattress.
unlike	comparison (negative)	Kitty was unlike her older sister.
until	duration	Ricky waited until nightfall.
upon (formal)	place	Miss Lee gazed upon her students.
with	manner (quality)	Inspector Fu approached Barney with caution.
with	means	Ricky had built the model with his own hands.
within	place	The Gongs kept the secret within the family.
without	accompaniment (exception)	Bozo came without his dog.
without	means	Bobby built the boat without any proper tools.

Grammar: Word classes: Prepositions: Preposition formation