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Prepositions

Listed below are some idiomatic uses for the common prepositions in and on and for djective-preposition combinations:

IN:
in the summer, in December, in the evening, in the library, in San Francisco, in 2001, in California, in Japanese, in class, in school, in your hair, in the hospital, in the sun, in love, in bed, in time, in order, in a letter, in the office

ON:
on top of, on time, on Broadway, on the table, on the menu, on a chair, on the moon, on Earth, on her head, on paper, on TV, on the Internet, on the phone, on a plane, on purpose, on foot

ADJECTIVE + PREPOSITION:
afraid of, ashamed of, aware of, capable of, careful of, independent of, full of, proud of, tired of, bored with, cooperate with, satisfied with, dependent on, responsible for, responsible to, interested in, worried about

Books about prepositions:

• Behind the Mask: A Book About Prepositions (World of Language)
   
• Funk and Wagnalls Standard Handbook of Synonyms, Antonyms, and Prepositions

More preposition books...

Below is a longer list of commonly used prepositions. You can use the Cambridge Dictionary search box on the right, or "Double Click" any word, to check them out.

1. aboard
2. about
3. above
4. absent
5. according to
6. across
7. after (This one can also be a subordinating conjunction. In other words, it can be followed by a noun or a sentence, depending on the meaning).
8. against
9. ahead of
10. all over
11. along
12. alongside
13. amid or amidst
14. among
15. around
16. as (This one can also be a subordinating conjunction. In other words, it can be followed by a noun or a sentence, depending on the meaning).
17. as of
18. as to
19. as + ADVERB OF TIME + as
20. as early as
21. as late as
22. as often as
23. as much as
24. as many as, etc.
25. aside
26. astride
27. at
28. away from
29. bar
30. barring
31. because of
32. before (This one can also be a subordinating conjunction. In other words, it can be followed by a noun or a sentence, depending on the meaning).
33. behind
34. below
35. beneath
36. beside
37. besides
38. between
39. beyond
40. but
41. by
42. by the time of
43. circa
44. close by
45. close to
46. concerning
47. considering
48. despite
49. down
50. due to
51. during
52. except
53. except for
54. excepting
55. excluding
56. failing
57. for (This one can also be a subordinating conjunction. In other words, it can be followed by a noun or a sentence, depending on the meaning).
58. for all (this means despite )
59. from
60. given
61. in
62. in between
63. in front of
64. in keeping with
65. in place of
66. in spite of
67. in view of
68. including
69. inside
70. instead of
71. into
72. less
73. like
74. minus
75. near
76. near to
77. next to
78. notwithstanding
79. of
80. off
81. on
82. on top of
83. onto
84. opposite
85. other than
86. out
87. out of
88. outside
89. over
90. past
91. pending
92. per
93. plus
94. regarding
95. respecting
96. round
97. save
98. saving
99. similar to
100. since (This one can also be a subordinating conjunction. In other words, it can be followed by a noun or a sentence, depending on the meaning).
101. than
102. thanks to (this means because of )
103. through
104. throughout
105. till
106. to
107. toward or towards (both forms are correct, but toward is considered slightly more formal)
108. under
109. underneath
110. unlike
111. until (This one can also be a subordinating conjunction. In other words, it can be followed by a noun or a sentence, depending on the meaning).
112. unto
113. up
114. upon
115. up to
116. versus
117. via
118. wanting
119. with
120. within
121. without