Prepositions for place and movement in English
How it works
Prepositions such as ‹in›, ‹on›, ‹under›, ‹next to›, ‹between›, ‹behind›, ‹in front of›, ‹at›, ‹to›, ‹from›, ‹across› and ‹past› indicate in English where something is located or how to get to a place. For example: ‹The cat is under the table.› (The cat is under the table.) With ‹to› one describes movement to a place: ‹I go to school.› With ‹at› one often gives an exact location: ‹She is at the bus stop.› With ‹across› one describes movement to the other side or a place on the other side: ‹Walk across the bridge.› or ‹The museum is across the river.› With ‹past› one describes going past something: ‹Go past the supermarket.› The correct preposition depends on whether it is about a position, a direction, or a route past something. Errors often occur when German prepositions are translated directly.
For places, one usually uses ‹in› (in a room), ‹on› (on a surface), ‹under› (under something), ‹next to› (next to), ‹between› (between), ‹behind› (behind), ‹in front of› (in front of) and ‹at› (at an exact location or meeting point). For directions and routes, one uses ‹to› (to a place), ‹from› (from a place), ‹across› (to the other side / on the other side) and ‹past› (past something).
An example
Choose the correct preposition: ‹The book is ___ the table.›
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50 Exercises
To the learning unit →Own explanation and own practice exercises by AmyMath. Subject reference framework: English. The topic assignment may vary by federal state.