List of 75 Common Prepositions with Examples in English

Common Prepositions! Following is a list of 75 common prepositions examples in English to help you learn English prepositions easily.

Table of Contents

Fundamentals of Prepositions

Definition and Usage

Prepositions are short words that form a crucial part of our sentences, providing clarity about time, place, direction, and other relationships between different parts of a sentence. We use prepositions to show how nouns, pronouns, and phrases relate to other words within a sentence. Typically, prepositions are placed directly before their objects.

Types of Prepositions

Simple Prepositions Simple prepositions are usually short words that indicate relationships of place, time, or method. Examples include:

at
by
from
in
of
on
to
with

Compound Prepositions Compound prepositions consist of two or more words functioning as a single preposition. Some examples are:

according to
because of
instead of
near to

By using different types of prepositions, we can craft sentences that are precise and easy to understand.

Common Prepositions

List of Common Prepositions

Following is a list of common prepositions you should learn:

Abstain from
Account for
Accuse of
Accustomed to
Adapted to
Addicted to
Approve of
Ask for
Associated with
Aware of
Benefit from
Blame for
Capable of
Compatible with
Composed of
Consist of
Content with
Contrary to
Contribute to
Convert to
Cope with
Count on
Deal with
Dedicate to
Dependent on
Deprived of
Derive from
Devoid of
Devote to
Differ from
Distinct from
Distinguish from
Emerge from
Equal to
Exempt from
Exposed to
Famous for
Fed up with
Focus on
Fond of
Get rid of
Hinder from
Indifferent to
Infer from
Insist on
Involve in
Irrespective of
Keen on
Lead to
Notorious for
Obliged to
Obsessed with
Oppose to
Peer at
Persist in
Prevent from
Prone to
Ready for
Recover from
Refrain from
Respond to
Responsible for
Search for
Short of
Spend on
Stem from
Succeed in
Suffer from
Superior to
Susceptible to
Tend to
Vote for
Wait for
Worry about
Yield to

Common Prepositions with Examples

Learn list of common prepositions with examples in English

Abstain from

The first step to virtue is to abstain from vice.

Account for

Jack could not account for his foolish mistake.

Accuse of

Those people should accuse of using living animals like chickens or rabbits fledge boa.

Accustomed to

We were accustomed to working together.

Adapted to

The post is adapted to her ability.

Addicted to

Many of the women are addicted to heroin and cocaine.

Approve of

I wholeheartedly approve of his actions.

Ask for

Mr Spero was reluctant to ask for help.

Associated with

I don’t want to be associated with your scheme; I’m contracting out.

Aware of

He doesn’t seem to be aware of the problems.

Benefit from

Medically, we will derive great benefit from this technique.

Blame for

Driver fatigue was to blame for the accident.

Capable of

He may be capable of jealousy when you have made superior progress in your work.

Compatible with

The new system will be compatible with existing equipment.

Composed of

But the Rehnquist court is supposed to be composed of conservatives.

Consist of

Their lives consist of the humdrum activities of everyday existence.

Content with

He professed to be content with the arrangement.

Contrary to

The results were contrary to expectation.

Contribute to

City employees cannot contribute to political campaigns.

Convert to

Mr Kinnock is a relatively recent convert to revisionism.

Cope with

Will she be able to cope with the work?

Count on

If there’s anything I can do, count on me.

Deal with

She has a lot of correspondence to deal with.

Dedicate to

She is dedicated to her job.

Dependent on

You can’t be dependent on your parents all your life.

Deprived of

She was deprived of schooling at ten.

Derive from

Many English words derive from Latin.

Devoid of

Their apartment is devoid of all comforts.

Devote to

He seemed to have unlimited time to devote to us.

Differ from

On one point I differ from you.

Distinct from

Silk is distinct from rayon in every respect.

Distinguish from

You can also color code scenarios to make them easier to distinguish from one another.

Emerge from

Several facts started to emerge from my investigation.

Equal to

One unit of alcohol is equal to half a pint of beer.

Exempt from

Some students are exempt from certain exams.

Exposed to

These drawings must not be exposed to the air.

Famous for

This town is famous for its beautiful buildings.

Fed up with

He had become fed up with city life.

Focus on

It’s time to focus on the company’s core business.

Fond of

Boys are fond of playing football.

Get rid of

I began to suspect they were trying to get rid of me.

Hinder sb from

Financial troubles hindered him from going on the trip.

Indifferent to

I pretended to be indifferent to it.

Infer from

What do you infer from the voting figures?

Insist on

I insist on paying for the damage.

Involve in

They expostulate with him about the risk involve in his plan.

Irrespective of

He is going to buy it irrespective of what you say.

Keen on

John’s always been keen on music.

Lead to

He speculated that this might lead to a success.

Notorious for

She’s notorious for her wild behaviour.

Obliged to

I was obliged to abandon that idea.

Obsessed with

Why are people so obsessed with money?

Oppose to

Do you support or oppose to the setting up of this sort of prior communication channel?

Peer at

Love is not to peer at each other but to stare the same way together.

Persist in

If you persist in upsetting her, I will have to punish you.

Prevent from

We were prevented from entering the site.

Prone to

I’ve always been prone to headaches.

Ready for

Time to pick up and get ready for dinner.

Recover from

We prayed she would recover from her illness.

Refrain from

We must refrain from spitting in public places.

Respond to

How did she respond to the news?

Responsible for

He is directly responsible for this

Search for

He is on a perpetual search for truth.

Short of

A fool always comes short of his reckoning.

Spend on

How long do you spend on your homework?

Stem from

Her problems stem from her difficult childhood.

Succeed in

She was filled with the aspiration to succeed in life.

Suffer from

I suffer from the classic working mother’s guilt trip.

Superior to

I don’t see either product as superior to the other.

Susceptible to

It is at this free-swimming stage that it is susceptible to treatment.

Tend to

I tend to overuse certain favourite expressions.

Vote for

Heck, if you don’t like it, don’t vote for him.

Wait for

Time does not wait for me, you forgot to take me away.

Worry about

Life’s too short to worry about money!

Yield to

It’s very easy to yield to temptation and spend too much money.

Prepositions Quiz

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a preposition in English grammar?

A preposition is a part of speech that indicates the relationship between other words in a sentence, often showing direction, location, time, or method.

Can you provide examples of commonly used prepositions?

Certainly! Some prepositions we often use include: “of,” “in,” “to,” “for,” “with,” “on,” “at,” “from,” and “by.”

How are prepositions used within a sentence structure?

Prepositions typically come before a noun or pronoun to form a phrase that modifies other parts of the sentence, providing additional context such as when, where, or how something occurred.

What are some tips to properly use prepositions in writing?

To use prepositions correctly, pay close attention to the relationships they need to express in your sentences. Reading extensively and practicing writing can also greatly improve your prepositional use.

How do I differentiate between similar prepositions?

Differentiating between similar prepositions requires understanding the subtle differences in their meanings and the specific contexts in which they are used. Awareness and practice can help you discern these nuances.