170+ English prepositions of place, time and more: A complete list

English is a fascinatingly dynamic language, thanks in part to its extremely rich diversity of prepositions.

Really, even if you find it preposterous that prepositions would have such a profound impact on the English language, these small-yet-mighty words and phrases play an incredibly important role in everyday conversations. Think of them as the little nuts and bolts that help us string sentences together — keeping our conversations running smoothly and efficiently.

If they perform a crucial job for the language, they also perform a thankless one. That’s why you may be wondering what the English prepositions are, even if you’re a native English speaker. These words and phrases are so small that they’re easy to overlook, making it difficult for us to even realize when we’re using them.

However, they’re definitely easy to notice when someone uses the wrong preposition. For example, alarms would probably go off in your head if someone said, “I’ll see you at Monday.” You can probably tell that the preposition at is being used incorrectly here, but you might not know exactly why it’s not right. You just know it sounds off. This is what makes them so tricky.

In fact, prepositions are notoriously challenging to master, both for native and non-native speakers alike. Even advanced English speakers can toil to use the right prepositions at the right time, which is why we’ve compiled this guide with over 170 of them to help you use any preposition you’d like with ease and conviction.

With hundreds of prepositions to cover, let’s jump right into the definition of prepositions in English!

What are prepositions in grammar?

A preposition is a word or phrase that connects a noun or pronoun to the rest of the sentence. As implied by the pre in prepositions, they go before the noun they’re connecting. They can help us quickly explain how a noun is related to other people, objects, or actions in the sentence.

Most prepositions are single words. Also known as simple prepositions, some of the most common are:

• At
• On
• In
• By
• For

Complex prepositions

In addition to simple prepositions, English also allows the use of complex prepositions. These are made up of two to four words and perform the same job as simple prepositions: explain the relationship between the noun and the rest of the sentence. Some of the most common complex prepositions in English are:

• Away from
• In addition to
• On top of
• Instead of
• Up to

The most common English prepositions

Before we dive into the most complete list of prepositions, we should spend some time reviewing the most common ones. As you’ll see later on, English is a very generous language when it comes to using words as prepositions, resulting in several hundreds of preposition words and prepositional phrases that are used regularly. Yes, that’s several hundred excluding archaic prepositions!

Don’t worry, though, as most everyday conversations concentrate on a few dozen prepositions. With that in mind, we’ll cover some of the most common English prepositions in depth so you’re ready to approach everyday conversations with confidence. Afterward, we’ll provide you with the most complete list of prepositions you’ll ever find, so you can reference it in the future to find the best preposition for any situation.

Prepositions of place

A preposition of place indicates where something or someone is located. When placed before the noun or pronoun, they help us be specific about where a certain object or person is in relation to that noun. Without prepositions, we wouldn’t be able to tell if something is on the table, under the table, next to the table, near the table, etc. Here are some examples of prepositions of place:

Prepositions of time

Prepositions of time are used to help us tell when something is happening, for how long it’s happening, and more. If you notice that some of the prepositions here look strikingly similar to the prepositions of place, that’s because prepositions can serve multiple purposes at the same time!

Prepositions of direction

Prepositions of direction help us define where a noun is going. Like prepositions of place, they help us relate a noun to another noun. However, these prepositions also include an aspect of motion, as they let us know where the noun is headed, where it’s coming from, etc.

The complete English prepositions list

Okay, now that you’re familiar with the different types of prepositions, let’s get into our full list of 170+ prepositions! Don’t rush into memorizing all of them, though. Instead, bookmark this page so you can reference this table next time you can’t seem to find the right preposition.

Postpositions in English

Unlike other languages like French and Spanish, English uses postpositions as well as prepositions. These serve very similar purposes to prepositions, except that they are placed after the noun or pronoun, hence the post in postposition.

Enjoy learning the English prepositions

If you took one look at our list of 170+ prepositions and tried to run for the hills — don’t panic too quickly! While there are several hundred prepositions in the English language, only a few dozen are used in everyday conversations. Focus on learning the prepositions we covered at the beginning of this article first, and you’ll be able to expertly navigate most conversations with no effort.

And if you really want to impress your peers, take your time making yourself comfortable with our ultimate table of English prepositions. There’s no need to rush here, but you might be able to sprinkle some fancy prepositions in your next college paper or business email to stand out!