Interrogative prepositions in English. There are more English prepositions than you think

Prepositions in English are functional words that show the relationship of a pronoun or noun to other words in a sentence. As in Russian, these relationships can be spatial (on the top - at the top), temporal (in time - on time), causal (because of you - because of you) and others.

Prepositions and expressions with prepositions

In fact, the topic “Prepositions in English” includes four topics:

1. Actually prepositions and their meaning is the topic of this article.
2. Expressions with prepositions.

Let's take a closer look at what these topics include.

1. Prepositions and their meanings

Prepositions can be considered as separate functional words with their own meaning, for example, before- before, after- after,

It happened before my Birthday. - This happened before my birthday.

We left the city after the hurricane. We left the city after hurricane.

Beginners, as a rule, explain prepositions from this position: preposition \u003d a word with a specific meaning. Moreover, for beginners, this approach is the most understandable.

However, this approach works only for the time being, for the time being, since often prepositions are included in phrases and expressions with which they form a single semantic whole. They should be taught as separate words, because they use prepositions sometimes in the most unpredictable way. These combinations include expressions with prepositions, verbs with prepositions, and phrasal verbs.

2. Expressions with prepositions

Expressions with prepositions (prepositional phrases) are stable expressions that are perceived as integral speech units, handy templates. They should be memorized and used in their entirety. They are very common in speech. For instance:

• at the beginning - at the beginning.
• by force - by force, coercion.
• in bulk - wholesale, in large volume.
• in relation to - in relation to.

3. Verbs and adjectives with prepositions

Some verbs form stable combinations with certain prepositions, in fact, whole words. For instance, depend on- depend on, look at- look at:

It depends on your decision. - This depends on your decision.

She is looking at the cat. - She look at cat.

The same applies to some adjectives, or rather, the combination “verb to be + adjective”. For instance: be afraid of- be afraid of something be proud of- be proud of something

Are you afraid of darkness? - You afraid darkness?

He is proud of his son. - He proud by his son.

4. Phrasal verbs

Phrasal verbs are also combinations of verbs with prepositions, they differ in that the meaning of the phrasal verb is often far from the meaning of the verb and preposition included in it. For example, the verb give means "to give", a preposition up– “up”, but a phrasal verb give up far from both of these words, it means "surrender".

He didn't give up and continued fighting. - He is not surrendered and continued to fight.

In this article, we will look at prepositions as function words with their own meaning.

Features of the use of English prepositions

There is a lot in common between English grammar and Russian, but prepositions are the part of the language in which the differences are very strong. The fact is that in Russian the connection between words is expressed with the help of endings, and in English with the help of prepositions, so the role of prepositions in English is very large. Consider the main features of this part of speech.

1. There is no preposition in Russian, but there is in English

In English, a preposition can be used where there is no preposition in Russian, and the relationship between words is expressed by a case ending.

The color of your eyes.– The color of your eye.

Explain the rules to the new guy. – Explain the rules newcomer.

It looks like she cut the rope with a knife. - Looks like she cut the rope knife.

The papers were signed by the police officer. – Documents were signed policemen.

2. Prepositions have many meanings

Many prepositions have multiple meanings. For example, a suggestion in can be used to indicate a place in a meaning "v"(in the river - in the river) and to denote time in the meaning "across"(in an hour - in an hour).

However, this does not mean that "through" will always be translated into English as in- only in the meaning of "after some time." For example, in the expression "jump the fence" the preposition "across" has a spatial meaning and translates as over: jump over the fence.

3. There is no constant correspondence between English and Russian prepositions.

The same English preposition can be translated by different Russian prepositions.

I'm standing at the window. - I am standing at window.

look at me. - Look on the me.

Don't laugh at me. - Do not laugh necessary me.

We are at the hospital.– We v hospital.

And vice versa. One Russian preposition can correspond to several English ones.

Pillow on the beds. – The pillow is on the bed.

Don't stare on the her! – Don't you stare at her!

keep driving on the north. – Keep moving to the North.

He was born on the north. – He was born in the North.

I'll leave on the few hours. – I'm going to leave for a few hours.

4. Prepositions are often “embedded” in expressions and phrases

As mentioned above, prepositions are often an integral part of set expressions in which their meaning is far from the main one. Such expressions are best taught as separate words (in fact, these are separate words).

We agreed on the contract. - We came to an agreement on agreement.

He has built the house on his own. - He built a house myself.

Prepositions in English with examples and translation

Prepositions At, In, On in English: being in a certain place

These prepositions have a common meaning: being in a certain place. There is a significant difference between them.

• Preposition in- to be in a room, inside something.

We use preposition in when we say that an object is inside another object, in a building, room, room, on the territory of some large space.

The cat is in the cardboard box. - The cat is in a cardboard box.

I spit some water in the kitchen. - I poured water on the kitchen.

I am in the mall now. – I am now in trade center.

• Preposition at- be at a point in space

The preposition at is used when we want to say that we are not inside the room, but at some point in space - imagine it as a mark on the map.

Compare:

Hello? Sorry, I can't talk right now, I am in the library. – Hello? I'm sorry, I can't talk right now, I in library.

Mom, can you pick me up? I'm at the library. “Mom, can you pick me up?” I AM in library.

In the first case, in the library is literally inside the library as a room, in the second case, at the library is inside the library as a location, a place on the map. If you say “I’m in the library”, the interlocutor will think that you came to the library for books or to read. If you say "I'm at the library", it's more like you're just letting people know where you are.

By the way, in the Russian language, or, more precisely, in the “Russian wrong” there is an expression that is far from the literary norm, which annoys many: “to be IN some place”. For example: “Follow me, I'm AT the store”, “Come, we're AT the theater”, “I'm waiting for you AT the library”. This is the very ON - and there is an analogue of the English at.

Moreover, preposition at often used in the meaning of "at some place, object, building."

They have a small house at the sea. - They have a house near the sea.

I'm waiting for you at the corner. - I'm waiting for you on the corner.

• Preposition on- on something

Preposition on means "on" something.

Let's meet on the roof. - Let's meet on the roof.

The cats are sleeping on the carpet. – Cats are sleeping on the rug.

Prepositions At, In, On - designation of time

The prepositions at, in, on are also used as prepositions of time.

• Preposition at- to indicate the exact time.

The game begins at seven o'clock. - The game starts at seven o'clock.

The plane arrives at four thirty p.m.. - The plane is arriving at four thirty in the evening.

• Preposition on –

see you on Monday. - See you on Monday.

I will return from the business trip Friday. - I'm back from my business trip. On Friday.

• Preposition in- over a period of time

I'll be back in a minute. - I'll come back after a minute.

She met him again in twenty years. – In twenty years she met him again.

Preposition Of in English

The preposition of has two main meanings.

• Preposition of- belonging

Preposition of in English expresses belonging, like the genitive case in Russian.

This is the farm of my parents. - This is a farm. my parents.

The Chalk of Destiny. - Chalk fate.

• Preposition of- part of something

Also, this preposition indicates a whole, of which another object is a part.

Give me that piece of map. - Give me this part of the map.

I'd like a cup of tea. - I would like a cup of tea.

Prepositions To, From: direction and time

Prepositions to and from indicate the direction of movement.

• Preposition to- moving towards something

I'm going to the post office. - I'm going by mail.

Let's go to the river. - Lets go to the river.

• Preposition from- movement from somewhere

He came from the mountains. - He came from the mountains.

I came back from my long journey. - I'm back from a long journey.

Also to and from are used to indicate time.

• Preposition from- from some time

I work from eight o'clock. - I work from eight o'clock.

Read the book from page nine. – Read a book from the ninth page.

• Preposition to- until some time

I work from eight to five. – I work from eight up to five.

It's only a day to the holidays. – Before the holidays just one day.

Prepositions of time Before, After, Since, Until, During, By

Prepositions before, after, since, until, during, by used as part of the adverb of time in combination with nouns. It is noteworthy that these same words can be used as.

• Preposition before- up to some point

It happened before the concert. - This happened before the concert.

• Preposition after- after some time

We wanted to go home after the movie. - We wanted to go home. after the film.

• Preposition since- from some point

I can't hear well since that accident. - I can't hear well after that accident(since the accident)

They are happy since the very first day. - They're happy from the very first day.

• Preposition until- up to a point

We should wait until the end of the match. - We should wait. to end match.

• Preposition during- during a period of time

He has been decorated many times during his military service. - He has been awarded multiple times. during military service.

I heard a dog barking during the night. – During the night I heard the dog barking.

• Preposition by- up to some point, up to some point

You should be ready by nine o'clock. - You need to be ready. by nine o `clock.

We will leave the city by tomorrow. - We're leaving town. till tomorrow(by tomorrow).

Prepositions With, Without

Prepositions with and without mean respectively “with something, someone” and “without something, someone”.

The girl is playing with a puppy. - The girl is playing with a puppy.

I can't work without music. - I can not work without music.

Prepositions By, With

In the passive voice prepositions by and with can be used to refer to an object or person performing an action.

• Preposition by- indicates the person performing the action

The novel was written by Jack London. - The novel was written Jack London.

He was betrayed by his best friend. - He was betrayed best friend.

• Preposition with- points to an object, tool

The sleeve was cut off with a knife.- The sleeve was cut off knife.

The wall was broken with a hammer. – The wall was broken hammer.

Prepositions of place Above - Under, Inside - Outside, In Front of - Behind

These prepositions describe the position of an object in relation to another object.

• Preposition above- over something

The birds are flying above our heads. - Birds are flying over our heads.

• Preposition under- under something

Hide under the bed. – Hide under the bed.

There is nothing under the floor. – under the floor there is nothing.

• Preposition inside- inside something

I found a toy inside the box of chocolates. - I found a toy inside the box with chocolates.

What is inside that tank? - What inside this tank?

• Preposition outside (of) outside of something, outside

Pretext of is needed if it says outside of what exactly the object is located.

Fish can't live outside of water. – The fish cannot live out of the water.

Hurry up, I'll be waiting outside.- Hurry up, I'll be waiting outside.

• Preposition in front of before something

He parked in front of the bank. - He parked in front of the bank.

The camera is set in front of the stage. – Camera installed in front of the stage.

• Preposition behind- behind something

There is some empty space behind this wall. – Behind this wall some empty space.

I didn't see you behind the tree. - I didn't see you behind a tree.

Direction prepositions Up, Down, Into, Out of, Towards, Along, Across, Over, Through

We are already familiar with prepositions of direction to and from– from somewhere and somewhere. Here are some more common prepositions of direction.

• Preposition up (there)- up, above

In colloquial speech, they often say up there and down there something like “up there”, “down there”, implying the location. Speaking of direction, one might say up or down.

Can you see a cat up there? on the roof. - You see up there cat? On the roof.

look up. There is a cat on the roof. - Look up. There is a cat on the roof.

• Preposition down (there)- down, below

Take a flashlight if you go to the basement. It's dark down there. Take a flashlight if you're going to the basement. There below dark.

I climbed down the wall. - I went down down along the wall.

• Preposition into- into something, into something

I am slowly walking into the building. - I'm going slowly into the building.

She threw some papers into the fire. – She threw some paper on fire.

• Preposition out of- from something

A few people walked out of the forest. - Several people left from the forest.

they came out of space. - They came from space.

• Preposition towards- towards something

In many cases the suggestion towards can be replaced by to.

The clouds are moving towards (to) the mountain. – Clouds are moving towards the mountain.

Don't go towards (to) the sea. - Do not go towards the sea.

• Preposition along- along something

The preposition along implies finding or moving along a certain line. It is translated into Russian as “along” or “along”.

We are walking along the street. - We are going on the street(literally: along the street).

There are bushes along the river bank. – Along the river bank bushes grow.

• Preposition across- across

Preposition across used when talking about being on the other side of something, such as a street, or moving across something, through something, such as a field.

my sister lives across the street. - My sister lives across the road(literally: across the street, on the other side of the street).

The horse ran across the field. - the horse was running across the field.

• Preposition over- over an obstacle

Unlike across, preposition over means "through" in the sense of "through an obstacle."

The horse jumped over the fence and ran across the field. - The horse jumped over the fence and ran across the field.

We build the bridge over the river. We are building a bridge across the river.

• Preposition through- through, through

Preposition through means moving through an obstacle.

ghost can walk through the walls. - Ghosts can walk through the walls.

The plane is flying through the cloud. - The plane is flying through the cloud.

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Pretext- this is a service part of speech, reflecting the spatial, temporal, causal or other types of relationships between two significant words.

In Russian, such relations are often expressed using cases, while in English, cases are rudimentary, and it is prepositions and word order that are most often used to build sentences.

Prepositions in English are a service part of speech and, as a result, cannot be used independently and changed. Prepositions are not considered members of a sentence.

Although they are traditionally considered a separate part of speech, prepositions are often very close in meaning to adverbs and conjunctions.

Forms of English prepositions

English prepositions are divided into simple (simple), derivative (derived), complex (compound) and compound / phrasal (composite / phrasal).

simple the vast majority of English prepositions have the form:

At - at, about, in, on

In - in, on, for, through

About - about, around, at, by

Against- against, facing, on

before- before, before, before

Derivatives prepositions come from words of other parts of speech:

Concerning- regarding, concerning

Including - including, including

Depending - depending

Granted - provided that

Complex prepositions include several components:

Composite or phrasal English prepositions are a phrase. They include a word from another part of speech and one or two prepositions:

Because of - because of

Instead of - instead of

By virtue of in force, on the basis of

For the sake of - for the sake of

With regard to - relatively, in relation to

At the same time, none of the elements of the compound preposition can be expanded, shortened or changed in any other way - they all remain a whole unit.

The meaning of a compound preposition is closely related to the meaning of the significant word in its composition.

Differences in the use of English prepositions with Russian

Some verbs that require a preposition in English are used without it in Russian, and vice versa:

To ask for- ask

to wait for- wait

To look for- search

To listen to- listen

To belong to- belong

To care for- be in love

to explain to- explain

To answer - answer on the

To climb- get up on the

To cross- cross over across

To doubt doubt v

To enter - enter v

To fight - to fight With

To follow- to follow per

To join- join To

To leave - leave from

To need - need v

To play - play v

To affect - influence on the

How to distinguish a preposition from an adverb

Some English prepositions coincide in their spelling with adverbs, and can only be distinguished by their role in the sentence. Prepositions in English only reflect the relationship between meaningful parts of speech. Adverbs carry their own meaning and can define a verb. In addition, logical stress usually falls on them.

As a rule, prepositions or prepositions in English are divided into two types:

- Simple prepositions, that is, consisting of one word
- Compound or complex, these are those that consist of two or more words.

Using simple English prepositions

On- on the
As a rule, this is a preposition of place (prepositions of place):

My book is on the table- My book is on the table.
The picture is on the wall- The picture on the wall
I see a beautiful carpet on the floor– I see a beautiful carpet on the floor

This preposition is also used when we are talking about the days of the week:

On Sunday, on Wednesday- on Sunday, Wednesday, etc.

In- v
Most often a preposition of place. (prepositions of place) For example:

The children are in the classroom- The children are in the classroom
My pen is in my pencil box- My pen is in a pencil case

Also, this preposition is used if we are talking about months or seasons (prepositions of months and days):
In March, in April, in summer, in spring March, April, summer, spring.

Into- v
This preposition indicates direction and answers the question Where to? (prepositions of direction) For example:

He went into the room - He entered the room
She has dropped her doll into the water - She dropped the doll into the water

At- v
This preposition most often indicates time (prepositions of time):

At 7 o'clock we go to the cinema– At 7 o’clock we go to the cinema.
I finished my homework at 5 o'clock– I finished my homework at 5 o’clock.

To- To
If we are going somewhere, we will definitely use this preposition (prepositions of place and direction):

We went to the theater yesterday We went to the theater yesterday
This evening I go to my friend- Tonight I'm going to a friend's house.

Since- With
This preposition is a preposition of time:

I haven't been to the Hermitage since winter– I have not been to the Hermitage since the winter

Of- case preposition, means belonging to something (prepositions of possession)
For instance:
London is the capital of Great Britain. - London is the capital of Great Britain.
I understand the necessity of this experiment. “I understand the need for this experiment.

With- With
It means with someone or something. (prepositions of possession) For example:

I like tea with strawberry jam.– I like tea with strawberry jam.
My mother wants to speak with me.“My mom wants to talk to me.

For- for, for the sake of
For example:

I am ready to do everything for you. I'm ready for anything for (for) you.

About- oh, oh, about
If we are talking about something or someone, then we use this preposition (prepositions of possession):

What is this text about? - What is this text about?
I want to tell you about my friend Mike. I want to tell you about my friend Mike.

Across- across
Most often used in the meaning of "cross, pass" (prepositions of action):

We went across the field and saw a beautiful lake. We passed through the field (or: we crossed the field) and saw a beautiful lake.

Through- through, through
For instance:

We saw our friends through the window - We saw our friends through the window

Under- under
Prepositions of place:

My shoes are under the wardrobe– My shoes are under the wardrobe
The saucer is under the cup of coffee– The saucer is under the coffee cup

Above- on the
Also prepositions of place:

The picture is above the bed– Painting above the bed

After- for, after
Most often prepositions of time:

You will read the text after me– You will read the text after me
Repeat after me!- Repeat after me!
After breakfast we went shopping– After breakfast we go shopping

Before- front
Also prepositions of time:

Before reading the text, learn the new words– Learn new words before reading the text

As you can see, these prepositions are constantly used in speech, you cannot do without them.
Now let's look at complex sentences.

Using difficult English prepositions

Compound or compound prepositions (COMPOUND PREPOSITIONS), as a rule, consist of two or more words. They can consist of an article, a noun and a preposition, a preposition and an adjective, and so on. It is usually quite difficult for those who begin to learn English to use complex prepositions in speech, because they are a little more difficult to remember. But such prepositions are important and should be studied and used in speech, because they will make your speech richer.

Here are some of the most common speeches:

In front of- before (prepositions of place)
Because of- because (prepositions of cause)
In accordance with- according to, in accordance with (prepositions of circumstance)
In account with- due to, due to (prepositions of cause)
According to- according to (prepositions of circumstance)
Thanks to- thanks to (prepositions of cause).

Now let's trace these prepositions through examples of sentences:

There is a lawn in front of my house.- There is a lawn in front of my house.
I didn't come to the party because of you.– I didn’t come to the party because you were there (because of you, because you were there)
We shall proceed in accordance with our plan. – We must act according to our plan
We didn't get our salaries in account with our manager. We didn't get paid because of our manager
According to our plan, we must manage everything.“According to our plan, we must all be on time.”
I have everything thanks to you. I have everything thanks to you.

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Prepositions in English rules- a topic that should not be forgotten. In this article, you will learn how to use prepositions correctly in English.

In English, prepositions express: temporal relations, spatial, causal, and so on. In contrast to the Russian language, case endings are almost completely absent in English, they are expressed by prepositions. Therefore, verbs play one of the main roles in expressing the relationship of a noun or pronoun to other words in a sentence.

one). Some prepositions perform a grammatical function, while losing their lexical meaning and are not translated into Russian:

- the preposition of corresponds to the Russian genitive case: friend of mine - my friend; bag of my mother- bag of my mother; cat of my parents - the cat of my parents.

- the preposition to corresponds to the Russian dative case: I gave a pencil to my friend- I gave a pen to my friend.

- the preposition by corresponds to the Russian instrumental case, is used in the passive voice: The book was read by the student- The book was read by the student.

- the preposition with corresponds to the Russian instrumental case, denotes the object with which the action is performed: I drew a picture with the pencil- I drew a picture with a pencil.

2). All prepositions have their own lexical meaning (including the prepositions of, by, with, to when they are not used in the grammatical meaning). Some prepositions have multiple meanings:

- the preposition in is used in the meaning:

1) "places" - translated as a preposition "in": I live in Tula-I live in Tula

2) "time" (before months and years): I was born in 1990- I was born in 1990

3) “time” - translated as a preposition “through”: I will be there in 5 minutes- I will be there in five minutes.

4) “time” - translated as a preposition “during, for”: This house was built in two years - this house was built in 2 years.

3). Russian and English prepositions do not always coincide. The same English preposition can be translated by different Russian prepositions:

It may also be that different English prepositions correspond to the same Russian preposition:

The place of a preposition in a sentence.

The preposition is placed before the noun or pronoun, if they are preceded by a definition, then the preposition is placed before the definition: He is looking at a beautiful girl.- He looks at a beautiful girl.

In special questions, the preposition can appear before the question word or at the end of the question:

Whom are you speaking to? - Who are you talking to?

To whom are you speaking? - Who are you talking to?

When the relative pronoun is omitted, the preposition is placed after the verb:

They were laughed for- They were laughed at

I have no knight to cut with- I have no knife to cut with.

Most used prepositions

Among - among, between	Bear was among people- The bear was among the people.
About- about	They are talking about politics- They are talking about politics. There are about 1 hundred people around.
After- after	They are going to come round after breakfast. -After breakfast they are going to visit.
Above - above, above	It`s 3 degrees above zero- Now 3 degrees above zero.
Below - below, under	It`s 3 degrees below zero- Now 3 degrees below zero.
Between - between (in relation to two people or objects)	She is choosing between ice-cream and cake- She chooses between ice cream and cake.
Before- before	They are going to drop by before lunch to give me a letter - They are going to drop by after lunch to give me a letter.
Behind - behind	He sat behind us- He sat behind us.
Beside	He sat beside us- He sat next to us.
besides - in addition, in addition	He gave me besides a new book- He gave me another new book.
Beyond - on the other side (to indicate a place)	He lived beyond the street- He lived on the other side of the street.
Down-down	Go down the street- Go down the street
During - during, during	During the holidays we were inSpain - We were in Spain during the holidays.
For - for, for, during, on	It`s for you - this is for you. I will be staying there for two week- I will stay there for 2 weeks.
From- from	I`m from Russia-I'm from Russia
In - in, through	I`m in living-room- I am in the living room. I`ll be there in 30 minutes- I will be there in 30 minutes.
Into- in (direction of action inside)	I put keys into my pocket - I put the keys in my pocket.
Inside - inside	There are a lot of people inside the house- There are a lot of people inside the house.
Outside - outside	It`s cold outside- It's cold outside
On- on the surface; before the names of days and dates; in combination with a gerund, it translates as a preposition "by, after"	On giving me a book I called him- After he gave me the book, I called him. There are no pen on the table- there is no pen on the table. I go to the sport club on Monday- I go to the sport club on Mondays.
Over- over, through (with verbs of motion), over	There are so many mosquitoes over me
Round-around	We traveled round the world - We traveled around the world.
Through- through	My friends are walking through the forest- Mom's friends are walking through the forest.
Under-under	He is sitting under the ladder- He is sitting under the stairs
Up - up (with verbs of motion)	He climbed up the wall- He climbed the wall.
With- with	He is with me- He is with me
Within - within, no later than (the period of time within which the action is performed)	He must do it within six days- He must do it within 6 days.
Without- without	He`ll do it without my help- He will do it without my help.

Prepositions in English play a very important role. In Russian, relationships between significant words (for example, between a verb and a noun) can often be expressed using cases. This category does not exist in English grammar, so prepositions also perform the function of cases. They are also used with verbs, sometimes significantly changing their translation into Russian.

It is the wide use of prepositions in English that explains their diversity. They can be either short and single-word (for example, in, on, of), or rather long and compound (instead of, except for, on account of, etc.). The range of semantic meanings that prepositions convey is also very wide - they can denote spatial, temporal, causal and other relationships.

Difficulties in learning prepositions

The use of English prepositions is one of the most difficult topics to learn. Difficulties can arise for various reasons.

• If an English verb requires a preposition, then in Russian it can be used without it. For example, "to wait for" is usually translated simply as "to wait"; "to explain to" - "explain". There are also reverse cases. So, the verb "to answer" is equivalent to the Russian "answer to", and "to enter" - "to enter".
• There are many multi-valued prepositions in English. The rules for their use are more difficult to learn, because, depending on the context, they can convey a variety of meanings. This feature is characteristic of the most ancient prepositions, for example, such as "in" or "to".
• Adding a preposition to a verb can significantly change its translation into Russian. For example, if “to look after” is usually translated as “to look after”, then “to look to” is like “to count on”. Encountering such constructions in the text or in oral speech, English learners can get confused in their meanings precisely because of prepositions.

How to learn prepositions in English?

At school or in courses, prepositions can be considered as a separate topic for study. At the same time, approaches to mastering these important lexical units are often very different.

1. The traditional option is to memorize lists of prepositions. Sometimes students are asked to simply “learn” a long list in alphabetical order. Usually in such lists prepositions are given in English with translation.

This approach has many disadvantages. The very method of memorizing words can hardly be called effective. In addition, prepositions in lists are often given without usage examples. Even if you learn such a list very well, it will be difficult to apply this knowledge in practice.

2. Use of visual teaching materials. Tables in which they are grouped according to certain principles will help you learn prepositions in English. You can make a table of the most common prepositions with phrases illustrating their main meanings. For instance:

3. Study by "thematic groups". It is customary to divide prepositions according to the meaning that they convey - time, spatial relationships, goals, mode of action, etc. Prepositions of time in English include at, in, by, before, since, past, till, etc. Prepositions of place - at, in, over, on, to, across, from, towards, etc. As you can see, some words are included in several thematic groups at once.

• Start with the most popular. Learning prepositions from alphabetical lists is an unproductive approach, also because rare and unused words are quickly forgotten. It is best to first master the most common prepositions and only then, if necessary, deal with rarer ones.
• Pay attention to prepositions in set expressions (this is a more natural way of learning the language). For example, in verb phrases: “put across” (“deceive”), “look upon” (“count”). When prepositions are used before nouns, they can also form stable phrases: “by chance” (“accidentally”), “in time” (“on time”), “at night” (“at night”).
• Use knowledge in practice. The rules for using prepositions in English are well remembered if you constantly apply them. It is important to practice both oral and written use of prepositions, to learn how to use them appropriately in speech.

Conclusion

You should not try to learn prepositions in isolation from the language system as a whole. If visiting