In
Used for unspecific times during a day, month, season, year:
- She always reads newspapers in the morning.
- In the summer, we have a rainy season for three weeks.
- The new semester will start in March.
Used to indicate a location or place:
- She looked me directly in the eyes.
- I am currently staying in a hotel.
- My hometown is Los Angeles, which is in California.
Used to indicate a shape, color, or size:
- This painting is mostly in blue.
- The students stood in a circle.
- This jacket comes in four different sizes.
Used to express while doing something:
- In preparing for the final report, we revised the tone three times.
- A catch phrase needs to be impressive in marketing a product.
Used to indicate a belief, opinion, interest, or feeling:
- I believe in the next life.
- We are not interested in gambling.
‘Made of’ Vs ‘Made from’
If something keeps its form, we use ‘made of”
But if the form is changed during the process of making, then we use ‘made from’.
So we say:
“The shirt is made of cotton.”
“The house is made of bricks.”
“The keyboard is made of plastic.”
“The paper is made from trees.”
“Wine is made from grapes.”
‘under’ and ‘below’
if you’re talking about something being covered by something, we use ‘under’. e.g. I hid the key under a rock.
You use ‘below’ when you’re talking about something that’s not physically immediately under, or not necessarily immediately under. e.g. ‘twenty miles below the earth’s surface’, definitely not immediately under it. we say things like, ‘below the poverty line’.
off / on
Off functions as a preposition of position or movement and is the converse of on. We speak of getting on a bus and off a bus, taking things off the table and putting them on the floor.
As and like
As refers to something or someone’s appearance or function. Consider the following examples:
- ‘Before I became a teacher I worked as a waiter.’
- ‘I’m going to the fancy dress party as Superman.’
Like has the meaning ‘similar to’ and is used when comparing things. Look at these examples:
- ‘I have been working like a dog.’
- ‘She looks a bit like her brother.’
in front of, before and across.
Compare the following:
- Sam was sitting in front of my friends in the cinema but behind my sister.
We normally use in front of to specify place the opposite of which is behind.
Before is normally used as a preposition to indicate time. Its opposite of which is after:
I was here before you. I should therefore be in front of you in the queue.
by, next to, beside
left or right of somebody or something
- Jane is standing by / next to / beside the car.
Over/above
‘Over’ is used to mean covered by something else, meaning more than, getting to the other side (also across), overcoming an obstacle
e.g.
- put a jacket over your shirt
- over 16 years of age
- walk over the bridge
- climb over the wall
‘Above’ indicates higher than something else, but not directly over it.
e.g. a path above the lake
into is used to express change of location.
- go into the kitchen / the house
There are lot of prepositions. You need to read more and more to know about prepositions.