Prepositions: English ЕГЭ 2025 Preparation

Prepositions are small words that show the relationship between different elements in a sentence, such as time, place, direction, or manner. Mastering prepositions is crucial for the ЕГЭ English exam, as they are frequently tested and can significantly impact your score. This guide will help you understand and correctly use prepositions in various contexts.

Theory for Exam Preparation

Prepositions are invariable words that establish a relationship between a noun or pronoun and other words in a sentence. They can indicate location, time, direction, cause, manner, and other relationships. In English, prepositions are particularly challenging because their usage often doesn't follow logical patterns and must be memorized. The ЕГЭ English exam frequently tests knowledge of prepositions in both the grammar and reading comprehension sections.

Types of Prepositions

Prepositions of Time

These prepositions indicate when something happens:

Preposition	Usage	Examples
at	Specific times, holidays (except for Christmas/Easter)	at 3 o'clock, at noon, at midnight, at the weekend (British English), at night, at Easter
in	Months, seasons, years, centuries, parts of the day (except night), periods of time	in January, in summer, in 2023, in the 21st century, in the morning/afternoon/evening, in three days
on	Days, dates, specific days of the week	on Monday, on July 4th, on Christmas Day, on my birthday, on the weekend (American English)
for	Duration (how long)	for two hours, for a week, for six months
since	Starting point in time (used with present perfect and past perfect)	since 2010, since Monday, since I was a child
during	Throughout a period	during the summer, during the meeting, during the night
by	Not later than, before a specific time	by 5 o'clock, by next week, by the end of the month
until/till	Up to a certain time	until tomorrow, till next year, until the end of the class
from...to	Starting and ending points	from Monday to Friday, from 9 to 5, from beginning to end
before	Earlier than a specific time	before lunch, before 2019, before the meeting
after	Later than a specific time	after dinner, after the war, after graduating

Prepositions of Place and Position

These prepositions indicate where something is located:

Preposition	Usage	Examples
at	Specific point, addresses, events, activities	at the door, at 123 Main Street, at the concert, at work
in	Enclosed spaces, geographical areas, cities, countries	in the room, in London, in France, in the garden, in the sky
on	Surfaces, streets, floors, public transport (except cars)	on the table, on Wall Street, on the third floor, on the bus/train
above	Higher than something, not touching	The plane is flying above the clouds.
over	Directly above, covering	The bridge over the river, a blanket over the bed
under	Below something, covered by something	under the table, under the bridge, under water
below	Lower than something	below sea level, below zero, below the picture
beside	Next to, at the side of	beside the river, beside me
between	In the middle of two things or people	between the trees, between you and me
among	In the middle of three or more things or people	among the crowd, among friends
in front of	Directly before something	in front of the house, in front of the class
behind	At the back of something	behind the car, behind the curtain
near	Close to, not far from	near the station, near the park
opposite	Facing, on the other side	opposite the bank, opposite me
inside	Within, in the interior of	inside the box, inside the building
outside	Not inside, exterior	outside the house, outside the city

Prepositions of Movement and Direction

These prepositions indicate where something is moving:

Preposition	Usage	Examples
to	Movement toward a destination	to London, to the store, to school
from	Movement away from a source	from home, from the airport, from France
into	Movement to the inside of something	into the room, into the water, into the box
out of	Movement from the inside to the outside	out of the house, out of the car, out of the country
onto	Movement to a position on a surface	onto the roof, onto the table, onto the stage
off	Movement from a surface	off the table, off the bus, off the wall
up	Movement to a higher position	up the stairs, up the hill, up the ladder
down	Movement to a lower position	down the street, down the river, down the mountain
along	Movement in a line, following a path	along the river, along the road, along the coast
across	Movement from one side to the other	across the street, across the bridge, across the field
through	Movement from one side to the other via the inside	through the tunnel, through the forest, through the door
past	Movement beyond a point	past the church, past the traffic lights, past midnight
around	Movement in a circle or curve	around the park, around the world, around the corner
towards	Movement in the direction of something	towards the city, towards the exit, towards me

Prepositions of Manner and Means

These prepositions indicate how something is done:

Preposition	Usage	Examples
by	Method of transportation, means	by car, by train, by air, by hand, by mistake
with	Using a tool or instrument	with a knife, with a pen, with a computer
without	Not using, lacking	without help, without money, without thinking
in	Expressing a state or manner	in a hurry, in English, in silence, in anger
like	Similar to, in the same way as	like a child, like her mother, like a professional

Prepositions of Cause and Purpose

These prepositions indicate why something happens:

Preposition	Usage	Examples
for	Purpose, reason, benefit	for lunch, for the meeting, for you, for this reason
because of	Reason, cause	because of the rain, because of illness, because of you
due to	Reason, cause (more formal)	due to the weather, due to circumstances, due to an error
in order to	Purpose (more formal)	in order to succeed, in order to help, in order to learn
so as to	Purpose (more formal)	so as to avoid problems, so as to be on time

Prepositional Phrases

Prepositional phrases are groups of words that begin with a preposition and end with a noun or pronoun (the object of the preposition). They function as adjectives or adverbs in a sentence:

• The book on the table is mine. (adjective phrase modifying "book")
• She spoke with great confidence. (adverb phrase modifying "spoke")

Common Prepositional Expressions

Some common expressions always use specific prepositions. These must be memorized:

Expression	Example
afraid of	She is afraid of spiders.
angry with (a person), angry about (a situation)	I'm angry with you. I'm angry about the situation.
apologize for	He apologized for being late.
apply for	I applied for the job.
approve of	My parents don't approve of my decision.
arrive at (small place), arrive in (large place)	We arrived at the station. We arrived in London.
believe in	Do you believe in ghosts?
belong to	This book belongs to me.
care about, care for	I care about you. I don't care for seafood.
concentrate on	You need to concentrate on your studies.
consist of	The team consists of five players.
depend on	It depends on the weather.
dream about/of	I often dream about/of traveling the world.
excited about	I'm excited about the party.
good at	She's good at mathematics.
interested in	I'm interested in history.
listen to	I like to listen to music.
look at	Look at that beautiful sunset!
married to	She is married to my cousin.
pay for	I'll pay for dinner.
proud of	I'm proud of your achievements.
reason for	What's the reason for your decision?
responsible for	Who is responsible for this mess?
similar to	Your idea is similar to mine.
speak to/with	I need to speak to/with you.
succeed in	She succeeded in passing the exam.
think about/of	I'm thinking about/of changing jobs.
wait for	I'm waiting for the bus.
worried about	I'm worried about the exam.

Verbs with Different Prepositions

Some verbs can be used with different prepositions, changing their meaning:

Verb + Preposition	Meaning	Example
look at	Direct your eyes toward something	Look at that beautiful painting.
look for	Search for	I'm looking for my keys.
look after	Take care of	Can you look after my dog while I'm away?
look up	Search for information	Look up the word in the dictionary.
look forward to	Anticipate with pleasure	I'm looking forward to seeing you.
think about	Consider	I'm thinking about buying a new car.
think of	Have an opinion, come up with an idea	What do you think of my new haircut?
talk about	Discuss a topic	We talked about politics.
talk to/with	Speak to someone	I need to talk to/with you.
agree with	Have the same opinion as someone	I agree with you.
agree to	Accept a proposal	She agreed to our terms.
agree on	Reach a consensus about something	We agreed on a price.

Prepositions with Adjectives

Certain adjectives are typically followed by specific prepositions:

Adjective + Preposition	Example
afraid of	She's afraid of heights.
angry with/at (person), angry about (situation)	I'm angry with you. I'm angry about what happened.
bad at	I'm bad at mathematics.
bored with/of	I'm bored with this movie.
capable of	She's capable of doing better.
concerned about	I'm concerned about your health.
different from	This book is different from the one I read before.
excited about	I'm excited about the party.
familiar with	Are you familiar with this author?
fond of	I'm fond of chocolate.
good at	She's good at playing the piano.
happy about (news), happy with (situation)	I'm happy about your promotion. I'm happy with my new job.
interested in	I'm interested in history.
jealous of	She's jealous of her sister's success.
kind to	He's always kind to children.
married to	She's married to a doctor.
nervous about	I'm nervous about the interview.
pleased with	I'm pleased with your progress.
proud of	We're proud of our son.
responsible for	You're responsible for your actions.
satisfied with	Are you satisfied with the service?
similar to	Your handwriting is similar to mine.
sorry for (action), sorry about (situation)	I'm sorry for hurting you. I'm sorry about the confusion.
tired of	I'm tired of waiting.
worried about	I'm worried about the exam.

Prepositions with Nouns

Certain nouns are typically followed by specific prepositions:

Noun + Preposition	Example
answer to	I don't know the answer to this question.
attitude towards/toward	His attitude towards work is excellent.
cause of	What was the cause of the accident?
connection between	There's a connection between diet and health.
damage to	The storm caused damage to many buildings.
demand for	There's a high demand for organic products.
difference between	What's the difference between these two models?
effect on	Stress has a negative effect on health.
increase in	There has been an increase in crime.
interest in	I have an interest in photography.
invitation to	I received an invitation to the wedding.
key to	Education is the key to success.
need for	There's a need for more funding.
reason for	What's the reason for your decision?
relationship between/with	The relationship between the two countries has improved.
respect for	I have great respect for your opinion.
solution to	We need to find a solution to this problem.

Special Cases and Common Errors

Prepositions at the End of Sentences

In informal English, it's common to end a sentence with a preposition, especially in questions and relative clauses:

• Who are you talking to?
• This is the book I was looking for.

In formal English, some people prefer to avoid ending sentences with prepositions:

• To whom are you talking?
• This is the book for which I was looking.

Omission of Prepositions

In some cases, prepositions are omitted:

• With days of the week when no article is used: I'll see you (on) Monday.
• With "home" when it refers to one's own home: I'm going home. (not "to home")
• With "next" and "last" + time expressions: I'll see you (on) next Monday. I saw her (on) last Friday.

Redundant Prepositions

Avoid using unnecessary prepositions:

• Incorrect: Where are you at?
• Correct: Where are you?
• Incorrect: Inside of the house
• Correct: Inside the house

Prepositions vs. Adverbs

Some words can function as both prepositions and adverbs:

• As a preposition (followed by an object): He walked up the hill. (up = preposition, the hill = object)
• As an adverb (not followed by an object): He stood up. (up = adverb, no object)

Practice Examples

Key Points to Remember

• Prepositions show relationships between elements in a sentence (time, place, direction, etc.)
• Many prepositional uses must be memorized as they don't follow logical patterns
• Pay attention to fixed expressions with specific prepositions (afraid of, interested in, etc.)
• Some verbs and adjectives are always followed by certain prepositions
• The meaning of phrasal verbs can change depending on the preposition used
• In modern English, it's acceptable to end a sentence with a preposition
• Avoid using unnecessary prepositions
• Remember the differences between prepositions that are often confused (in/at/on, since/for, etc.)