Prepositions in English – Complete Guide with Hindi Explanation

Prepositions in English – Complete Guide

Prepositions are important words in English grammar. They help us explain where something is, when something happens, how someone moves, and how different words are connected.

Words such as in, on, at, under, between, from, to, with and for are common prepositions.

हिंदी में: Prepositions वे शब्द होते हैं जो किसी व्यक्ति, वस्तु, स्थान, समय या दूसरी चीज़ों के बीच संबंध बताते हैं। जैसे – में, पर, के नीचे, के बीच, से और तक।

Topics Covered in This Lesson

1. Introduction to Prepositions
2. Prepositions of Time: In, On and At
3. Prepositions of Place: In, On and At
4. Prepositions of Movement and Direction
5. Prepositions of Position
6. Prepositions Used with Time Expressions
7. Prepositions Used with Adjectives
8. Prepositions Used with Verbs
9. Commonly Confused Prepositions
10. Preposition Exercises and Error Correction

1. Introduction to Prepositions

A preposition is a word that usually comes before a noun or pronoun and shows its relationship with another word in a sentence.

Examples

The book is on the table.

She lives in Delhi.

We will meet after lunch.

He walked through the park.

हिंदी में: इन वाक्यों में on, in, after और through अलग-अलग संबंध बताते हैं। कोई वस्तु कहाँ है, कोई व्यक्ति कहाँ रहता है या कोई काम कब और किस रास्ते से होता है।

Common Types of Prepositions

Type	Purpose	Example
Time	Shows when	at 6 o'clock
Place	Shows where	in the room
Movement	Shows direction or movement	to school
Position	Shows relative location	under the bed
Relationship	Connects words and ideas	interested in music

Remember: A preposition is normally followed by a noun, pronoun or noun phrase. It can also be followed by an -ing form when a verb comes after it.

She is good at swimming.

2. Prepositions of Time: In, On and At

In, on and at are three very common prepositions of time. Their use depends on how specific the time expression is.

IN – Longer Periods

Use in with months, years, seasons, centuries and parts of the day.

My birthday is in July.

She was born in 2001.

We travel in winter.

I study in the evening.

ON – Days and Dates

Use on with days, dates and specific days.

The meeting is on Monday.

My exam is on 15 November.

We met on my birthday.

AT – Exact Times

Use at with clock times and certain specific time expressions.

The train leaves at 7:30.

I wake up at 6 a.m..

We have dinner at night.

She arrived at noon.

Preposition	Used with	Examples
In	Months, years, seasons, parts of the day	in April, in 2026, in summer
On	Days and dates	on Friday, on 10 May
At	Exact times and fixed expressions	at 8 p.m., at noon

याद रखें: बड़े समय की अवधि के लिए सामान्यतः in, दिन और तारीख के लिए on तथा निश्चित समय के लिए at का प्रयोग होता है।

We usually say in the morning, in the afternoon and in the evening, but at night.

3. Prepositions of Place: In, On and At

These three prepositions also describe location. The choice depends on whether we mean an enclosed area, a surface or a particular point or location.

IN – Inside an Area or Space

The keys are in the drawer.

She lives in India.

The children are in the classroom.

ON – On a Surface

The phone is on the table.

There is a picture on the wall.

He is sitting on the floor.

AT – A Particular Point or Location

She is at the bus stop.

I am at home.

He works at a bank.

Preposition	Meaning	Example
In	Inside an area or space	in the kitchen
On	On a surface	on the desk
At	At a point or specific place	at the station

हिंदी में: In का अर्थ अक्सर अंदर या किसी क्षेत्र में, on का अर्थ किसी सतह पर और at का अर्थ किसी निश्चित स्थान पर होता है।

Context matters. For example, at school describes someone's location or activity there, while in the school emphasizes being inside the school building or grounds.

4. Prepositions of Movement and Direction

Prepositions of movement show where someone or something moves. They help describe a starting point, destination, path or direction.

Preposition	Use	Example
To	Towards a destination	She went to school.
Into	Movement from outside to inside	He walked into the room.
Onto	Movement to a surface	The cat jumped onto the sofa.
From	Starting point	She came from Mumbai.
Through	Movement inside and out of something	We walked through the tunnel.
Across	From one side to another	He ran across the road.
Along	Following a line or path	They walked along the river.
Towards	In the direction of	She moved towards the door.
Out of	Movement from inside to outside	He came out of the house.
Past	Moving beyond something	We drove past the school.

More Examples

The boy jumped into the pool.

The bus went through the city.

She walked across the bridge.

He came from the office.

हिंदी में: ये prepositions बताते हैं कि कोई कहाँ से चला, किस दिशा में गया और किस रास्ते से पहुँचा।

Important difference: In shows a location; into shows movement to the inside. Compare: “She is in the room” and “She walked into the room.”

5. Prepositions of Position

Prepositions of position describe the location of one person or thing in relation to another.

Preposition	Meaning	Example
Above	At a higher level	The fan is above us.
Below	At a lower level	The temperature is below zero.
Under	Directly or generally beneath	The shoes are under the bed.
Over	Higher than; sometimes covering or crossing	The plane flew over the city.
Between	Separating two people or things	The shop is between two banks.
Among	Within a group	She was among friends.
Behind	At the back of	The garden is behind the house.
In front of	Before or ahead of	The car is in front of the gate.
Beside	Next to	He sat beside me.
Near	Not far from	My office is near the station.
Opposite	Facing something on the other side	The bank is opposite the market.

Between vs Among

The agreement is between the two companies.

She was sitting among her classmates.

हिंदी में: Between का प्रयोग सामान्यतः अलग-अलग पहचाने जाने वाले दो या अधिक पक्षों के बीच होता है। Among का प्रयोग किसी समूह के सदस्यों के बीच या समूह में होता है।

Between is not limited to only two items. It can also be used for several clearly separate people or things, such as an agreement between five countries.

6. Prepositions Used with Time Expressions

Several prepositions are used with time expressions to explain when something starts, ends, continues or happens in relation to another event.

Preposition	Use	Example
Before	Earlier than a time or event	Finish it before 5 p.m.
After	Later than a time or event	We went out after lunch.
During	Within a period or event	Do not talk during the exam.
Since	Starting point in time	I have lived here since 2020.
For	Duration of time	She has worked here for five years.
Until / Till	Up to a time	Wait until Monday.
By	No later than a deadline	Submit the report by Friday.
Within	Before a period ends	Please reply within two days.

Since vs For

I have known her since 2018. (Starting point)

I have known her for eight years. (Duration)

By vs Until

Please finish the work by 6 p.m. (Deadline)

I will stay here until 6 p.m. (Continuing up to that time)

हिंदी में: Since किसी काम के शुरू होने का समय बताता है, जबकि for उसकी अवधि बताता है। By का अर्थ है किसी निश्चित समय तक काम पूरा हो जाना, और until का अर्थ है उस समय तक जारी रहना।

Do not confuse during and for. “During the meeting” refers to an event; “for two hours” tells us the duration.

7. Prepositions Used with Adjectives

Some adjectives are commonly followed by particular prepositions. These combinations are often called adjective-preposition combinations.

Adjective	Preposition	Example
Afraid	of	She is afraid of dogs.
Interested	in	He is interested in science.
Good	at	She is good at mathematics.
Bad	at	I am bad at remembering names.
Famous	for	The city is famous for its food.
Proud	of	We are proud of our team.
Responsible	for	He is responsible for the project.
Similar	to	This design is similar to mine.
Different	from	Your answer is different from mine.
Married	to	She is married to a doctor.
Kind	to	Please be kind to others.
Worried	about	They are worried about the result.

More Examples

I am happy with my progress.

She is excited about the trip.

He is capable of doing this work.

They are familiar with this system.

हिंदी में: कई adjectives के साथ एक निश्चित preposition का प्रयोग सामान्य होता है। इसलिए केवल adjective याद करने के बजाय उसका पूरा combination सीखें, जैसे interested in और proud of।

8. Prepositions Used with Verbs

Some verbs are commonly followed by particular prepositions. Learning these combinations helps you form natural and correct English sentences.

Verb	Preposition	Example
Listen	to	Listen to the teacher.
Wait	for	I am waiting for the bus.
Depend	on	Success depends on hard work.
Believe	in	She believes in herself.
Agree	with	I agree with you.
Apologise	for	He apologised for his mistake.
Apply	for	She applied for the job.
Laugh	at	Do not laugh at others.
Look	at	Look at this picture.
Talk	about	We talked about the project.
Pay	for	I paid for the meal.
Belong	to	This bag belongs to me.

Examples in Daily English

Please listen to me carefully.

I am looking for my keys.

We talked about our plans.

She is waiting for her friend.

हिंदी में: कुछ verbs के साथ खास prepositions आते हैं। जैसे listen के बाद to, wait के बाद for और depend के बाद on का प्रयोग होता है। इन्हें उदाहरणों के साथ याद करना बेहतर है।

Important: Some verbs do not need a preposition before their object. For example, say something, discuss a topic and enter a room. Avoid adding unnecessary prepositions.

9. Commonly Confused Prepositions

Some prepositions have similar meanings, but their use changes according to the context. Let's understand some common differences.

In vs Into

The children are in the classroom. (Location)

The children went into the classroom. (Movement)

On vs Onto

The book is on the desk. (Position)

She put the book onto the desk. (Movement to a surface)

Between vs Among

The road runs between the two buildings.

He was standing among the crowd.

Beside vs Besides

She sat beside her mother. (Next to)

Besides English, he speaks Hindi. (In addition to)

By vs With

The book was written by the author. (Doer)

She cut the paper with scissors. (Instrument)

For vs Since

I have lived here for three years. (Duration)

I have lived here since 2023. (Starting point)

Above vs Over

The clock is above the door.

The plane flew over the mountains.

हिंदी में: ऐसे शब्दों का अर्थ कभी-कभी मिलता-जुलता होता है, लेकिन उनका प्रयोग अलग हो सकता है। सही preposition चुनने के लिए पूरे sentence का context समझना जरूरी है।

Do not translate every Hindi postposition directly into English. Learn common English word combinations and complete example sentences.

10. Preposition Exercises and Error Correction

Choose the correct preposition in each sentence. Try answering before opening the answers.

Exercise A: Fill in the Blanks

1. My birthday is _____ August.
2. The meeting starts _____ 10 a.m.
3. She is interested _____ music.
4. The keys are _____ the table.
5. We walked _____ the bridge.
6. I have lived here _____ 2022.
7. He is good _____ English.
8. Please wait _____ me.
9. The cat jumped _____ the box.
10. We will finish the project _____ Friday.

Show Answers – Exercise A

1. in
2. at
3. in
4. on
5. across
6. since
7. at
8. for
9. into
10. by

Exercise B: Choose the Correct Option

1. She was born (in / on / at) Monday.
2. The picture is (in / on / at) the wall.
3. He depends (on / at / for) his parents.
4. We stayed there (since / for / by) two hours.
5. The school is (between / among / into) two buildings.

Show Answers – Exercise B

1. on
2. on
3. on
4. for
5. between

Exercise C: Correct the Errors

Each sentence contains one preposition error. Rewrite it correctly.

1. I will meet you in Monday.
2. She is good in mathematics.
3. He is waiting since two hours.
4. The book is in the table.
5. We discussed about the problem.

Show Corrections – Exercise C

1. I will meet you on Monday.
2. She is good at mathematics.
3. He has been waiting for two hours.
4. The book is on the table.
5. We discussed the problem.

Exercise D: Make Your Own Sentences

Write one original sentence using each of these prepositions:

between, during, through, beside, since, without, towards, among

अपने रोज़मर्रा के जीवन से जुड़े वाक्य बनाने की कोशिश करें। इससे prepositions का सही प्रयोग याद रखने में मदद मिलेगी।

Daily Practice Plan

Spend 15 minutes each day practising prepositions.

Time	Practice Activity
5 minutes	Revise five prepositions and their meanings.
5 minutes	Write five sentences using them.
3 minutes	Read your sentences aloud.
2 minutes	Check and correct your mistakes.

Practical task: Describe your room in English using prepositions such as in, on, under, beside, behind and near.

अभ्यास सुझाव: अपने कमरे, घर, ऑफिस या आसपास की चीज़ों के बारे में अंग्रेज़ी में बताइए। इससे prepositions का वास्तविक जीवन में प्रयोग सीखेंगे।

Final Revision

• Prepositions show relationships between words.
• In, on and at are commonly used for time and place.
• Movement prepositions show direction and path.
• Position prepositions describe where something is.
• Some adjectives and verbs are followed by specific prepositions.
• Learning complete phrases helps you avoid common mistakes.

अंतिम बात: Prepositions को केवल अलग-अलग शब्दों की तरह याद न करें। उन्हें पूरे वाक्यों और रोज़मर्रा के उदाहरणों के साथ सीखें। नियमित अभ्यास से आपका English grammar और sentence formation बेहतर होगा।

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