List of English prepositions


This is a list of English prepositions.

Kinds of prepositions

Though the prototypical preposition is a single word that precedes a noun phrase complement and expresses spatial relations, the category of preposition includes more than this limited notion. Prepositions can be categorized according to whether the preposition takes a complement, what kind of complement the preposition takes, on what side of the preposition the complement occurs, and whether the preposition consists of one word or multiple words. A preposition that takes a complement is called a transitive preposition, and one that does not is called an intransitive preposition. Traditional grammars, based on the work of classical Greek and Latin philologists, consider only transitive prepositions to be true prepositions and label intransitive prepositions adverbs instead. Since the twentieth century, linguists have begun arguing against the analysis of intransitive prepositions as adverbs. Otto Jespersen argues that just as verbs can be either transitive or intransitive, prepositions can be either transitive or intransitive. Linguists have also noted that phrases headed by intransitive prepositions have the same distribution as prepositional phrases headed by transitive prepositions and that they do not have the same distributions as prototypical adverb phrases.
The prototypical preposition takes a noun phrase complement, but prepositions can also take clauses, adjective phrases, adverb phrases, and other prepositional phrases as complements. A preposition that takes a clause as a complement is called a conjunctive preposition. Traditional grammars typically group conjunctive prepositions with subordinating conjunctions, but these words seem to have more in common with prepositions than subordinating conjunctions. Prototypical subordinating conjunctions, such as that, are meaningless on their own, tend to introduce clauses that function as complements, and can often be omitted. On the other hand, conjunctive prepositions, such as because, contribute meaning, tend to introduce clauses that function as adjuncts, and cannot be omitted.
A preposition whose complement precedes it may be called a postposition to distinguish it from more prototypical prepositions, whose complements follow them. Some grammars classify prepositions and postpositions as different kinds of adpositions while other grammars categorize both under the heading of the more common variety in the language. Thus, in the latter categorization method, postpositions may be considered a variety of preposition in English.
Finally, a preposition that consists of two or more words is called a complex preposition. It is a matter of debate as to whether these groups of words each function as a single preposition or the initial preposition simply takes a complement that contains another preposition. Traditional grammars and some dictionaries take this complex preposition approach, but grammars informed by work in linguistics vary in how they address these groups of words. While Bas Aarts, for instance, takes the complex preposition approach, Randolph Quirk and his colleagues suggest that there is “a scale of cohesiveness” that ranges from sequences of words which behave very much like simple prepositions to sequences of words that behave like syntactically separate units. On the other hand, Rodney Huddleston and Geoffrey K. Pullum explicitly reject the complex preposition analysis. They argue that though the close semantic relationship between behind and in front of may make an analysis in which in front of is a single preposition seem appealing, there is syntactic evidence against this approach. Consider the following:
  1. It is behind the car.
  2. It is behind.
  3. It is in front of the car.
  4. *It is in front of.
If in front of were a single preposition in the same way as behind is, we would expect the fourth clause to be grammatical in the same way that the second is. The fact that the fourth clause is not grammatical suggests that in front of is not a constituent. Given the lack of consensus on the status of complex prepositions, they appear below in their own separate section.

Prototypical prepositions

The following are single-word prepositions that can take a noun phrase complement following the preposition. Prepositions in this section may also take other kinds of complements in addition to noun phrase complements. Prepositions marked with an asterisk can be used transitively or intransitively.
The following are single-word intransitive prepositions. This portion of the list includes only prepositions that are always intransitive; prepositions that can occur with or without noun phrase complements are listed with the prototypical prepositions. Note that dictionaries and grammars informed by concepts from traditional grammar may categorize these intransitive prepositions as adverbs.
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The following are single-word prepositions that take clauses as complements. Prepositions marked with an asterisk in this section can only take non-finite clauses as complements. Note that dictionaries and grammars informed by concepts from traditional grammar may categorize these conjunctive prepositions as subordinating conjunctions.
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The following are prepositions that consist of multiple words. They are categorized according to their structure.

Preposition + preposition

English has many idiomatic expressions that act as prepositions that can be analyzed as a preposition followed by a noun followed by another preposition. Common examples include:
The following complex prepositions do not follow either of the common structures for complex prepositions.

Prototypical prepositions