English · Grammar · SSC & HSC
Prepositions — Rules, Types & Exercise
What prepositions do, the main types, and how to choose the right one for time, place and direction.
A preposition is a word placed before a noun or pronoun to show its relation to another word in the sentence — in, on, at, by, with, for. English prepositions are chosen by usage rather than by translation, which is why a Bengali sentence and its English version rarely take matching prepositions. Learn them in three groups: time, place and direction.
Where it is set: SSC & HSC English 2nd Paper — Grammar
Prepositions of time: at, on, in
English uses three prepositions for time, and they narrow from the widest span to the most precise point. In takes the longest periods, on takes days and dates, and at takes exact times. Learning them in that order makes the whole set easy to recall.
| Preposition | Used for | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| in | months, years, seasons, centuries, parts of the day | in June, in 1971, in winter, in the morning |
| on | days and dates, and a specific morning or evening | on Friday, on 16 December, on Monday morning |
| at | exact times, festivals, and night | at 5 o’clock, at noon, at Eid, at night |
| since | a point when something began | since 2020, since Monday |
| for | a length of time | for three hours, for two years |
| by | no later than | Finish it by Friday. |
| during | throughout a period | during the holidays |
- ✗ He came in Friday. ✓ He came on Friday. — days take on
- ✗ She has been ill since three days. ✓ She has been ill for three days. — for takes a length, since takes a starting point
Prepositions of place: at, on, in
The same three words also handle place, and again they narrow from wide to precise. In means inside an area or a volume, on means touching a surface, and at means a point or a specific address.
| Preposition | Sense | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| in | inside an enclosed space or a large area | in the room, in Dhaka, in Bangladesh |
| on | touching a surface, or a line | on the table, on the wall, on the river |
| at | a point, an address, an event | at the door, at 12 Green Road, at the meeting |
| above / below | higher or lower, not touching | The fan is above the table. |
| over / under | directly higher or lower, may cover | The bridge is over the river. |
| between / among | two things / more than two | between you and me; among the students |
| beside / besides | next to / in addition to | Sit beside me. Besides English, he knows French. |
- ✓ He lives in Dhaka, at 12 Green Road. — the city is an area, the address is a point
- ✗ Divide the money between the four boys. ✓ Divide the money among the four boys. — between is for two
Prepositions of direction and movement
Direction prepositions describe a path rather than a position. The commonest error is using a position word where a path word is required, because Bengali often uses one form for both.
- to — movement towards a destination: He went to school.
- into — movement from outside to inside: She walked into the room.
- onto — movement to a surface: The cat jumped onto the table.
- from — the starting point: He came from Sylhet.
- towards — in the direction of, without necessarily arriving: He walked towards the gate.
- through — in one side and out the other: The train went through the tunnel.
- across — from one side to the other: He swam across the river.
- along — following the length of: They walked along the road.
- ✗ He entered into the room. ✓ He entered the room. — enter takes no preposition
- ✓ She poured the milk into the glass. — movement to the inside
Verbs that take no preposition
A small group of common verbs is transitive in English and takes its object directly, even though the equivalent Bengali expression uses a postposition. Adding a preposition after them is an error, and it is set deliberately.
| Verb | Correct | Common error |
|---|---|---|
| enter | enter the room | enter into the room |
| discuss | discuss the matter | discuss about the matter |
| marry | marry her | marry with her |
| resemble | resemble his father | resemble to his father |
| reach | reach Dhaka | reach at Dhaka |
| attack | attack the enemy | attack on the enemy |
| request | request him | request to him |
| obey | obey your parents | obey to your parents |
- ✗ They discussed about the problem. ✓ They discussed the problem.
- ✗ We reached at the station on time. ✓ We reached the station on time.
Prepositional phrases used as one unit
Some prepositions come in fixed multi-word groups that act as a single preposition. They are common in formal writing and appear regularly in gap-filling questions, so learn them as whole phrases.
- in spite of, despite — concession: In spite of his illness, he came. Note that despite takes no of.
- because of, owing to, due to — cause: He failed because of his carelessness.
- instead of, in place of — replacement.
- according to, in accordance with — conformity.
- with a view to, with an eye to — purpose; both take a gerund: with a view to passing.
- in addition to, apart from — addition; both take a gerund or a noun.
- ✗ Despite of his illness, he came. ✓ In spite of his illness, he came. — despite never takes of
- ✗ He works hard with a view to pass the exam. ✓ He works hard with a view to passing the exam. — here to is a preposition
Practice
Work through these before you check the answers — the reasoning matters more than the answer.
- He was born ___ 16 December, 1971.
- She has been waiting ___ two hours.
- Divide the mangoes ___ the two brothers.
- The thief entered ___ the house at midnight.
- He is suffering ___ fever.
- They walked ___ the bridge to reach the other side.
- ___ his poverty, he is honest.
- He lives ___ Dhaka, ___ 12 Green Road.
Answers
- on — dates take on.
- for — a length of time takes for.
- between — two people take between.
- no preposition — enter takes its object directly.
- from — the fixed combination is “suffer from”.
- across — from one side to the other.
- In spite of — concession.
- in … at — a city is an area, an address is a point.
Frequently Asked Questions
Both for time and for place they run from the widest to the narrowest. For time: in a month or year, on a day or date, at an exact hour. For place: in an enclosed space or area, on a surface, at a point or address. If you can picture the size of what follows, you can usually pick the right one.
Because discuss is already transitive in English — it takes its object directly, so the preposition is redundant. The Bengali expression uses a postposition, which is why the error is so common here. The same applies to enter, marry, reach, obey, attack and resemble.
Use since before the point at which something started — since Monday, since 2020, since morning. Use for before the length of the period — for three days, for two years, for a long time. A quick test: if the words after the blank name a moment, use since; if they measure a stretch, use for.
It is despite, with no of. The confusion comes from in spite of, which does take of and means exactly the same thing. Both are correct; “despite of” is not. Choose one and use it consistently.
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