List of English prepositions

This is a list of English prepositions. Many English prepositions are compounds of bare roots and affixes such as a-, be-, -side, and -st, giving English a relatively high number of morphemically distinct prepositions. However, these processes are no longer productive, and many of these prepositions have fallen out of use or become limited to a certain dialect. English prepositions generally remain a closed class.

Some single words

Prepositions

  1. aboard
  2. about
  3. above
  4. absent (law)
  5. across
  6. after
  7. against
  8. along
  9. alongside
  10. amid
  11. among
  12. apropos (rare for apropos of)
  13. apud (formal)
  14. around
  15. as
  16. astride
  17. at
    • @ (abbreviation)
  18. atop, ontop
  19. bar
  20. before
  21. behind
    • ahind (dialectal or archaic)
  22. below
  23. beneath
  24. beside
  25. besides
  26. between
  27. beyond
    • ayond (dialectal or archaic)
  28. but
  29. by
  30. chez (rare)
  31. circa
  32. come
  33. dehors (law)
  34. despite
  35. down
  36. during
  37. except
  38. for
    • 4 (abbreviation)
  39. from
  40. in
  41. inside
  42. into
  43. less
  44. like
  45. minus
  46. near
  47. notwithstanding (also postpositional)
  48. of
  49. off
  50. on
  51. onto
  52. opposite
  53. out
    • outen (archaic or dialectal)
  54. outside
  55. over
  56. pace (formal)
  57. past
  58. per
  59. plus
  60. post (often hyphenated)
  61. pre (often hyphenated)
  62. pro (often hyphenated)
  63. qua (formal)
  64. re (often used with colon)
  65. sans (formal)
  66. save
  67. short
  68. since
  69. than
  70. through
  71. throughout
  72. till
  73. to
    • 2 (abbreviation)
  74. toward, towards
  75. under
  76. underneath
  77. unlike
  78. until
  79. unto
  80. up
  81. upon
  82. upside
  83. versus
  84. via
  85. vice (formal)
  86. vis-à-vis (formal)
  87. with
  88. within
    • w/i (abbreviation)
  89. without
    • w/o (abbreviation)
  90. worth

Multiple words

Two words

Three words

  1. as far as is one example of the many expressions which can be analyzed as as+adjective+as rather than a multiword preposition
  2. as opposed to
  3. as soon as
  4. as well as

Preposition + (article) + noun + preposition

English has many idiomatic expressions that act as prepositions that can be analyzed as a preposition followed by a noun (sometimes preceded by the definite or, occasionally, indefinite article) followed by another preposition.[1] Common examples include:

Archaic or dialectal

See also archaic forms of modern prepositions listed above.

  1. abaft (nautical or archaic)
  2. abeam (nautical)
  3. aboon, abun, abune (dialectal)
  4. afront (dialectal or archaic)
  5. ajax (Polari)
  6. alongst
  7. aloof
  8. anenst, anent (rare, U.K. dialectal)
  9. athwart (nautical or archaic)
  10. atop, ontop
  11. behither
  12. ben (dialectal)
  13. betwixt, atwix (dialectal or archaic)
  14. bewest (dialectal or archaic)
  15. benorth (dialectal or archaic)
  16. emforth
  17. ere (poetic or archaic)
  18. forby (dialectal or archaic)
  19. foreanent, forenenst (dialectal or archaic)
  20. foregain, foregainst (dialectal or archaic)
  21. forth
  22. fromward, froward, fromwards
  23. furth (Scotland)
  24. gainward
  25. imell (dialectal or archaic)
  26. inmid, inmiddes
  27. mang (Devon)
  28. mauger, maugre
  29. nearhand (archaic or dialectal)
  30. next (archaic for next to; originally superlative of nigh)
  31. nigh, anigh, anighst (poetic or archaic)
  32. outwith (dialectal)
  33. overthwart (archaic or dialectal)
  34. quoad (formal; a Latin term)
  35. umbe, umb, um (archaic or dialectal)
  36. unto (archaic or poetic)
  37. uptill

Postpositions

  1. ago
  2. apart
  3. aside
  4. away
  5. hence
  6. notwithstanding (also prepositional)
  7. on
  8. short (also prepositional)
  9. through
  10. withal (archaic)

Song to remember the prepositions

(Sung to the tune of Yankee Doodle)

About Above Across Against Among Around At After Before Beside Behind Between Beyond By Down During Into For From In Except Near Of Off To Over Past Throughout Through Towards On Up Without Until With Under

See also

References

  1. ↑ Rodney Huddleston, Geoffrey K. Pullum; et al. (2002). "chapter 7 §3.1". The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 618–620. ISBN 0-521-43146-8.
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