Prepositions beginning with L

One-word prepositions

less

• 10 less 3 = 7.

like

• She is like her sister.
• She sings like a bird.
• It's not like John to complain.
• Do it like this.
• I feel like swimming.
• It looks like rain.
• I want something cold, like iced-coffee.

Prepositions beginning with I

One-word prepositions

in

• Monkeys live in the jungle.
• John is the man with his hand in his pocket.
• I live in an apartment.
• She lives in Bangkok.
• Tara was born in 1977.
• Trains were invented in the nineteenth century.
• I'll come back in two weeks.
• Let's meet in the morning.
• There are 60 seconds in a minute.

including

• The price is $70 including $10 for delivery. (Total = $70.)
• There were four of us, including the baby.

inside

• It was dark inside the tunnel.
• My modem is inside my computer. It's an internal modem.

into

• John went into that shop.
• If you heat ice it turns into water.
• We cut the cake into ten pieces.
• Five into ten makes two.

Complex prepositions

in addition to

• There were two people in addition to me. So that made three of us.

in between

• He is in between the two opinions. He wants to compromise.

in case of

• You can phone me in case of need. Day or night.

in face of

• He reacts bravely in face of danger.

in favour of

• I am not in favour of your idea. It won't work.

in front of

• You can park your car in front of my house.
• I couldn't see the film because the woman in front of me was wearing a big hat.

in lieu of

• I don't have any dollars. Can I pay euro in lieu of dollars?

in spite of

• We went swimming in spite of the cold water.

instead of

• We don't have any tea. Would you like coffee instead of tea?

in view of

• In view of your illness, we will wait for a week.

Prepositions beginning with G

One-word prepositions

given

• He is in very good health, given his age. He's at least 95.
• Given the time, you ought to leave now.

gone (mainly British English)

• It's certainly gone 11 o'clock. It must be 11.30.
• He's gone 50. He must be nearly 60 years old.

Prepositions beginning with F

One-word prepositions

following

• We had coffee following lunch.
• He couldn't work following his illness.

for (also conjunction)

• This is for you.
• Do you want to go for a walk?
• You use a corkscrew for opening bottles.
• Cigarettes are bad for you.
• I'm saving for a new car.
• Is this the road for Rome?
• They passed me over for John.
• Is this the train for Cambridge?
• I bought it for $10.
• We worked for three hours.
• Keep walking for two kilometres.

from

• Where do you come from?
• This letter is from my wife.
• I bought this car from Henry.
• They prevented me from entering.
• My car is different from yours.
• We worked from Monday to Wednesday.
• Paper is made from wood.
• It can cost anything from $5 to $15.
• The police took my driving licence from me.
• He died from overwork.

Complex prepositions

forward of

• He was sitting forward of me in the plane. I could just see the back of his head.

further to

• Further to your letter, I have spoken to Mr Brown.

Prepositions beginning with E

One-word prepositions

except

• You can have any colour except blue. There is no more blue.
• They all came except Stephen. He didn't want to come.

excepting

• I can eat anything excepting pork. It makes me sick.
• Excepting Jo, everyone was present. No-one knew where Jo was.

excluding

• It costs $70, excluding $10 for delivery. (Total = $80.)
• We open every day excluding Christmas Day. On Christmas Day we have a holiday.

Complex prepositions

except for

• Everyone was present, except for Mary. She stayed at home.

Prepositions beginning with D

One-word prepositions

despite

• We went swimming despite the cold water.
• He passed the test despite being ill.

down

• They ran down the hill.
• The post office is down the road.
• They have had many wars down the years.

during

• He fell asleep during the meeting.
• I want to go swimming during the weekend.
• I was bored during the whole film.

Complex prepositions

depending on

• We'll play tennis tomorrow, depending on the rain.

due to

• The cancellation was due to the rain. There was no other reason.

Prepositions beginning with C

One-word prepositions

circa

• He died circa 1270.

concerning

• Your teacher talked to me concerning your homework.
• I have some questions concerning your decision.

considering

• Considering the poor quality, I think the price is too high.
• I think I must be going, considering the time.

counting

• There were four people, or five counting the baby.
• That makes $70, not counting the tax.

cum

• I have a study-cum-bedroom.
• She is a kind of secretary-cum-receptionist.

Complex prepositions

close to

• My car is close to your car. About two cars away.

contrary to

• Contrary to expectations, the euro fell in value.