Prepositions
Prepositions never translate one-to-one — French à alone maps onto at, to, in and on. The good news: for time and place, English runs on a tidy three-step scale, in → on → at, from large and general to small and exact.
Time: in / on / at
| scope | examples | |
|---|---|---|
| in | long periods | in May, in 2024, in summer, in the morning, in the 19th century |
| on | days and dates | on Monday, on 4 July, on Christmas Day, on Friday morning |
| at | clock times & points | at six o'clock, at noon, at night, at the weekend (US: on the weekend), at Christmas (the season) |
- No preposition before last, next, this, every: see you Ø next week (✗ on next week).
- in also means "after this much time": I'll be there in ten minutes.
- for + duration, since + starting point, ago after the amount: for two years, since 2020, two years ago (French il y a deux ans flips the order).
- until = up to a moment; by = no later than: Stay until five. Finish it by five.
Place: in / on / at
| scope | examples | |
|---|---|---|
| in | inside a volume or area | in the box, in the kitchen, in London, in France, in the car |
| on | touching a surface or line | on the table, on the wall, on the third floor, on the bus/train/plane |
| at | a point, a place-as-station | at the door, at the bus stop, at work, at school, at home, at the airport |
- Vehicles: in a car or taxi, but on a bus, train, plane, bike.
- arrive at a place, arrive in a city/country — never ✗ arrive to.
- Movement is to: go to London, come to my house — but go Ø home (✗ to home).
- German speakers: the two-case dance (in die Stadt vs in der Stadt) collapses — direction is to, location is in/at, and prepositions never change any endings.
The collocations you must memorise
The verb chooses the preposition; logic won't help, and your first language will actively mislead:
| English says | not | (trap from) |
|---|---|---|
| listen to music | ✗ listen music | escuchar música |
| wait for the bus | ✗ wait the bus / attend | attendre le bus |
| depend on you | ✗ depend of/from | dépendre de, dipendere da |
| married to him | ✗ married with | casado con, marié avec |
| dream of/about you | ✗ dream with | soñar con |
| ask Ø somebody | ✗ ask to somebody | demander à |
| discuss / enter / phone / answer Ø it | ✗ discuss about, enter in, answer to | discuter de, entrer dans |
| good at maths | ✗ good in | bueno en, gut in |
| interested in art | ✗ interested for/by | intéressé par |
| afraid of dogs | ✗ afraid from | |
| it consists of … | ✗ consists in |
Learn verb + preposition as one word: look at (direct your eyes), look for (search), look after (take care of) are three different verbs.
Small but constant
- Stranding is normal: prepositions happily end sentences — Who are you waiting for? the house I grew up in. Don't contort into for whom.
- by = agent or means: a book by Orwell, pay by card, by train — but walk on foot is wrong: it's on foot.
- with = instrument: cut it with a knife.
- Verb after a preposition takes -ing: good at swimming, before leaving, without asking (✗ without to ask).
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