Prepositions of movement come in pairs and sets: to and from, into and out of, on and off, up and down, over and under, through, round, along, across and past. We usually say put something in, not into.
A to, from
to = towards a place. from = starting at a place.
- Hannah is going to Greece next week.
- We walked from the beach to the hotel.
- Lots of English words come from French.
B into, out of
into (or in) = going inside. out of = coming outside.
We usually say put something in (not into).
- We dived into the sea.
- A woman came out of the shop and got into a taxi.
- Why are you staring out of the window?
- I took the dead batteries out of the remote.
- I put the new batteries in the remote.
C on, off
on = onto a surface. off = away from a surface.
- Don't put your boots on the sofa.
- Please take your boots off the sofa.
- I'm going to put some shelves on this wall.
- Careful! Don't fall off the ladder.
- We got on the tram outside the station.
D up, down, over, under
up / down = higher / lower. over = from one side to the other, above something. under = from one side to the other, below something.
- We cycled up the hill to the farm.
- Mind you don't fall down the stairs.
- The balloon floated over the town.
- The cat jumped over the fence into next door's garden.
- Some people think it's bad luck to walk under a ladder.
E through, round, along, across, past
through = in one side and out of the other. round (or around) = in a circle, or to the other side of. along = following a line. across = from one side to the other. past = going by something without stopping.
- A pigeon flew into the kitchen through the window.
- The old road goes through the town.
- The new bypass goes round the town.
- The chemist's is just round the corner.
- We wandered round the old town and took loads of photos.
- We wandered around the old town.
- I was walking along the canal with my dog.
- Let's go for a stroll along the beach.
- The horse swam across the river.
- She walked past me without saying hello.
- "Sorry, which way is the library?" "Follow this road, go past the bank and under the bridge, and you'll see the library on the right."
Exercises
110.1 Somebody asks you the way. Read each scene and tell them which way to go. Begin with Go ... .
A road with a church on one side. The route carries straight on beyond it.
(the church)
Go past the church.
Go past the church.
A railway bridge across the road. The route goes beneath it.
(the bridge)
Go under the bridge.
A steep lane rising towards a farm at the top.
(the hill)
Go up the hill.
A flight of stone steps leading from the road to the harbour below.
(the steps)
Go down the steps.
A long, straight street lined with shops. The route follows it to the end.
(this street)
Go along this street.
A hotel entrance. The route goes in through the front door.
(the hotel)
Go into the hotel.
A hotel at the side of the road. The route carries on beyond it without stopping.
(the hotel)
Go past the hotel.
Someone standing inside a hotel lobby. The route leads out through the front door.
(the hotel)
Go out of the hotel.
A small stone bridge over a stream. The route goes across the top of it.
(the bridge)
Go over the bridge.
A park with a gate on each side. The route goes in one gate and out of the other.
(the park)
Go through the park.
110.2 Read each scene and complete the sentence with a preposition.
A dog paddling from one bank of a river to the other.
The dog swam across the river.
The dog swam across the river.
A dictionary tumbling from a shelf to the floor.
A book fell the shelf.
A book fell off the shelf.
A plane high above the roofs of a village.
A plane flew the village.
A plane flew over the village.
A woman stepping out of the driver's door of a car.
A woman got the car.
A woman got out of the car.
A girl sprinting from one pavement to the other.
A girl ran the road.
A girl ran across the road.
A car speeding into view from behind a building at a bend.
Suddenly a car came the corner.
Suddenly a car came round the corner.
A road running into one end of a village and out of the other.
They drove the village.
They drove through the village.
Passengers stepping from the platform up into a carriage.
They got the train.
They got on the train.
A diagram of the Moon's path circling the Earth.
The Moon travels the Earth.
The Moon travels round the Earth.
Two burglars climbing in through an open window.
They got the house a window.
They got into the house through a window.
110.3 Put in a preposition (over, from, into etc.).
I gazed the window and watched the boats in the harbour.
I gazed out of the window and watched the boats in the harbour.
The cinema is very close. It's just the corner.
The cinema is very close. It's just round the corner.
Can you show me how to load paper this printer?
Can you show me how to load paper into this printer?
How far is it here the station?
How far is it from here to the station?
We wandered the gallery for two hours and saw some amazing paintings.
We wandered round the gallery for two hours and saw some amazing paintings.
You can hang your jacket the back of the door.
You can hang your jacket on the back of the door.
In volleyball, the ball has to go the net.
In volleyball, the ball has to go over the net.
Omar took his phone his pocket and checked the time.
Omar took his phone out of his pocket and checked the time.