A preposition is a word or group of words used before a noun, pronoun, or noun phrase to show direction, time, place, location, spatial relationships, or to introduce an object. Prepositions of direction give readers a sense of place or location. Direction preposition tells about the way which a person or thing moves or is directed, in relation to other people and things.
|
Preposition |
Example |
Rule/Idea/use |
|
away from |
Why are you going
away from me? |
When we talk about
the distance between two places, we
use far away from |
|
across |
She walked across
the road. |
from one side to the
other side |
|
along |
A soldier walked
along the rope. |
in a line; from one
point to another |
|
out of |
He came out of the
room. |
It indicates a
motion towards outside of something |
|
up to |
He came up to her
and asked a question. |
To some specific
point/location |
|
past |
The bullet whistled
past my right ear. |
To go very close by |
|
through |
The river runs
through the woods. |
going from one point
to the other point |
|
to |
This bus goes to
Dhankuta. |
towards sth./sb. |
|
into |
The thief jumped
into a car and drove away. |
indicating movement
into an enclosed place or object |
|
round |
We travelled round
the country. |
moving to many
different parts or areas/ moving in a circular way |
|
onto |
The cat climbed onto
the roof. |
Onto is used to mean
a surface and not an enclosed place. It should be used while describing
movement in an open place. |
|
towards |
He started walking
towards the library. |
This is a
preposition of direction that specifies the destination that one is heading
to. |
|
off |
Don’t jump off that
wall. |
leaving a place, or
going away from something |
B. Complete the following sentences
using the correct prepositions of direction: to, toward, onto, or into.
a. Prem drove Milan ……
the airport.
→ Prem drove Milan toward the airport.
b. The plane landed ……
the runway.
→ The plane landed onto the runway.
c. The kids climbed ……
the monkey bars.
→ The kids climbed onto the monkey bars.
d. Manish and Richa
moved the table …… the dining room.
→ Manish and Richa moved the table into the dining room.
e. Ganesh almost fell
…… the river.
→ Ganesh almost fell into the river.
f. Lalit and Sarita
took the bus that was heading …… the university.
→ Lalit and Sarita took the bus that was heading toward
the university.
C. Complete the sentences with the
correct preposition from the brackets.
a. While we were hiking
…… the forest, we saw a mountain lion. (across/ through/along/under)
→ While we were hiking through the forest, we saw a mountain
lion.
b. The leopards walked
in a circle …… the baby giraffe before they attacked. (into/towards/round/through)
→ The leopards walked in a circle round the baby giraffe before they
attacked.
c. Go …… the building
and turn left. (into/up/off/out of)
→ Go out of the
building and turn left.
d. She ran …… home when
she was eighteen. (towards/away from/down/ across)
→ She ran away from home
when she was eighteen.
e. Raindrops ran …… the
windscreen making it difficult to see the road. (into/up/down/over)
→ Raindrops ran down the windscreen making it
difficult to see the road.
f. Hemanta put the
plate …… the table and began to eat his dinner. (onto/into/up/off)
→ Hemanta put the plate onto the table and began to eat his
dinner.
g. The frightened deer
disappeared …… the forest. (up/onto/into/toward)
→ The frightened deer disappeared into the forest.
h. We were driving ……
the City Centre when we had an accident. (up/into/ towards/along)
→ We were driving towards the City Centre when we had an
accident.
i. The smoke from the
fire went …… into the sky. (into/up/to/onto)
→ The smoke from the fire went up into the sky.