Students should refer to the following Preposition Rules of English Grammar. These rules have been designed by expert English teachers to help students appearing in English Exams in schools or competitive examinations. You should remember the following Preposition Rules so that you can use them correctly and score good marks in examinations. You should refer to all Rules of English Grammar provided by us to strengthen your understanding.

Preposition Rules English Grammar

AT, ON & IN (When they are referring to a place)
Rule 1- At is used, when we see something as a point in space.
For Example:
I will meet you at Rohan’s place.
There’s someone at the door.

Rule 2- On is used to refer to a surface.
For Example:
• The book is kept on the table.
• There were lots of pictures on the walls.

Rule 3- In is used, when we see something as all around.
For Example:
It was hot in the auditorium.
I have a 50 rupees note in my pocket.

Rule 4- In general, we use in for a bigger place like country or town and at
for a smaller place.
For Example:
I will meet you in Delhi.
I will meet you at Rohan’s place

AT, ON & IN (When they are referring to time)
Rule 5- We use at with a particular time such as a clock time or meal time.
For Example:
• at half past Nine,
• at lunch (time),
• at that time,
• at the moment

Rule 6- We also use ‘at’ with periods of two or three days.
For Example:
• at Diwali,
• at Holi,
• at the weekend

Rule 7- We use ‘on’ with a single day.
For Example:
• on Thursday,
• on 10th August,
• on Easter Sunday

Rule 8- We use ‘in’ with longer periods.
For Example:
• in the next few days
• in the summer holidays
• in august
• in the 20th century

Rule 9- We also use in with a part of the day.
For Example:
• in the afternoon,
• in the morning

BETWEEN & AMONG
Rule 10- Between is used to refer to a small number of items which are separate from each other.
For Example:
• This tournament is between him and me.
• This tri-series is between India, England & South Africa.

Rule 11- Each/Every cannot be used after between. For Eg:-
• Between Each girl. (It is wrong)
• There are 10 millimeters between each centimeter. (Remove Each)

Rule 12- Among refers to a larger group.
  For Example:
• I saw her among the crowd.
• Pens were distributed among the students.

TO & TOWARDS
Rule 13- We use ‘to’ for a destination and ‘towards’ for a direction.
  For Example:
• We’re going on a trip to Ladakh.
• We are going towards chandigarh.

DURING & OVER
Rule 14- We use ‘during’ with an event (e.g. the festival) or a period which is
a definite time. It means the whole period.
For Example:
• Nobody was working during the festival.
• The parcel arrived during the festival.

Rule 15- But we cannot use during + length of time.
• For Example: The festival went on during a week. (Replace during with for)

Rule 16- We can also use ‘over’ for a whole period of time.
For Example:
• Over a period of two months there was sudden rise in the value of gold.

FOR & SINCE
Rule 17- We use for + length of time and since + time. For Eg:-
• for a week
• for two days
• for a few seconds
• since 1988
• since last week
• since Monday
• since half past two

For Example:
• I just want to walk for five minutes.
• I will stay at your place for a week.
• It has been raining since Monday morning.
• I haven’t seen you since September.

Rule 18- We do not normally use “for” before a phrase with all or whole.
• It rained for the whole day. (Incorrect)
• It rained the whole day (Correct)

Till/until
Rule 19- We use till/until to say when something finishes. Till is not the contracted form of until. They are usually interchangeable.
For Example:
• The UP government will not pass any bill till/until next assembly session.
• I will be working in Infosys till/until next January.

Beside/Besides
Rule 20- Beside and Besides have completely different meanings. One needs to be cautious during their usage.
Beside = at the side of
Example
He was standing beside ram.

Rule 21- Besides = in addition to / as well as
Example
He has a house besides a flat in gurgaon.