Complete Guide to Prepositions: Time, Place, Direction & Common Mistakes

Complete Guide to English Prepositions

English Grammar • Prepositions Mastery • Urdu Examples • Updated December 2025 • Lists & Exercises

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Prepositions are small but powerful words that show relationships between nouns, pronouns, and other words. This guide covers all essential prepositions (in, on, at, to, for, by, with) with rules, visual examples, and Urdu explanations to master their usage.

📚 What Are Prepositions?

Prepositions connect nouns/pronouns to other words in a sentence, showing relationships of time, place, direction, manner, or cause.

✅ Key Characteristics of Prepositions:
  1. Always followed by a noun/pronoun (object)
  2. Show relationships between words
  3. Can be single words (in, on) or phrases (in front of)
  4. Often come before time, place, and direction words

Complete Preposition List

  • at, in, on (time & place)
  • to, from, into, onto (direction)
  • for, with, by, about (purpose/manner)
  • above, below, under, over (position)
  • between, among, beside, next to (position)
  • before, after, during, since (time)
  • of, off, out of, within (various uses)
  • through, across, along, around (movement)

Basic Examples:

  • The book is on the table. (place)
  • We'll meet at 3 PM. (time)
  • She walked to the park. (direction)
  • This gift is for you. (purpose)

حرف جار وہ الفاظ ہیں جو اسم یا ضمیر کو جملے کے دوسرے الفاظ سے جوڑتے ہیں۔

⏰ Prepositions of Time (At, On, In)

The three most important time prepositions: at, on, and in.

Preposition Use For Examples Urdu Explanation
AT Specific times, holidays, night at 5 PM, at Christmas, at night مخصوص اوقات کے لیے
ON Days, dates, specific days on Monday, on 25th Dec, on my birthday دنوں اور تاریخوں کے لیے
IN Months, years, seasons, centuries in January, in 2025, in summer, in the 21st century مہینوں، سالوں اور موسموں کے لیے
AT - Exact Points
  • at 9:00 AM
  • at noon
  • at midnight
  • at the moment
  • at the same time

مخصوص وقت کی نشاندہی

ON - Specific Days
  • on Monday
  • on December 25
  • on the weekend
  • on my birthday
  • on Christmas Day

مخصوص دنوں کے لیے

IN - Longer Periods
  • in the morning
  • in the afternoon
  • in the evening
  • in May
  • in 2025

طویل عرصوں کے لیے

⚠️ Common Time Preposition Exceptions:
  • ❌ at the morning → ✅ in the morning
  • ❌ in night → ✅ at night
  • ❌ on the afternoon → ✅ in the afternoon

📍 Prepositions of Place Explained

Prepositions that describe where something is located.

IN
Inside something
ON
Surface contact
AT
Specific point
UNDER
Below something
BETWEEN
In the middle
Preposition Meaning Example Urdu Meaning
IN Inside an enclosed space in the room, in the car, in the box کسی بند جگہ کے اندر
ON On a surface on the table, on the wall, on the floor کسی سطح پر
AT Specific point/location at home, at school, at the station مخصوص مقام پر
UNDER Below something under the table, under the bed کسی چیز کے نیچے
OVER Above, covering over the bridge, over my head اوپر، ڈھکا ہوا
BETWEEN In the middle of two between two chairs, between us دو چیزوں کے درمیان
AMONG In the middle of many among the trees, among friends کئی چیزوں کے درمیان
NEXT TO Adjacent to next to me, next to the bank کسی کے بالکل ساتھ

🧭 Prepositions of Direction

Prepositions that show movement from one place to another.

Preposition Meaning Example Sentence Visual Concept
TO Movement toward Go to school, Come to me → [destination]
FROM Movement away Come from home, From here to there [origin] →
INTO Entering Walk into the room, Jump into water ○→●
OUT OF Exiting Get out of the car, Out of the country ●→○
THROUGH Passing within Drive through the tunnel, Through the forest →│→
ACROSS From one side to other Walk across the road, Swim across the river ←→
ALONG Following a path Walk along the river, Drive along the coast ━━━━→
UP/DOWN Vertical movement Go up the stairs, Down the hill ↑ / ↓

Direction Preposition Examples:

  • She walked to the market.
  • He came from London.
  • The cat jumped into the box.
  • We drove through the city.
  • They walked across the bridge.

حرف جار سمت وہ ہیں جو حرکت کی طرف یا سمت بتاتے ہیں۔

❌ Common Preposition Mistakes

These are the most frequent errors English learners make with prepositions.

Mistake: Wrong Time Preposition

❌ Incorrect: I will see you in Monday.

✅ Correct: I will see you on Monday.

دنوں پر "on" استعمال کریں

Mistake: Place Confusion

❌ Incorrect: I live at Karachi.

✅ Correct: I live in Karachi.

شہروں پر "in" استعمال کریں

Mistake: Redundant Prepositions

❌ Incorrect: Where are you going to?

✅ Correct: Where are you going?

"where" کے ساتھ "to" ضروری نہیں

Common Error Wrong Correct Rule
Time with "last/next" on last Monday last Monday No preposition with last/next
Home/Work/School to home, to work home, at work No "to" with home/work/school
Married/Discuss married with, discuss about married to, discuss Fixed prepositions
Arrive arrive to arrive at/in Arrive at (small), in (big)
Dependent depend of depend on Fixed preposition

🔗 Verb + Preposition List

Many English verbs are always followed by specific prepositions.

Verb Preposition Example Urdu Meaning
agree with I agree with you. اتفاق کرنا
apologize for Apologize for being late. معافی مانگنا
apply for Apply for the job. درخواست دینا
believe in Believe in yourself. یقین رکھنا
belong to This book belongs to me. تعلق رکھنا
care about I care about you. فکر کرنا
complain about Complain about the service. شکایت کرنا
consist of The team consists of 5 players. پر مشتمل ہونا
depend on It depends on the weather. منحصر ہونا
listen to Listen to music. سننا
look for I'm looking for my keys. تلاش کرنا
pay for Pay for the meal. ادائیگی کرنا
rely on You can rely on me. بھروسہ کرنا
speak to/with Speak to the manager. بات کرنا
think about/of Think about your future. سوچنا
wait for Wait for the bus. انتظار کرنا

🎨 Adjective + Preposition List

Adjectives also require specific prepositions in English.

Adjective Preposition Example Meaning
afraid of afraid of spiders خوف
angry with/at angry with him غصہ
aware of aware of the problem آگاہ
bad at bad at math کمزور
capable of capable of winning قابل
different from different from others مختلف
excited about excited about the trip پرجوش
famous for famous for its food مشہور
fed up with fed up with waiting تنگ آجانا
fond of fond of chocolate شوقین
good at good at English اچھا
interested in interested in learning دلچسپی
keen on keen on football شوقین
proud of proud of my son فخر
responsible for responsible for the team ذمہ دار
similar to similar to mine مشابہ
tired of tired of working تھکا ہوا

📝 Comprehensive Practice Exercises

Exercise 1: Fill in the Correct Preposition
  1. I'll meet you ______ 5 PM.
    Answer: at
  2. She's good ______ singing.
    Answer: at
  3. The book is ______ the table.
    Answer: on
  4. I'm interested ______ learning French.
    Answer: in
  5. We're going ______ the cinema.
    Answer: to
Exercise 2: Correct the Preposition Mistakes
  1. I arrived to the station. → I arrived at the station.
  2. She's married with a doctor. → She's married to a doctor.
  3. I'll see you in Monday. → I'll see you on Monday.
  4. He's afraid from dogs. → He's afraid of dogs.
Exercise 3: Translate to English
  1. میں صبح سویرے اٹھتا ہوں۔
    Answer: I wake up in the morning.
  2. وہ میز کے نیچے ہے۔
    Answer: It is under the table.
  3. میرا گھر بینک کے ساتھ ہے۔
    Answer: My house is next to the bank.

Quick Reference Summary

Category Key Prepositions Examples Rule
Time at, on, in at 3 PM, on Monday, in July at (specific), on (days), in (periods)
Place in, on, at in room, on table, at home in (inside), on (surface), at (point)
Direction to, from, into go to, come from, jump into Movement relationships
Common Pairs listen to, look for Listen to music, look for keys Fixed verb+preposition combos
Adjective Pairs good at, afraid of Good at math, afraid of dark Fixed adjective+preposition

حروف جار انگریزی کے اہم حروف ہیں جو تعلق ظاہر کرتے ہیں۔ ان کا صحیح استعمال فصیح انگریزی کے لیے ضروری ہے۔

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