Prepositions: Easy Tips For Correct Usage

From English students to fluent speakers, many people struggle with prepositions. A preposition is something that explains the relationship between different words in a sentence. For example, if you had the words "I am" and "the restaurant," you could use the preposition "in" to show that you are in the restaurant.

Sometimes, people don't know how to choose the right preposition for the sentence. In other situations, people don't know where they should place the preposition. It's a good idea to keep these tips in mind whenever you're dealing with prepositions. They'll help you ensure you're using them as intended.

Prepositions Are Common Words

People often see prepositions as something unusual. However, prepositions actually tend to be very common words. You probably use prepositions all the time without even thinking about them. You don't need to see prepositions are some strange and fearful thing, you just need to get used to using them correctly.

Read As Much As You Can

The biggest challenge most people have with prepositions is that they don't know where they should place them in the sentence. It's common for people who don't read a lot to start or end their sentences with prepositional phrases. While this can be acceptable, there are usually more natural places to place prepositions.

Spend time reading, and you'll get a better feel for how sentences are usually put together. You won't have to think about where you should place a preposition; it'll come to you naturally.

Learn Common Prepositions

There are certain prepositions you'll see all the time, words like in, after, between, or on. Make sure you take the time to look up these words and see how they're typically used. It'll be easier for you to make sure that you're using them correctly.

There's Often More Than One Correct Preposition

Some people agonize over which preposition they should use in a given situation. Is it better to say that they're in the diner, or is it better to say that they're at the diner? In this case, both usages are correct, and the best usage really depends on what the person is trying to say.

For example, if someone is expecting to meet you at the diner, you could say "I'm at the diner" to signify that you've arrived. If someone doesn't know where you are, you could say "I'm in the diner" to signify that you're inside the building.

Common prepositions tend to vary from region to region, and people often tend to use prepositions in different ways. Keep in mind that words can have more than one correct usage, and that you don't have to obsess over making sure you use the right word every single time.

Study prepositions and take the time to learn as much about them as you can. The more you know about them, the more you'll be able to use them. Read a lot, talk a lot, and soon, prepositions will come to you naturally. You won't even have to think about them.