PREPOSITIONS

Preposition	Meaning	Examples
above	higher than, or over	The sun is above the clouds.
across	from one side to the other	It's dangerous to run across the road.
after	- following something - later than	- The boy ran after the ball. - I'll phone you after lunch.
against	- in opposition to - in contact with	- Stealing is against the law. - The sofa is against the wall.
along	from one end to the other	They are walking along the street.
among	surrounded by	Peter was among the spectators.
around	- in a circle - near, approximately	- He walked around the table. - It costs around 50 euros.
before	- earlier than - in front of	- The day before yesterday. - He bowed before the king.
behind	at the back of	Passengers sit behind the driver.
below	lower than	His shorts are below his knees.
beneath	under	The pen was beneath the books.
beside	next to	The bank is beside the cinema.
between	in the space separating two things	Mary sat between Tom and Jane.
by	near, at the side of	The restaurant is by the river.
close to	near	The school is near the church.
down	from higher to lower	She pulled down the blind.
for	what is intended	I bought this book for you.
from	where something starts or originates	The wind is blowing from the north.
in	at a point within an area	The pen is in the drawer.
in front of	directly before	The child ran out in front of the bus.
inside	on the inner part of	The bird is inside the cage.
into	enter a closed space	He went into the shop.
near	close to	The school is near the church.
next to	beside	The bank is next to the cinema.
off	down or away from	He fell off the horse.
on	in a position touching a surface	The plate is on the table.
onto	move to a position on a surface	The cat jumped onto the roof of the car.
opposite	facing, on the other side	Eva sat opposite Tom at the table.
out of	- move from a closed space - without	- He got out of the taxi. - She's out of work.
outside	opposite of inside, on the outer side	The garden is outside the house.
over	- above/across - on the surface of	- The plane flew over the Atlantic. - She put a sheet over the furniture.
past	beyond	She drove past the supermarket.
round	in a circular movement	The earth moves round the sun.
through	from one side to the other	The Seine flows through Paris.
throughout	in every part of	The virus spread throughout the country.
to	in the direct of / towards	On the way to the station.
towards	in the direction of	The child ran towards her father.
under	beneath, below	Water flows under the bridge.
underneath	beneath	There was dust underneath the rug.
up	towards or in a higher position	She walked up the stairs.

POSSESSIVES

Rule	Examples
Singular Nouns :  (even if the meaning is plural  or if there are several words.)	Add 's after the possessor.	- Tom's car  - The cat's tail.  - The children's toys  - The Queen of England's jewels
Plural Nouns	Add 's after the plural 's'.	- My parents' car.  - The students' rooms.  - My grandparents' house
Names/nouns ending in 's'	Add 's after the last 's'.	- Denis's wife  - Gladys's job  - The boss's office.
Double Possessive	Add 's after the possessor's name, or use a possessive pronoun.	- A friend of my father's    (one of his friends, not the only one.)  - A friend of mine/    his/hers/ours/yours/theirs.  - A friend of Julie's
Shops and people's homes	Often take the possessive.	- At the hairdresser's  - At the dentist's  - At the Brown's
N.B. The apostrophe followed by s ('s) (ex:Tom's), to denote possession, is used for living things. living things (humans and animals) : John's car, the cat's milk, the dog's tail  (not the car's door) groups and institutions : The government's proposal, the company's policy. BUT : the door of the car the leg of the table. the roof of the house.

OF - FROM

Many learners find it difficult to know when to use ‘of’ and when to use ‘from’ in English.
Very often this comes from the fact that in a number of languages the same preposition
is used for both 'of’ and ‘from’.
The clarifications below are intended to serve as a guide for English learners.

OF

• ‘Of’ for possession :
  
  To denote possession, the apostrophe followed by s ('s), (for example: Tom's), is used
  for living things or groups and institutions.
  
  
  • Tom's house.
  • The dog's tail.
  • The government's policy.
  
  ‘Of’ is used when referring to inanimate objects, to mean that something belongs
  to something else.
  
  
  • The roof of the car.
  • The title of the book.
  • The name of the game.
• 'Of' is used in certain expressions such as :
  
  
  • It is nice (good /kind /generous /silly /stupid etc.) of (somebody) to do (something)
    
    - It was nice of you to invite me.
    - It was generous of Tom to pay for lunch.
    - It was stupid of Sam to leave the window open.

• ‘Of’ is used after adjectives :
  There is no real pattern – you need to learn them as you meet them. Here are some examples, but please remember that this is not a complete list :
  
  - afraid of
  - ashamed of
  - aware / unaware of 
  - capable of
  - fond of
  - proud of
  - sure/certain of
  - tired of 

• 'Of’ is used after certain verbs :
  Again, this is not a complete list, but here are some examples :
  
  - accuse (somebody) of something
  - complain of
  - dream of 
  - hear of
  - remind (somebody) of someone/something
  - think of

FROM

• ‘From’ is used to refer to origins :
  
  'From' is used to indicate that something originates or comes from something else or
  some person. For example,
  - Kate comes from England
  - The passage is from a poem written by Lord Byron.


• From - To / From - Until :
  'From' is used with the prepositions 'to' and 'until' to mark the beginning and ending point of an action in time. For example,
  - I work from 9 to 5 every day.
  - We will be in London next week from Tuesday until Friday.
• 'From' after adjectives :‘From’ is seldom used after adjectives but in British English we find :
  - different from 
• ‘From’ is used after certain verbs :
  This is not a complete list, but here are some examples :
  
  - borrow from
  - disappear from
  - discourage from
  - prevent from
  - protect from

OTHER - ANOTHER

• Other (adjective)
  
  Other is an adjective meaning 'different' or 'the second of two items'.
  Other can be used with singular or plural nouns.
  Here are some examples :
  
  
  • There's some water left in this bottle. The other bottle is empty.
  • Some children learn quickly but other children need more time.
  • I can't find my other shoe.
  • Have you got any other questions?
Other can be used before 'one' or 'ones' when the meaning is clear from the text.


• I’m not going to wear this dress. I prefer the other one.
• These shoes don’t go well with the dress. The other ones look better.


• Other/others (pronoun)
  
  Other can also be a pronoun to refer to things or people. The plural form is others.
  
  
  • 80% of the students arrive on time.
    The others (the other students) are always late.
  • There are two cookies left.  You have one and I'll have the other.
  • Only half of the guests have arrived.  Where are the others?

• Another (adjective)
  
  When we use ‘an’ before ‘other’, we write it as one word: another.
  Another expresses quantity.  It means 'additional' or 'one more'.
  
  We use another with singular nouns: another chair, another day.
  
  
  • There are six people for dinner but there are only 5 plates.
    We need another plate.
  • This cake is delicious.  Could I have another slice please?
  • Please give me another chance.  I promise to try harder.
Another can be used before a plural noun when that noun is preceded by a number,
or words/phrases such as a couple of, few etc.


• The investigation will take another two weeks/couple of weeks.

Another can be used before “one” when the meaning is clear from the preceding text.


• You’ve already had an ice-cream. You can’t have another one.

Another can also mean ‘an alternative’ or ‘different’


• This place isn’t great. Is there another place we could go to?
• I'm not happy with this product.  Next time I'll buy another brand.

• Another (pronoun)
  
  We can use another as a pronoun:
  
  
  • The text is corrected by one person, then edited by another.

LINKING WORDS and PHRASES

Linking words and phrases in English (also called 'connective' or 'transition' words) are used
to combine two clauses or sentences presenting contrast, comparison, condition, supposition, purpose, etc. They enable us to establish clear connections between ideas.

Most linking words can either connect clauses within a sentence, or start a sentence to form
a link with the previous statement.

♦Note : A clause is a group of words that includes a subject and a verb.
 The following sentence contains two clauses:
 She lives in Mexico because she likes the climate.

Below you will find some examples of linking words and how to use them.  This is not a comprehensive list. You may want to add your own linking words and phrases.

Examples of linking words within one sentence:

Linking Words	Example of use
As long as provided (that) providing	You can take my car as long as/provided (that)/providing you don't damage it. (I will lend you my car on condition that you don't damage it.)
Although/even though	Although/even though he is rich, he lives in a small house. (In spite of the fact that he is rich, he lives in a small house.)
Even if	He is poor and has no house, but even if he had money, he wouldn't buy a house. (Supposing he had the money, he still wouldn't buy a house.)
In case	Take an umbrella in case it rains. (It might rain, so it's a good idea to take an umbrella.)
In spite of / despite	In spite of/despite the rain, she walked to the station. in spite of/despite being blind, he walked to the station. (without being affected by the rain or by being blind.)
So that	She arrived early so that she could help her colleagues. (She arrived early for the purpose of helping her colleagues.)
Whatever	You can count on me whatever you decide to do. (No matter what your decision is, you can count on me.)
Whereas	Tom is rich, whereas Jack is poor. (Tom is rich; in contrast Jack is poor.)
Whenever	I will lend you my car whenever you need it. (No matter when you need my car, I will lend it to you.)
Wherever	My thoughts will be with you wherever you go. (No matter where you go, my thoughts will be with you.)

Examples of linking words that connect two separate sentences or two clauses:

♦Note : If linking words start a sentence, they are followed by a comma.
   When they are used to connect two clauses, a semi-colon is used at the end
   of the first clause, and a comma is often used after the linking word(s).

Linking Words	Example of use
As a result Consequently Therefore	Prices were reduced by 20%. As a result, sales increased. The company is expanding. Consequently, there are jobs on offer. A hurricane has been announced. Therefore, air traffic will be disrupted.
Besides Furthermore In addition Moreover	The trip is too expensive. Besides, I don't really like hot weather. Computers are cheaper nowadays; furthermore, they are lighter. You haven't paid the rent yet.  In addition, you owe me money. The report is badly presented. Moreover, it contains inaccuracies.
For instance For example	There are several problems to consider; for instance/for example, there is a lack of public transport.
Conversely On the contrary On the other hand	Northern European countries had a great summer. On the contrary/conversely, southern Europe had poor weather. Laptops are convenient; on the other hand, they can be expensive
However Nevertheless Nonetheless	The hotel was open. However, nobody came to the reception desk. He had severe injuries; nevertheless, he completely recovered. The weather was bitterly cold.  He went hiking nonetheless.
In the same way Likewise Similarly By the same token	Alex enjoys telling jokes; in the same way/similarly/likewise, his son adores funny stories. Teenagers should be more respectful; by the same token, parents should be more understanding.
To summarise/sum up Briefly To conclude In conclusion	I've covered the main events of the year. To sum up/briefly, our team is now one of the best in the world. To conclude, I want to wish you all a very happy holiday season.