Prepositions Visual Map

Time, place, movement, and dependent prepositions — plus the verb + preposition chunks that always travel together.

TIME Prepositions of Time

The Time Scale: specific → general
Exact time
at
Days/Dates
on
Longer periods
in
at
Exact times & moments
at 5 pm • at noon • at midnight • at the weekend (BrE)
on
Days & specific dates
on Monday • on July 4th • on my birthday • on Christmas Day
in
Months, years, seasons, long periods
in March • in 2024 • in summer • in the morning
for / since / during
Duration & periods
for 3 hours (duration) • since Monday (starting point) • during the meeting (within)
by / until
Deadlines vs continuous waiting
by Friday (no later than, a deadline) • until Friday (up to that point, then stops) • Finish it by 5. Wait until I call.

PLACE Prepositions of Place

Position relationship
Point
at
Surface
on
Enclosed
in
at
Specific point/location
at the bus stop • at the door • at home • at work
on
On a surface
on the table • on the wall • on the floor • on the bus
in
Inside/enclosed space
in the box • in London • in the car • in a building
between / next to / behind
Relative position
between A and B • next to the bank • behind the house • in front of

MOVEMENT Prepositions of Movement

to
Destination
go to school • walk to the park • fly to Paris
from
Origin/starting point
from home • come from Spain • far from here
into / out of
Entering/leaving enclosed space
get into the car • walk out of the room • jump into the pool
through / across / along
Path/direction
walk through the park • swim across the river • drive along the coast
towards / away from
Direction (no arrival)
run towards the exit • walk away from danger
up / down / over / under
Vertical movement
climb up the stairs • jump over the fence • go under the bridge

DEPENDENT Dependent Prepositions

Adjective + Preposition
good/bad at
interested in
afraid/scared of
different from
responsible for
famous for
proud of
keen on
Verb + Preposition
listen to
depend on
believe in
belong to
look at/for/after
wait for
think about/of
agree with
Noun + Preposition
reason for
advantage of
solution to
interest in
effect on
difference between
Common Confusions
arrive at (place) / in (city)
married to (not "with")
discuss — (no preposition!)
explain to sb
similar to (not "as")

FIXED Verb + Prep Chunks in Depth

Some verbs always need a specific preposition — learn them as one fixed chunk, not two separate words.

to
listen to (escuchar)
talk to (hablar con)
belong to (pertenecer a)
at / for / after
look at (mirar)
look for (buscar)
look after (cuidar de)
laugh at (reírse de)
for
wait for (esperar)
ask for (pedir)
pay for (pagar por)
apologize for (disculparse por)
on
work on (trabajar en)
depend on (depender de)
spend on (gastar en)
concentrate on (concentrarse en)
insist on (insistir en)
of
take care of (cuidar / encargarse)
consist of (consistir en)
with / in
agree with (estar de acuerdo con)
believe in (creer en)
about
think about (pensar en)
dream about (soñar con)
complain about (quejarse de)
from
suffer from (sufrir de)
Tip: when you learn a new verb, always learn its preposition at the same time — write them together as one chunk (depend on, not just depend) so you never have to guess later.

WH- Question Chunks (Stranded Preposition)

In everyday spoken English, the preposition moves to the end of the question instead of before the Wh-word.

QuestionPrepMeaning
Where are you from?from¿De dónde…?
Who are you going with?with¿Con quién…?
What are you talking about?about¿De/sobre qué…?
Who did you speak to?to¿A/con quién…?
What is this button for?for¿Para qué…?
Who is this present for?for¿Para quién…?
What city do you live in?in¿En qué…?
What are you looking at?at¿A qué/en qué…?
Who are you laughing at?at¿De quién te ríes…?
What are you working on?on¿En qué…?
Where are you going to?to¿A dónde…?
Who are you thinking about?about¿Sobre quién…?
What do you think of this?of¿Qué opinas de…?
What did you open it with?with¿Con qué…?
Who did you get this from?from¿De quién…?
Where are you staying at?at¿En dónde…?
Tip: ending a question with a preposition (Who are you talking to?) is completely natural and standard in everyday English — it is not incorrect, despite what some traditional grammar rules say.