A preposition is a word placed before a noun or pronoun to show its relation to another word in the sentence: “The file is on the desk.” “We met at noon.” Common prepositions are at, on, in, by, for, since, to, into, from, with, between and among. Lok Sewa papers test prepositions through fill-in-the-blanks and error spotting, so learn each rule below with its examples.
1. Prepositions of time: at, on, in
| Preposition | Used with | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| at | exact clock times and points of the day | at 10 o’clock, at noon, at midnight, at night, at sunrise |
| on | days and dates | on Sunday, on 15 Baisakh, on my birthday, on Monday morning |
| in | months, years, seasons, centuries and longer periods | in Asar, in 2080 BS, in winter, in the 21st century |
| in | parts of the day | in the morning, in the afternoon, in the evening |
Notice the pattern: at is used for a point, on for a day, and in for a longer period. Remember the special pair “in the morning” but “at night”.
When a day is joined to a part of the day, use on: “The meeting is on Friday evening.”
No preposition is used before this, that, next, last, every, today, tomorrow and yesterday: “Bishnu will come next week.” (not “in next week”) “We met last Monday.” (not “on last Monday”)
2. Prepositions of time: since, for, by, until, during
2.1 Since and for
- Since is used with a point of time (the starting point): since Monday, since 2075 BS, since morning, since five o’clock.
- For is used with a length of time: for two hours, for three days, for ten years.
Both are mostly used with the perfect tenses: “Laxmi has lived in Dhangadhi since 2070.” “Laxmi has lived in Dhangadhi for ten years.”
2.2 By and until (till)
- By means not later than a time. It shows a deadline: “Submit the form by Friday.” (on Friday or before)
- Until or till means up to a time. The action continues and stops at that time: “The office stays open until five o’clock.”
Compare: “I will finish the report by Sunday.” (a deadline) and “I will wait here until Sunday.” (waiting continues up to Sunday)
2.3 During
During means within a period, and it is followed by a noun, not by a clause: “Many people visit Janakpur during Chhath.” “Rina slept during the film.”
For a clause (subject plus verb), use the conjunction while: “Rina slept while the film was running.”
3. Prepositions of place: at, on, in, between, among
| Preposition | Idea | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| at | a point or a particular place | at the bus stop, at the gate, at home, at the office |
| on | a surface | on the table, on the wall, on the floor, on page ten |
| in | inside an enclosed space or an area | in the room, in the box, in Kathmandu, in Nepal |
“Sita is waiting at the gate.” “Your pen is on the table.” “The children are in the classroom.”
Use in with countries and big cities: “Dawa lives in Kathmandu.” “Biratnagar is in Koshi Province.”
Between and among
- Between is used for two persons or things: “Divide the mangoes between Ram and Shyam.”
- Among is used for more than two, or a group: “Divide the mangoes among the five students.”
4. Prepositions of movement
These prepositions show movement from one place to another.
| Preposition | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| to | towards a destination | Gopal went to Pokhara. |
| into | movement from outside to inside | The cat jumped into the well. |
| onto | movement to a surface | The boy climbed onto the roof. |
| out of | movement from inside to outside | She walked out of the hall. |
| from | starting point | The bus came from Butwal. |
| across | from one side to the other of a surface or line | We walked across the bridge. |
| through | from one end to the other inside something | The train passed through the tunnel. |
| along | following the length of something | They walked along the river bank. |
| towards | in the direction of | The dog ran towards me. |
Some verbs need care:
- Arrive at a small place (a station, an airport, a building) and arrive in a city or country: “We arrived at Tribhuvan Airport.” “We arrived in Kathmandu.” Never “arrive to”.
- Reach and enter take no preposition: “We reached Ilam at noon.” “The minister entered the hall.”
5. Commonly confused pairs
| Pair | Difference | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| beside / besides | beside = next to; besides = in addition to | Sit beside me. Besides English, she knows French. |
| in / into | in = position (no movement); into = movement inside | The fish are in the pond. He jumped into the pond. |
| between / among | between = two; among = more than two | between two friends; among all the villagers |
| since / for | since = point of time; for = length of time | since 2079 BS; for three years |
| by / until | by = deadline; until = continues up to | Pay by Friday. Wait until Friday. |
| on time / in time | on time = at the planned time; in time = early enough | The bus left on time. We reached in time to catch it. |
| by / with | by = the doer (agent); with = the tool (instrument) | The letter was written by Hari with a pen. |
6. Fixed preposition phrases
Many adjectives, verbs and nouns are always followed by a particular preposition. These must be learned by heart.
6.1 Adjective plus preposition
| Phrase | Example |
|---|---|
| good at / bad at | Sunil is good at mathematics. |
| interested in | Anita is interested in music. |
| afraid of | The child is afraid of dogs. |
| fond of | My grandfather is fond of sel roti. |
| proud of | We are proud of our heritage. |
| famous for | Bhaktapur is famous for juju dhau. |
| married to | Sarita is married to a doctor. |
| responsible for | The officer is responsible for the records. |
| senior to / junior to / superior to / inferior to | Ramesh is senior to me. This cloth is superior to that one. |
Note that senior, junior, superior and inferior take to, not than.
6.2 Verb plus preposition
| Phrase | Example |
|---|---|
| depend on | Farmers depend on the monsoon. |
| insist on | He insisted on paying the bill. |
| listen to | Please listen to the teacher. |
| belong to | This land belongs to the government. |
| consist of | The committee consists of five members. |
| agree with (a person) / agree to (a proposal) | I agree with you. The board agreed to the plan. |
| prefer … to | Kabita prefers tea to coffee. |
| succeed in | Bikash succeeded in passing the exam. |
| prevent … from | Rain prevented us from going out. |
| congratulate … on | We congratulated Maya on her success. |
Verbs that take no preposition before the object: discuss, reach, enter, attend, resemble, order and request. Say “discuss the matter”, not “discuss about the matter”; “Rita resembles her mother”, not “resembles with”.
7. Common errors and corrections
| Wrong | Right | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| I was born on 2058 BS. | I was born in 2058 BS. | Years take in. |
| We will meet in Sunday. | We will meet on Sunday. | Days take on. |
| He has been ill since three days. | He has been ill for three days. | Length of time takes for. |
| She will come on next Monday. | She will come next Monday. | No preposition before next. |
| They reached to Butwal. | They reached Butwal. | Reach takes no preposition. |
| Let us discuss about the plan. | Let us discuss the plan. | Discuss takes no preposition. |
| He jumped in the river. | He jumped into the river. | Movement inside takes into. |
| Distribute the sweets between the ten children. | Distribute the sweets among the ten children. | More than two takes among. |
| She is senior than me. | She is senior to me. | Senior takes to. |
| He is good in English. | He is good at English. | Good takes at. |
| It depends upon on you. | It depends on you. | Use one preposition only. |
8. Worked examples
Fill in each blank with the correct preposition, or write a dash if none is needed.
- The train leaves ___ 6:30 ___ Tuesday.
- Answer: at, on. Clock times take at; days take on.
- Prakash has worked in this office ___ 2072 BS, that is ___ about nine years.
- Answer: since, for. 2072 BS is a point of time; nine years is a length of time.
- You must return the library book ___ Thursday.
- Answer: by. It is a deadline, meaning on or before Thursday.
- The property was divided ___ the two brothers.
- Answer: between. There are only two brothers.
- ___ Nepali, Ganesh speaks Maithili and Hindi.
- Answer: Besides. It means “in addition to”.
- The students entered ___ the hall and listened ___ the speaker.
- Answer: -, to. Enter takes no preposition; listen takes to.
- Kamala is interested ___ painting, and she is very good ___ it.
- Answer: in, at. These are fixed phrases.
📌 Key points to remember
- At for clock times and points (at noon, at night), on for days and dates, in for months, years, seasons and centuries.
- Say in the morning but at night; on Friday evening when a day is named.
- No preposition before next, last, this, every, today or tomorrow.
- Since with a point of time; for with a length of time.
- By means not later than (a deadline); until means up to that time.
- During is followed by a noun; while is followed by a clause.
- At a point, on a surface, in an enclosed space or a city or country.
- Between for two; among for more than two.
- In shows position; into shows movement inside.
- Beside means next to; besides means in addition to.
- Reach, enter, discuss, attend and resemble take no preposition.
- Learn fixed phrases: good at, interested in, depend on, senior to, prefer … to, prevent … from.
Test yourself: Prepositions in English
25 questions check what you read about Prepositions of time: at, on, in, Prepositions of movement and Worked examples.