Prepositions

This is a list of English prepositions. In English, some prepositions are short, typically containing six letters or fewer. There are, however, a significant number of multi-word prepositions. Throughout the history of the English language, new prepositions have come into use, old ones fallen out of use, and the meaning of existing prepositions has changed. Nonetheless, the prepositions are by and large a closed class.

Single words -

aboard - about - above - across - after - against - along - alongside - amid - amidst - among - amongst - around - as - aside - astride - at - athwart - atop - barring - before - behind - below - beneath - beside - besides - between - beyond - but - by - circa - concerning - despite - down - during - except - excluding - failing - following - for - from -given - in - including - inside - into - like - mid (from "amid". Usually used poetically.) - minus - near - next - notwithstanding (also used post positionally) - of - off - on - onto - opposite - out - outside - over - pace - past - per - plus - qua - regarding - round - save - since - than - through - throughout - till - times - to - toward - towards - under - underneath - unlike - until - up - upon - versus - via - with - within - without - worth

Multiple words

Two words -

according to - ahead of - as of - as per - as regards - aside from - because of - close to - due to - except for - far from - in to (contracted as into) - inside of (note that inside out is an adverb, not a preposition) - instead of - near to - next to - on to (contracted as onto) - out from - out of - outside of - owing to - prior to - pursuant to - regardless of - subsequent to - thanks to - that of

Three words -

as far as - as well as - by means of - in accordance with - in addition to - in case of - in front of - in lieu of - in place of - in point of - in spite of - on account of - on behalf of - on top of - with regard to - with respect to

Archaic or infrequently used -

anent - anti (loan word) - behither - betwixt - cum (loan word) - ere - fornenst - fornent - outwith - pro (loan word) - qua (loan word) - re (loan word) - sans (loan word) - unto (largely supplanted by to; used in some formal, religious, or archaic contexts) - vis-à-vis (loan word)

Not fully grammaticalised -

concerning - considering - regarding - worth

Preposition-like modifiers of quantified noun phrases -

apart from - but - except - plus - save

Postpositions -

ago as in "five years ago", sometimes (wrongly) considered an adverb rather than a postposition

apart as in "this apart", also used prepositionally ("apart from this")

aside as in "such examples aside", also used prepositionally ("aside from such examples")

away as in "five light years away", sometimes (wrongly) considered an adverb or an adjective rather than a postposition

hence as in "five years hence", sometimes considered an adverb rather than a postposition notwithstanding also used prepositionally

on as in "five years on", also used prepositionally

through as in "the whole night through", also used prepositionally

withal archaic as a postposition meaning with