Prepositions of Direction

Fiche | Anglais
Definition

Prepositions of direction are helpful to understand where someone or something is going.

Common Prepositions of Direction

Click the preposition to see it used in context.

across

along

around

away from

down

from

into

off

out of

over

through

to

towards

under

up

Examples

across

People crossing the street.

They walked across the street.

along

Woman on a bike.

She biked along the river.

around

Birdview of a neighborhood.

Nina takes nice strolls around the neighborhood.

away from

Woman leaving a man.

Nina decided to walk away from Keith.

down

Woman running downhill.

She ran down the hill.

from

Woman in front of map.

She comes from the United States of America. 

into

Woman entering a bumber car.

She got into the bumper car.

off

Woman stepping off a boat.

Nina got off the boat.

out of

Woman hailing a taxi.

She walked out of the theatre and the taxi was waiting for her.

over

Taxi driving on a bridge.

They drove over the river.

through

Taxi driving through a tunnel.

After, they passed through the new tunnel.

to

People going to the park.

The band went to the park.

towards

Woman riding a horse.

She rode her horse towards the sunset.

under

Aircraft flying in the sky.

The bird flew under the small aircraft.

up

Woman riding a bike.

Nina rode her bike up the trail to see the view.

The Preposition To

Tip

The preposition to is always used with verbs implying movement. 

Many English learners tend to use at instead, which is wrong.

For example:

Incorrect

Correct

I’m going at the gym tonight.

I’m going to the gym tonight. 

I went at Paris for my vacation.

I went to Paris for my vacation.

Nina ran at the stage

Nina ran to the stage

After she walked at the piano.

After she walked to the piano.

Everyone rushed at the front.

Everyone rushed to the front.

The musicians hurried at their instruments.

The musicians hurried to their instruments.

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The Real-Life Nina