Prepositions Test — English Grammar Exercises
Waited at the bus stop, ran across the road, been learning Japanese for three years — how many of these 30 mixed questions can you get right?
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It was raining, so we waited ___ the bus stop.
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at
'At the bus stop' — a specific point/location.
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There's a small shop ___ the corner of the street.
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on
'On the corner' of a street — on the outside, at the intersection.
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The children are playing ___ the garden.
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in
'In the garden' — the garden is an enclosed area you are inside of.
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It's impossible to find anything ___ all these books and papers!
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among
'Among' — in the middle of many things (a group). 'Between' is for two specific items.
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Her test score was just ___ the average.
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below
'Below the average' — for positions on a scale, use 'below', not 'under'.
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There are lots of lovely walks ___ the River Thames.
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along
'Along the river' — following the river's path.
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The cat jumped ___ the table and knocked over a glass.
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onto
'Onto the table' — movement from below to the surface. 'On' would mean it was already there.
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She ran ___ the road to catch the bus on the other side.
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across
'Across the road' — from one side to the other of a flat surface.
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The train goes ___ a long tunnel before reaching the city.
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through
'Through the tunnel' — moving inside an enclosed space from one end to the other.
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He fell ___ his bike and hurt his knee.
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off
'Fell off' — leaving a surface. A bike is a surface you sit on.
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She opened the door and walked ___ the room.
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into
'Into the room' — movement from outside to inside.
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Come down ___ that wall immediately! It's too high to play on.
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off
'Come down off' — leaving a surface. The wall is a surface.
Prepositions Test: Place, Movement, Time, Function and Fixed Phrases
English prepositions are consistently identified as one of the hardest areas of grammar for intermediate learners, precisely because a rule that works for one preposition rarely transfers to another. Data from the Cambridge Learner Corpus attributes roughly 16% of all grammar errors at B1–B2 level to prepositions, and unlike verb tense or article mistakes, preposition errors don't cluster around a single rule — they spread across five largely independent systems: place, movement, time, function, and fixed idiomatic phrases. This test samples all five areas in 30 mixed multiple-choice questions, mirroring the kind of rapid category-switching that Cambridge First (FCE) and IELTS writing tasks actually demand from a single paragraph. Learners who score well on single-topic drills but poorly on mixed tests typically have a recognition problem rather than a knowledge gap: they know each rule in isolation but haven't practised choosing between systems under normal writing conditions, where a sentence about place can be followed immediately by one about time or function.
Prepositions of Place
Place prepositions answer 'where?' with no movement involved. 'At' marks a specific point ('at the bus stop'); 'in' marks an enclosed space ('in the garden'); 'on' marks a surface, including the outside corner of a street ('on the corner'). 'Among' applies to a group of three or more or an undifferentiated mass ('among all these books'), while 'between' is reserved for exactly two identified items. 'Below' (not 'under') is used for abstract positions on a scale, such as a test score, and 'along' describes a position following the length of something linear, like a river.
Prepositions of Movement
Movement prepositions describe a path from one place to another. 'Onto' marks arrival on a surface from below or outside ('jumped onto the table'), distinct from 'on', which describes a static position. 'Across' means from one side of a flat surface to the other ('ran across the road'); 'through' means moving inside and out the other end of an enclosed three-dimensional space ('goes through a tunnel'); 'into' means entering an enclosed space ('walked into the room'); and 'off' means leaving a surface ('fell off his bike', 'came down off the wall').
Prepositions of Time
Time prepositions each answer a different question about when. 'At' fixes a precise clock time ('at 9 o'clock'); 'on' fixes a specific day ('on Friday afternoons'); 'for' states a duration ('for three years'); 'during' means at some point within a period, followed by a noun ('during his lectures'); 'until' marks the end point of a continuing situation ('closed until the end of February'); and 'in' can mean a future point counted from now ('back in ten minutes').
Functional Prepositions
These prepositions express roles, tools, comparisons, and causes rather than physical location. 'As' expresses an actual role or identity ('works as a doctor'); 'with' introduces a tool held to perform an action ('cut with a knife'); 'like' introduces a comparison, not an identity ('smells like roses'); 'about' introduces the object of an emotion ('worried about my test'); 'by' introduces a method, including payment method ('pay by credit card'); and 'of' introduces an unchanged, visible material ('made of leather').
Fixed Prepositional Phrases
A cluster of everyday expressions assign a preposition by convention rather than by any general spatial or functional rule, so each has to be learned as a whole unit: 'by mistake' (accidentally), 'on purpose' (intentionally), 'in charge of' (responsible for), 'on time' (punctual, at the scheduled moment), 'at least' (a stated minimum), and 'in the end' (eventually, after considering everything — distinct from 'at the end of', which needs a following noun phrase).
Common Mistakes
✗ It's impossible to find anything between all these books. → ✓ ...among all these books. ('among' for a group, not two items)
✗ Her test score was just under the average. → ✓ Her test score was just below the average. ('below' for positions on a scale)
✗ The cat jumped on the table. → ✓ The cat jumped onto the table. ('onto' for movement to a surface)
✗ She's been learning Japanese since three years. → ✓ ...for three years. ('for' + a length of time)
✗ I sometimes fall asleep while his lectures. → ✓ ...during his lectures. ('during' + noun, 'while' + clause)
✗ I love your perfume — it smells as roses. → ✓ ...it smells like roses. ('like' for comparison, not actual identity)
✗ This bag is made from leather. → ✓ This bag is made of leather. ('of' when the material stays visible and unchanged)
✗ He did it by purpose. → ✓ He did it on purpose. (fixed phrase, not a general rule)
✗ It landed right in time. → ✓ It landed right on time. (fixed phrase 'on time' = punctual)
Frequently Asked Questions
What's the difference between prepositions of place and prepositions of movement?
Prepositions of place (in, on, at, among, below, along) describe where something is — a fixed position with no motion involved: 'waiting at the bus stop', 'a shop on the corner'. Prepositions of movement (onto, into, across, through, off) describe a change of position — motion from one place to another: 'the cat jumped onto the table', 'she ran across the road'. The clearest test is whether the sentence describes a static location (place) or a path/direction (movement). Some prepositions shift meaning with the addition of movement: 'on' the table (place, already there) versus 'onto' the table (movement, arriving there from below).
How do I know whether to use 'for' or 'since' with time?
'For' introduces a length of time — a duration, counted in units: 'for three years', 'for ten minutes', 'for a week'. 'Since' introduces a starting point in time — the moment something began: 'since 2020', 'since Monday', 'since I arrived'. Both commonly appear with present perfect tenses to describe a situation continuing up to now: 'She's been learning Japanese for three years' (duration) versus 'She's been learning Japanese since 2023' (starting point). A quick test: if you can put a number and a time unit after the word, it's 'for'; if you need a specific date, day, or event, it's 'since'.
What is the difference between 'like' and 'as' in comparisons?
'Like' introduces a comparison — it means 'similar to', and is followed by a noun or pronoun: 'It smells like roses' (it isn't actually roses, just similar). 'As' introduces a role or an actual identity, often after the verb 'work': 'She works as a doctor' (she genuinely is a doctor, not just similar to one). Confusing the two changes the literal meaning of a sentence: 'he behaved like a manager' means he acted similarly but wasn't one, while 'he worked as a manager' states his actual job.
Why don't fixed phrases like 'on purpose' and 'by mistake' follow the normal preposition rules?
Fixed prepositional phrases are idiomatic — the preposition was set by convention centuries ago and no longer follows a predictable spatial or logical rule, so it has to be memorised as part of the whole expression rather than derived from a general pattern. 'By mistake' (accidentally), 'on purpose' (intentionally), 'in charge of' (responsible for), 'on time' (punctual), and 'at least' (a minimum) are among the highest-frequency examples. Swapping the preposition ('in mistake', 'at purpose') produces a phrase native speakers don't use, even though the swapped preposition might seem logical in isolation.
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