Unable to find a complete list of English prepositions on the net, I have set out to create one.
I believe I have a pretty complete list now.
I do not include phrases of more than one word (like "in front of"), nor do I include gerunds ("ing" forms of verbs, like "including").
| about | above | across | after | against | along |
| alongside | amid | amidst | among | amongst | around |
| at | as | before | behind | below | beneath |
| beside | besides | between | betwixt | beyond | by |
| despite | down | during | except | for | from |
| in | inside | into | like | near | nearby |
| of | off | on | onto | out | outside |
| over | past | since | through | throughout | till |
| to | toward | towards | under | underneath | until |
| up | upon | upside* | with | within | without |
Here is a simple "preposition test":
If you are wondering whether a word is a preposition, try putting it in the following sentence.
If it makes sense, you probably have a preposition.
Prepositions are interesting to me because they seem to be the least well developed part of any language. (In other languages they may appear as postpositions, suffixes, prefixes, etc., and/or may be called some unenlightening term like "particle".) There are only a small number of them in any language, so each one (as well as various combinations) gets overloaded with numerous meanings, often influenced or determined by the specific verb used. They are some of the most basic, essential words of any language, yet it is practically impossible for non-native speakers to learn to consistently use them as a native speaker would.
Interestingly, almost all prepositions have a locational or temporal meaning.