Prepositions of Position

Correct Uses of Prepositions of Position

Prepositions of position—at, in, between, among, amongst, above, under, below, over, etc.—tell the reader or listener about the position of someone or something.

• At is used to indicate an exact point:

For example:
• a)  The tourist stayed at the Tourist Hotel.
• b)  He studied at Oxford.
• c)  He is waiting at the door.

• In is used to express larger areas:

For example:
• He lives in Bombay.

• Between is used for two persons or two things:

For example:
• a)  Share these sweets between Gretchen and Liam
• b)  It is a secret between you and me.

• Among is used with more than two persons or things but before the word which starts with consonant letter.

For example:
• Divide the sweets among the three boys.

• Amongst is also used with more than two persons but before the word which starts with a vowel letter.

For example:
• Divide the sweets amongst us.

• Above is used for higher than.

For example:
• a)  The sun rose above the horizon.
• b)  We were flying above the clouds.

• Under is used for lower than.

For example:
• It is shady under the trees.

• Below is used for lower than.

For example:
• a)  When the sun sets it goes below the horizon.
• b)  Your work is below average.

• Over is used for vertically above.

For example:
• a)  There is an aircraft coming over.
• b)  The bathroom is over the kitchen.

• Beneath means a lower position.

For example:
• The ground was slippery beneath her.