Uploaded July 2026 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
In this English lesson, you will learn *what prepositions are* and *how to use them.* Do they always need objects? Can you follow them with verbs? In this video, you will learn the grammar rules related to prepositions in English, and you will also practice using them in different contexts. Finally, for more prepositions practice, watch my video on the 10 Most Frequent Preposition Mistakes in English (youtu.be/cRKbG4h2YQw), and do the quiz under it. Thanks for clicking! engvid.com/how-prepositions-actually-work-english-grammar
Visit my website at EnglishAlex.com for more English resources!
In this lesson:
0:00 How do PREPOSITIONS work? 3 RULES
0:44 1. Prepositions show relationships
3:33 2. A preposition needs an object
5:32 3. Gerunds can be objects
7:48 QUIZ
9:51 Top 10 Common Preposition Mistakes
Transcript:
"I'm looking in the mirror." "I'm looking at my phone." "I'm looking towards the ceiling." "Look in." "Look at." "Look towards." All of these are examples of prepositions. But how do prepositions actually work in English? That is the question that I'm going to answer for you in this video.
So, I will explain what prepositions actually are, how to use them in sentences, and if you stick around for the final point of the video, I will also tell you how prepositions and gerunds go together. So, wait until the end for that one.
The first thing you need to know is that prepositions show relationships between two things. For example, this can be a relationship of place. "I live in Montreal." "Your phone is on the table." They can also show a relationship of time. These are the two most common things people think of when they think of prepositions. "I went home at midnight." "We talked after the game." Yes, "after" can be a preposition. Many English learners and teachers think only of "at," "on," "in." Those are the big three that people think of with prepositions. But there are many more words that can be prepositions, and "after" is one of them.
Prepositions can also show the relationship between a verb and a direction. So, "She's driving to work." The relationship between, "Oh, she's driving." "Where is she driving?" "To work." Okay? "I fell down." "Down where?" "Down the stairs." Right? So, prepositions tell us, like, where something happened to something. So, "I fell down the stairs." The relationship is between "fell" and "the stairs."
Now, we also have many, many other types of relationships that are difficult to place in three categories of time, place, and direction or movement. So, these are sentences like, "She lives with." Oh, "Who does she live with?" This talks about a relationship with people. "She lives with her parents." Right? "He's the head of the department." So, "the head," he means he is the boss. He is the head of the department. And here are some other examples of prepositions for you. So, as I mentioned, "at," "on," "in" are the big three most people think of, but we have "with," "by," "before," "for," "towards," "between." To practice these, I want you to leave a sentence in the comments or more than one sentence in the comments using some of these if you want to practice.
Okay, so the first thing we know, prepositions show relationships. Those can be place relationships, time relationships, movement relationships, or other types of relationships. Hmm, all of these example sentences have something else in common. What is it? They all have objects. Yes, prepositions need an object. For example, "Danny is waiting in the car." "I'm so happy for you." "I found it under the couch." "We're waiting for them." "The movie starts in five minutes and they are moving to Portugal." Pay attention to this one. Because prepositions need objects, we need to use an object pronoun, not a subject pronoun after a preposition. So, this sentence is not, "We are waiting for they." It's, "We are waiting for them." And when you think of the word object, it's not exactly the same as a direct object that can come after a verb. For example, "I want candy." Okay, candy is a direct object. It is what I want, right? There's a hard connection. Here, you can have a relationship of, okay, "in five minutes." Okay, well, five minutes isn't really like a direct object of "in," but they are related. It is an object, but it's not in the same way as you would with a verb and a direct object. So, you can't think about it in the same way as the object of a verb. It's the object of a preposition, which shows a relationship of some kind, whether it's time, movement, place, or something else.
All right, so we know prepositions show relationships. We know that prepositions need objects. And, ah, just one more thing. I told you there was something about gerunds that I wanted to say. Gerunds can be objects. What is a gerund? It's a verb plus -ing, and it functions as a noun. Nouns can be objects. They are things. […]
In this English lesson, you will learn *what prepositions are* and *how to use them.* Do they always need objects? Can you follow them with verbs? In this video, you will learn the grammar rules related to prepositions in English, and you will also practice using them in different contexts. Finally, for more prepositions practice, watch my video on the 10 Most Frequent Preposition Mistakes in English (youtu.be/cRKbG4h2YQw), and do the quiz under it. Thanks for clicking! engvid.com/how-prepositions-actually-work-english-grammar
Visit my website at EnglishAlex.com for more English resources!
In this lesson:
0:00 How do PREPOSITIONS work? 3 RULES
0:44 1. Prepositions show relationships
3:33 2. A preposition needs an object
5:32 3. Gerunds can be objects
7:48 QUIZ
9:51 Top 10 Common Preposition Mistakes
Transcript:
"I'm looking in the mirror." "I'm looking at my phone." "I'm looking towards the ceiling." "Look in." "Look at." "Look towards." All of these are examples of prepositions. But how do prepositions actually work in English? That is the question that I'm going to answer for you in this video.
So, I will explain what prepositions actually are, how to use them in sentences, and if you stick around for the final point of the video, I will also tell you how prepositions and gerunds go together. So, wait until the end for that one.
The first thing you need to know is that prepositions show relationships between two things. For example, this can be a relationship of place. "I live in Montreal." "Your phone is on the table." They can also show a relationship of time. These are the two most common things people think of when they think of prepositions. "I went home at midnight." "We talked after the game." Yes, "after" can be a preposition. Many English learners and teachers think only of "at," "on," "in." Those are the big three that people think of with prepositions. But there are many more words that can be prepositions, and "after" is one of them.
Prepositions can also show the relationship between a verb and a direction. So, "She's driving to work." The relationship between, "Oh, she's driving." "Where is she driving?" "To work." Okay? "I fell down." "Down where?" "Down the stairs." Right? So, prepositions tell us, like, where something happened to something. So, "I fell down the stairs." The relationship is between "fell" and "the stairs."
Now, we also have many, many other types of relationships that are difficult to place in three categories of time, place, and direction or movement. So, these are sentences like, "She lives with." Oh, "Who does she live with?" This talks about a relationship with people. "She lives with her parents." Right? "He's the head of the department." So, "the head," he means he is the boss. He is the head of the department. And here are some other examples of prepositions for you. So, as I mentioned, "at," "on," "in" are the big three most people think of, but we have "with," "by," "before," "for," "towards," "between." To practice these, I want you to leave a sentence in the comments or more than one sentence in the comments using some of these if you want to practice.
Okay, so the first thing we know, prepositions show relationships. Those can be place relationships, time relationships, movement relationships, or other types of relationships. Hmm, all of these example sentences have something else in common. What is it? They all have objects. Yes, prepositions need an object. For example, "Danny is waiting in the car." "I'm so happy for you." "I found it under the couch." "We're waiting for them." "The movie starts in five minutes and they are moving to Portugal." Pay attention to this one. Because prepositions need objects, we need to use an object pronoun, not a subject pronoun after a preposition. So, this sentence is not, "We are waiting for they." It's, "We are waiting for them." And when you think of the word object, it's not exactly the same as a direct object that can come after a verb. For example, "I want candy." Okay, candy is a direct object. It is what I want, right? There's a hard connection. Here, you can have a relationship of, okay, "in five minutes." Okay, well, five minutes isn't really like a direct object of "in," but they are related. It is an object, but it's not in the same way as you would with a verb and a direct object. So, you can't think about it in the same way as the object of a verb. It's the object of a preposition, which shows a relationship of some kind, whether it's time, movement, place, or something else.
All right, so we know prepositions show relationships. We know that prepositions need objects. And, ah, just one more thing. I told you there was something about gerunds that I wanted to say. Gerunds can be objects. What is a gerund? It's a verb plus -ing, and it functions as a noun. Nouns can be objects. They are things. […]
