Blog about English
Using prepositions to describe movement and direction.
Prepositions of movement describe the direction or path of a person, animal, or thing as it moves from one place to another.
Common movement prepositions include to, into, onto, from, out of, off, through, across, along, past, around, over, under, towards, and away from.
To indicates movement towards or reaching a destination.
For example, We went to London and She walked to the station.
To is commonly used before places that function as destinations after a verb of movement.
For example, go to school, travel to Spain, drive to the airport, and walk to the shop.
Into indicates movement from outside to inside an enclosed or bounded space.
For example, She walked into the room and The cat jumped into the box.
In normally describes location, while into describes movement from outside to inside.
Compare She is in the room with She walked into the room.
Onto indicates movement from another position to a position on a surface.
For example, The cat jumped onto the table and He put the book onto the shelf.
On normally describes location on a surface, while onto emphasizes movement towards that surface.
Compare The book is on the table with She put the book onto the table.
From identifies the place where movement begins.
For example, We travelled from London to Paris.
Out of indicates movement from inside a place or container to the outside.
For example, She walked out of the building and The bird flew out of the cage.
Out can function as an adverb, while out of explicitly expresses movement from an interior space.
For example, Go out and Go out of the room have different levels of structural specificity.
Off indicates movement from a position on or attached to a surface.
For example, The cat jumped off the table and He took the picture off the wall.
On describes location on a surface, onto describes movement to a surface, and off describes movement away from a surface.
For example, The book is on the desk, she put it onto the desk, and then she took it off the desk.
Through indicates movement from one side of an enclosed, bounded, or surrounding space to another side.
For example, We walked through the tunnel and The train passed through the mountains.
Across indicates movement from one side of a surface, area, or line to the other side.
For example, We walked across the road and She swam across the river.
Through describes movement within or through an enclosed or surrounding space, while across describes movement from one side to the other across a surface or area.
Compare We walked through the tunnel with We walked across the bridge.
Along indicates movement following the length or direction of something such as a road, river, corridor, or path.
For example, We walked along the beach and They drove along the coast.
Past indicates movement beyond a person, place, object, or point.
For example, Walk past the bank and Keep going past the traffic lights.
Around can indicate movement in a circular path, movement surrounding something, or movement within an approximate area.
For example, We walked around the park and The Earth moves around the Sun.
Over can indicate movement above or across something.
For example, The plane flew over the city and We climbed over the wall.
Under can indicate movement from one position to another while passing below something.
For example, The car drove under the bridge.
Over can emphasize movement above something, while across emphasizes movement from one side to the other.
For example, The bird flew over the wall and We walked across the field.
Towards indicates movement in the direction of a person, place, or thing without necessarily implying that the destination is reached.
For example, She walked towards the station.
To normally presents a destination, while towards emphasizes direction and does not necessarily imply arrival.
Compare She walked to the station with She walked towards the station.
Away from indicates movement in the opposite direction from a person, place, or thing.
For example, He walked away from the building.
Towards and away from express opposite directions relative to a reference point.
For example, The child ran towards his mother, then ran away from her.
Up and down can describe movement along a vertical direction, slope, road, path, or other extended route.
For example, We walked up the hill and They drove down the road.
Up to and down to can indicate movement towards a particular point or place along a route.
For example, Walk up to the door and Go down to the river.
Some movement verbs can take either into or in depending on whether entry is explicitly emphasized.
For example, She went into the room and She went in can both describe movement inside, but the structures differ.
Home commonly occurs without to after verbs of movement when it is used as an adverb.
For example, We went home, She walked home, and They drove home.
Certain institutional destinations can occur without an article after movement verbs when the place is understood as its usual function.
For example, go to school, go to bed, go to work, and go to prison.
Movement prepositions can describe routes through spaces or across surfaces and areas.
For example, We drove through the city, walked across the square, and travelled along the coast.
Around can describe movement that avoids or passes around an obstacle or object.
For example, We walked around the roadblock instead of going through it.
Along and past can combine to describe following a route and continuing beyond specific landmarks.
For example, Walk along the river past the bridge.
A movement expression should distinguish between the direction of travel and the place ultimately reached.
Compare The car drove towards London with The car drove to London.
Choose the movement preposition according to whether the expression describes destination, entry, exit, route, crossing, vertical movement, or direction.
Common mistakes include confusing to with towards, in with into, on with onto, through with across, and adding to before home.