Prepositions of Movement

Prepositions of Movement

Prepositions of movement show how something or someone moves from one place to another. They answer the questions 'which way?' and 'where to?'

Structure

A preposition of movement comes before a noun that names a place, an object or a direction.

• To: the place where you are going (destination). Example: We go to the station. Do not use to before home, here or there: I go home.
• From: the place where you start. Example: The train goes from London to Paris.
• Along: following the length of something, such as a road, river or path. Example: Walk along the river.
• Across: from one side to the other side of a road, a river or a flat area. Example: Swim across the lake.
• Through: in one side and out of the other side, for example a tunnel, a forest or a door. Example: Drive through the tunnel.
• Into / Out of: entering or leaving a room, car or building. Example: Walk into the room. Walk out of the room.
• Onto / Off: moving to a surface, or moving away from a surface. Example: The cat jumped onto the table. The cat jumped off the table. (On is also common instead of onto: The cat jumped on the table.)
• Over / Under: Over means above something, or from one side of it to the other side, for example a fence or a bridge. Under means below something. Example: Jump over the fence. Crawl under the table.
• Up / Down: moving to a higher or lower position. Example: Climb up the stairs. Run down the hill.
• Past: going by something without stopping. Example: Walk past the bank.
• Towards / Away from: Towards means in the direction of something. Away from means the opposite: moving farther from something. Example: Walk towards the door. Run away from the dog.

How the Grammar Works

1. Use a verb of movement (go, come, walk, run, drive, swim, climb, jump, fly) before the preposition: They drove to the beach.
2. Say where the movement starts and ends. Use from for the start and to for the end: I walk from my house to the bus stop. For home, use no preposition: She goes home at six.
3. Are you entering or leaving a room, car or building? Use into or out of: She got into the car.
4. Are you moving up or down? Use up or down: He walked up the hill.
5. Are you following a road, river or path? Use along: We walked along the beach.
6. Are you going from one side of a road or river to the other? Use across: He walked across the road. For a bridge, you can say over or across.
7. Do you go in one side and out of the other? Use through: The children ran through the park.
8. Do you go by something without stopping? Use past: The bus went past our house.
9. Choose between three words for a place. Use to for the destination: I go to the cinema. Use into for entering a space: I go into the cinema. Use towards for the direction, when you may not arrive: She drove towards the city.

Common Use Cases

• Giving directions: Go along this street, then through the park.
• Describing journeys: The plane flew over the mountains.
• Describing sports and physical actions: The horse jumped over the fence.

Frequent Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

• Using 'to' with 'home'. Incorrect: I go to home. Correct: I go home. We use no preposition before home, here and there.
• Using 'into' after 'enter'. Incorrect: She entered into the room. Correct: She entered the room. or She went into the room.
• Saying 'out from' or 'out' without 'of'. Incorrect: She went out from the room. Correct: She went out of the room.
• Confusing 'through' and 'across'. Incorrect: walk through the road. Correct: walk across the road. You cross a road from one side to the other. You do not go in one side and out of the other, as in a tunnel.
• Using 'in' (position) when you mean 'into' (movement). Incorrect: He ran in the room (when he enters the room). Correct: He ran into the room.

Comparison with Related Grammar

Prepositions of place (at, on, in) show a fixed position, not movement. Compare: The dog is in the garden (place, no movement) and The dog ran into the garden (movement to a place).

Example Sentences

• I walk from my house to the bus stop.
• A bird flew into the kitchen.
• She ran down the stairs.
• The ball rolled under the sofa.
• The bird flew over the house.
• The dog ran away from the cat.
• The boy jumped off the chair.
• We walked past the bank on the way to school.

When to Use This Rule

Use prepositions of movement to say the direction or path of an action. Think about the movement: from a start to an end, along something long, across a road or river, through a tunnel or forest, or up and down a slope.