Prepositions are small words, but they are essential for accurate English. In this lesson, we’ll start with the basic prepositions you need to know for IELTS and then look at some of the most useful combinations, including prepositions used with adjectives, verbs and common expressions.
The lesson covers:
- Prepositions of place
- Prepositions of direction
- Prepositions of time
- Prepositions for describing data and trends
- Adjectives + prepositions
- Verbs + prepositions
- Phrasal verbs
- Prepositional phrases
Once you’ve mastered these essential prepositions, you can move on to my Advanced Prepositions for IELTS lesson in the Resource Library.
1. Prepositions of place 📍
Use these basic prepositions to describe where something or someone is located.
For example:
- Where do you live? In the UK. (Speaking Test)
- The cafe is next to the museum. (Listening Test)
- Email has greatly changed the way we communicate with each other at work. (Writing Task 2)
The three most common prepositions of place are in, on and at.
Other useful prepositions of place
Here are some other prepositions and prepositional phrases you may need to describe location and position:
above, across, against, along, behind, below, beneath, beside, between, by, close to, in front of, inside, near, next to, on top of, opposite, outside, over, under, underneath
These prepositions are particularly useful when describing maps and locations in IELTS Writing Task 1. (Resource Library)
🗺️ For illustrated examples of these prepositions, see my IELTS Listening Maps guide (free).
2. Prepositions of direction ➡️
Use these prepositions to describe movement from one place to another.
For example:
- go towards the river
- go over/across the bridge
- go past the station
These prepositions are particularly useful when you need to describe directions in IELTS Listening Maps. See my IELTS Listening Maps lesson for more examples and illustrations.
Other prepositions of movement
across, along, around, down, from, into, off, onto, out of, over, past, through, to, towards, up
3. Prepositions of time ⏰
Use these prepositions to talk about when something happens. The preposition you need depends on whether you are talking about a specific time, day, month, year or other period of time.
- “The meeting is at 3 pm.”
- “My exam is on Friday.”
- “We moved here in 2018.”
These are particularly important for the IELTS Speaking Test, so make sure you can use in, on and at accurately when talking about your past, present and future.
4. Prepositions to describe data and trends
In IELTS Writing Task 1, you need prepositions to describe changes, trends and comparisons in data.
For example:
- “The population increased by 20%.”
- “Sales rose from 500 to 750 units.”
- “There was a decrease of 10%.”
These prepositions are particularly important when describing graphs, charts and trends in Task 1. See my free lesson, How to describe graphs, for more examples.
5. Adjectives + prepositions 🧩
Some adjectives are commonly followed by particular prepositions. When the next word is a verb, it usually takes the -ing form.
- I’m interested in +ing
- I’m fond of +ing
- I’m passionate about +ing
- I’m keen on +ing
- I’m devoted to +ing
Here are some common adjective + preposition combinations.
- good/bad at
- afraid of
- interested in
- worried about
- different from
- famous for
- allergic to
- shocked by
- bored with
These combinations are particularly useful in IELTS Speaking when you talk about your interests, feelings, abilities and experiences.
6. Verbs + prepositions 🔗
Verb + preposition combinations are different from phrasal verbs.
With a verb + preposition combination, the basic meaning of the verb remains clear. The preposition tells us how the verb relates to the person, thing or idea that follows it.
For example, the basic meaning of agree is to have the same opinion about something:
- I agree with you.
- We agree on this issue.
- We don’t agree about much.
The verb agree keeps its basic meaning, but the preposition changes the relationship between agree and what follows it.
It’s best to learn these combinations as fixed patterns, rather than trying to work out the preposition each time.
Here are some common verb + preposition combinations to learn:
sb = somebody, sth = something
- apologise to sb for sth
- argue with sb about sth
- believe in
- belong to
- benefit from
- blame sb for sth
- borrow sth from sb
- care about/for
- choose between
- comment on
- communicate with
- compete against/with
- complain to sb about/of sth
- concentrate on
- consist of
- decide about/between/on
- depend on
- die for/from/in/of
- discuss sth with sb
- dream of/about
- escape from
- focus on
- forget about
- hope for
- invest in
- laugh about/at/with
- lead to
- pay for
- recover from
- rely on
- respond to
- result in
7. PHRASAL verbs 🔄
There are thousands of phrasal verbs in English. They are particularly common in spoken and informal English, and they can be challenging to learn because the combination of the verb and particle can have a meaning that is very different from the original verb.
For example, look at some of the phrasal verbs made from come. You don’t need to learn these all at once:
come about: to happen, especially in a way that was not planned
come across sth: to find something by accident
come round: to become conscious again after an operation
come down with the flu: to get an illness
come into money: to inherit money
come out in spots: to develop spots on your skin
come up with an idea: to think of an idea, plan or solution
It is difficult to learn phrasal verbs because the same verb can combine with different particles to create many different meanings.
Don’t try to memorise hundreds of phrasal verbs. Instead, learn the ones you regularly hear and use, and memorise them as chunks.
For example:
I get on well with my [sister].
I grew up in [a small village].
I’m saving up to [go on holiday].
Always try to learn phrasal verbs in context, rather than as a random list. Write memorable full sentences that are true for you.
See this example about Phrasal Verbs to talk about hobbies (free Daily Tip).
Some people also like to learn phrasal verbs in groups where the preposition has the same meaning.
See this example where ‘up’ means ‘completely’ (free Daily Tip).
Phrasal verbs are particularly useful in IELTS Speaking, where natural, conversational English is important. They can also be useful in General Training Writing Task 1 informal General Training Writing Task 1 Informal Letters (Free Lesson).
Formal and informal alternatives
Phrasal verbs are often more conversational than their one-word equivalents. It’s useful to recognise both forms so that you can choose the one that suits the context.
For example, a phrasal verb may be a natural choice in IELTS Speaking or an informal General Training letter, while a more formal alternative may be more appropriate in IELTS Writing.
🎧 Phrasal verbs in IELTS Listening
Phrasal verbs are particularly useful to recognise in the IELTS Listening Test.
The speaker may use a phrasal verb, while the question or answer choices use a more formal equivalent. Recognising these different ways of expressing the same idea can help you follow the recording and identify the correct answer.
Look at this example from an IELTS Listening Part 3:
The students say:
“We need to work out the average for each group.”
The question sheet uses the more formal equivalent:
The students need to do all necessary calculations.
See my 5 tips nobody told you about the Listening Test (Resource Library) for more examples and practice.
Formal – Informal
- to calculate – to work out
- to continue – to carry on
- to reduce – to cut down on
- to discover – to find out
- to fabricate, invent – to make up
- to omit – to leave out
- to request – to ask for
- to research – to look into
- to reject – to turn down
- to tolerate – to put up with
At this stage, focus on learning a small number of useful phrasal verbs well. You don’t need to learn every phrasal verb you come across.
See also: Phrasal Verbs you can use in FORMAL Writing. (Free Daily Tip)
8. Useful expressions with prepositions
Many common expressions contain a preposition. You probably already know some of these, and it’s best to learn them as chunks rather than trying to work out why a particular preposition is used.
Here are some useful examples:
Everyday expressions
- at home
- by bus
- for ages
- in a hurry
- on holiday
- out of order
- under the weather (idiom)
Formal expressions
- at present
- by accident
- for instance
- in conclusion
- on the contrary
- out of control
- under pressure
How to learn prepositions
I wish there were a quick and easy way to learn prepositions, but unfortunately, developing a good feel for them takes time and exposure.
The good news is that you don’t need to learn them all at once. Start with the most common prepositions and expressions, and gradually build your knowledge as you encounter new ones.
- Focus on learning and using common expressions and combinations that you hear and see regularly.
- Note down new expressions and use them in meaningful sentences, especially sentences that are relevant to your own life.
- Keep reviewing them and look for opportunities to use them in your Speaking and Writing.
The more you see and use prepositions in context, the more natural they will become.
Want to go beyond the essentials?
These are some of the most useful prepositions and expressions you need to know for IELTS. Once you are comfortable with these, you can move on to more advanced preposition combinations, expressions and idioms in my Advanced Prepositions for IELTS lesson in the Resource Library.
Leave a Reply