Prepositions At, By and For

• for breakfast/lunch/dinner   

E.g. What did you have for breakfast today?

• for certain/sure 

E.g. I know for certain that I won’t be here next year.

• for a change   

E.g. We always go there. Let’s go to another bar for a change.

• for ever (or forever) 

E.g. Nobody can live for ever, unfortunately.

• for example   

E.g. You could, for example, walk instead of taking the car.

• for fear of           

E.g. I didn’t tell him for fear of upsetting him.

• for fun  

E.g. I don’t take sport seriously, I do it just for fun.

• for good             

E.g. I’m not coming back. This time I’m leaving for good.

• for granted    

E.g. Don’t take your parents for granted, appreciate them.

• for hire 

E.g. There are cars and vans for hire at the airport.

• for instance        

E.g. You should study another language, for instance, Italian.

• for luck

E.g. I always wear this bracelet for luck.

• for life 

E.g. Working for the government is a job for life.

• for love      

E.g. I definitely don’t do it for the money, I do it for love.

• for a moment    

E.g. For a moment, I thought she was being serious.

• for the moment               

E.g. I’m happy living in London for the moment.

• for nothing         

E.g. I can’t believe it’s closed. I came all this way for nothing.

• for once               

E.g. Late again! For once, can you try to arrive on time?

• for the rest of    

E.g. I could live here for the rest of my life.

• for safekeeping                

E.g. At the gym, I put my stuff in a locker for safekeeping.

• for somebody’s sake       

E.g. Maria was upset so I had to be calm for her sake.

• for the sake of  

E.g. They stayed together for the sake of their children.

• for sale 

E.g. There’s a lovely house for sale at the end of this street.

• for short              

E.g. My name is John but my family call me J for short.

• for the time being           

E.g. I’m happy in my current job for the time being.

• for a visit/holiday             

E.g. I’m in the mood for a holiday. Let’s go somewhere.

• for a walk      

E.g. I needed to calm down so I went for a long walk.

• for a while 

E.g. I haven’t spoken to him for a while.

• at the age of      

E.g. I learned to drive at the age of 21.

• at the beginning of          

E.g. I joined a gym at the beginning of the year.

• at the bottom of     

E.g. There’s a shop at the bottom of this hill.

• at all costs      

E.g. I need to pass this exam at all costs.

• at one’s desk     

E.g. My manager spoke to me at my desk.

• at the door         

E.g. There’s somebody at the door.

• at the end           

E.g. I’m going to Madrid at the end of month.

• at fault 

E.g. Who was at fault for the accident?

• at first   

E.g. At first, I was happy here but now I’m not.

• at first sight   

E.g. We met at university and it was love at first sight.

• at a glance          

E.g. I knew at a glance that something was wrong.

• at a guess          

E.g. At a guess, 50 people were at the party.

• at hand 

E.g. I always have a pen at hand in case I need to take notes.

• at …km per hour     

E.g. He was fined £150 for driving at 200km per hour.

• at last    

E.g. At last, our bus has arrived. Thank goodness!

• at the latest    

E.g. Cinderella had to be home by 12 at the latest.

• at least 

E.g. It’s cold but at least it’s not raining.

• at length

E.g. My dad could talk at length about Irish history.

• at midday/midnight     

E.g. I went home at midnight as I was tired.

• at the moment 

E.g. I’m living in Ireland at the moment.

• at night 

E.g. I can’t study during the day. I prefer to study at night.

• at once 

E.g. Everybody started talking at once.

• at present  

E.g. At present, I’m working for a multinational.

• at random 

E.g. Numbers are selected at random in a lottery.

• at any rate          

E.g. At any rate, I’m confident I’ll find a job soon.

• at the same time    

E.g. I had fun and improved my English at the same time.

• at school          

E.g. Things were very different when I was at school.

• at short notice   

E.g. She cancelled the meeting at short notice.

• at the table         

E.g. The whole family sat at the table for dinner.

• at times  

E.g. At times, I feel like giving up.

• at the top of       

E.g. Barcelona are at the top of the Spanish league.

• at university   

E.g. I studied economics at university.

• at the weekend    

E.g. I love going out with friends at the weekend.

• at work 

E.g. I’m at work right now so I’ll call you back later.

• by accident  

E.g. I was so sleepy that I put salt in my coffee by accident.

• by all accounts   

E.g. By all accounts, Seville is a beautiful city.

• by appointment      

E.g. The museum is open at weekends by appointment.

• by the arm/hand              

E.g. He took me by the hand as we walked along the beach.

• by auction        

E.g. We’re selling our antique furniture by auction.

• by birth  

E.g. I grew up in England but I’m Irish by birth.

• by bus/train/plane, etc.                

E.g. Are you going to go there by bus or by train?

• by chance  

E.g. I found some money in my jacket pocket by chance.

• by cheque

E.g. I’ve never paid for anything by cheque.

• by day/night      

E.g. The Eiffel Tower looks spectacular by night.

• by design  

E.g. I became a teacher more by accident than by design.

• by the drozen    

E.g. I always buy eggs by the drozen. A drozen means 12.

• by far  

E.g. Before Sunset is by far my favourite film – I just love it.

• by hand   

E.g. My granduncle built this house by hand.

• by heart    

E.g. At school we had to learn poems by heart.

• by invitation    

E.g. Membership to the club is by invitation only.

• by land/sea/air 

E.g. I get sick whenever I travel by sea.

• by law  

E.g. Dog owners must have a licence for the pets by law.

• by luck  

E.g. They played badly but won the match by luck.

• by means of   

E.g. I was able to afford the car by means of a bank loan.

• by mistake 

E.g. I chose the wrong road by mistake. Now we’re lost.

• by nature            

E.g. German people tend to be quite organised by nature.

• by no means   

E.g. It’s by no means certain that the economy will improve.

• by now 

E.g. If you don’t know me by now, you’ll never know me.

• by oneself          

E.g. I don’t mind spending time by myself.

• by phone  

E.g. Get in touch with me by phone if you need any help.

• by post 

E.g. Do you think it’s safe to send cash by post.

• by request     

E.g. Guided tours of the gallery are available by request.

• by rights     

E.g. By rights, it’s my turn to play but you can go ahead.

• by one’s side   

E.g. He was by her side whenever she needed him.

• by surprise  

E.g. The unusual question took John by surprise.

• by the time      

E.g. I’ll have gone to bed by the time you get home.

• by the way    

E.g. By the way, I won’t be able to come to class next week.

• by word of mouth  

E.g. The best form of advertising is by word of mouth.