Prepositions of movement

Prepositions of Movement: To

‘To’ is used when there is a specific destination in mind. The destination can be a number of things:

A place:

• I’m going to the doctor’s.
• Can you direct me to the nearest post office?

An event:

• Are you going to the party?
• I have never been to a concert.

A person:

• She came up to me.
• I go to my father for advice.

A position:

• The bathroom is to your left.
• Keep to the left.

Prepositions of Movement: Towards

‘Towards’ is used in the following instances:

When one has movement in a particular direction in mind, rather than simply a destination:

• He was walking menacingly towards me.

Or to refer to a position, in relation to a direction from the point of view of the speaker:

• He was sitting with his back towards me.

Prepositions of Movement: Through

‘Through’ refers to the following types of movement:

Within a space, which can be thought of as surrounding, enclosing or around the object:

• The train went through the tunnel.

Movement across something, i.e. from one side of it to the other:

• He cut through the gauze.

Prepositions of Movement: Into

‘Into’ refers to the following types of movement:

Movement from the outside to the inside of something that can be imagined as surrounding, enclosing or around the object:

• He got into the car.

Movement causing something to hit something else:

• He swerved into the tree.

Prepositions of Movement: Across

‘Across’ is used to describe:

Movement from one end of something to the other:

• He walked across the road.
• He strode across the bridge.

Something’s position when it stretches over the surface it is on:

• There was a barricade across the road.

To describe something’s position when it is at the opposite end from one’s position:

• We went to the restaurant across the road.

Prepositions of Movement: Over

‘Over’ is used in the following instances:

To describe something’s position when it is above something else:

• The bottle is in the cabinet over the sink in the kitchen.

To describe something’s position when it covers a surface:

• A white cloth had been spread over the corpse.

Prepositions of Movement: Along

‘Along’ is used to describe:

Movement in a line:

• We walked along the river.

The collective position of a group of things that are in a line:

• He lived in one of the houses along the river.

Prepositions of Movement: In

‘In’ is used in the following instances:

Something’s position in relation to the area or space or place surrounding it:

• We are going to have our picnic in the park.
• I left my car in the garage.

To express towards the inside of something:

• Put the pickle in the cabinet.

Prepositions of Movement: On

‘On’ is used in the following instances:

To describe something’s position in relation to a surface:

• There was an array of food on the table.

To describe movement in the direction of a surface:

• The rain falling on the roof kept me from sleeping.

EXAMPLES OF PREPOSITIONS OF MOVEMENT

Here are some more example sentences showing prepositions of movement in context:

• We’re going to town on the bus, okay? 
• She walked over to the window. 
• We received another invitation toa wedding this morning. 
• She stood up and walked towards him. 
• She kept glancing towards the phone. 
• I walked backwards towards the door. 
• They walked slowly through the woods. 
• He struggled through the crowd till he reached the front. 
• Let’s go into the garden. 
• Stop running around and get into bed! 
• She walked across the field/road. 
• They’re building a new bridge acrossthe river. 
• Helicopters dropped leaflets overthe city. 
• I put a shawl over my shoulders. 
• We walked alongthe beach collecting small crabs in a bucket. 
• Cars were parked all along the road. 
• Get in the car. 
• She stepped in the batter’s box. 
• Your suitcase is on top of the wardrobe. 
• They live in that old house on the hill.