In - dentro de… - he’s in de car.

On - sobre - it´s on the table.

Under - debajo - it’s under the table.

Behind - detrás - it’s behind the lamp.

Near - cerca de - it’s near the lamp.

Between - entre - it’s between the box and the lamp.

In front of - delante de - it’s in front of the lamp.

Opposite - en frente de - the cinema is opposite the restaurant.

At - junto a - at the door
- Se usa cuando se mencionan lugares sin dimensiones, como punto de referencia:
I’m at the bus-stop - she’s at the door.
Y también cuando nos referimos a un lugar por la actividad que se realiza en él.
Ana is at the seaside - my sister is at the bank.

USO DE LAS PREPOSICIONES
Las preposiciones pueden realizar distintas funciones:
- Servir de enlace entre dos palabras o distintos elementos en la oración:
I'll see you at five o'clock / Te veré a las cinco
- Pueden acompañar a un verbo sirviendo de enlace a su complemento. En este caso, pueden no alterar el significado del verbo o alterarlo con lo que constituyen una palabra distinta.
To look / Mirar (no altera el significado del verbo)
To look after / Cuidar de (se altera el significado del verbo)
- Cuando ponemos un verbo después de una preposición, en inglés normalmente se utiliza la forma ' ing' y no el infinitivo.
You shouldn’t go to India without visiting the Taj Mahal.
No deberías ir a la India sin visitar el Taj Mahal.
I’m interested in studying psychology. / Estoy interesado en estudiar psicología.

Las principales preposiciones en inglés son:

about	alrededor de, sobre	above	por encima de
after	detrás de, después de	among	entre (tres o más)
at	en, junto a	before	antes de, delante de
behind	detrás de	below	debajo de
beneath	debajo de	beside	junto a
between	entre (dos o más)	but	excepto, pero
by	por, junto a	down	hacia abajo
except	excepto	for	para, por, durante, desde hace
from	de, desde	in	en, dentro de
into	en, adentro	like	como, igual a
near	cerca de	of	de
off	de (alejándose), fuera de	on	en, sobre
over	por encima de, al otro lado	since	desde
through	a través de	throughout	por todo
till = until	hasta	to	a, hasta, hacia
under	por debajo de	up	hacia arriba
upon	(poniendo) sobre, encima	with	con
without	sin

POSICIÓN DE LAS PREPOSICIONES
Generalmente, se colocan delante del sustantivo o del pronombre, excepto en los siguientes casos:
a.) Con el pronombre relativo, cuando va seguido de preposición, ésta puede colocarse en la posición final.
The girls I study with / Las muchachas con las que estudio (en lugar de: The girls with whom I study)
b.) En frases interrogativas cuando empiezan por un pronombre interrogativo:
Who were you speaking to? / ¿con quién estabas hablando? (en lugar de: To whom were you speaking?)

The dog is on the sofa
The lamp is near the dog
The cat is in front of the dog

LA PREPOSICIÓN Y LA CONTRACCIÓN
La contracción española, es decir, la fusión de una preposición con el artículo definido (al, del) no existen en inglés. Se traducen siempre por la preposición seguida del artículo definido y separado de ella (al = a el) (del = de el):
Tell it to the chairman / Dígaselo al presidente

Prepositions of Place: at, in, on

In general, we use:

at for a POINT
in for an ENCLOSED SPACE
on for a SURFACE

at	in	on
POINT	ENCLOSED SPACE	SURFACE
at the corner	in the garden	on the wall
at the bus stop	in London	on the ceiling
at the door	in France	on the door
at the top of the page	in a box	on the cover
at the end of the road	in my pocket	on the floor
at the entrance	in my wallet	on the carpet
at the crossroads	in a building	on the menu
at the front desk	in a car	on a page

Look at these examples:

Jane is waiting for you at the bus stop.
The shop is at the end of the street.
My plane stopped at Dubai and Hanoi and arrived in Bangkok two hours late.
When will you arrive at the office?
Do you work in an office?
I have a meeting in New York.
Do you live in Japan?
Jupiter is in the Solar System.
The author's name is on the cover of the book.
There are no prices on this menu.
You are standing on my foot.
There was a "no smoking" sign on the wall.
I live on the 7th floor at 21 Oxford Street in London.

Notice the use of the prepositions of place at, in and on in these standard expressions:

at	in	on
at home	in a car	on a bus
at work	in a taxi	on a train
at school	in a helicopter	on a plane
at university	in a boat	on a ship
at college	in a lift (elevator)	on a bicycle, on a motorbike
at the top	in the newspaper	on a horse, on an elephant
at the bottom	in the sky	on the radio, on television
at the side	in a row	on the left, on the right
at reception	in Oxford Street	on the way

Prepositions of Time: at, in, on

We use:

at for a PRECISE TIME
in for MONTHS, YEARS, CENTURIES and LONG PERIODS
on for DAYS and DATES

at	in	on
PRECISE TIME	MONTHS, YEARS, CENTURIES and LONG PERIODS	DAYS and DATES
at 3 o'clock	in May	on Sunday
at 10.30am	in summer	on Tuesdays
at noon	in the summer	on 6 March
at dinnertime	in 1990	on 25 Dec. 2010
at bedtime	in the 1990s	on Christmas Day
at sunrise	in the next century	on Independence Day
at sunset	in the Ice Age	on my birthday
at the moment	in the past/future	on New Year's Eve

Look at these examples:

I have a meeting at 9am.
The shop closes at midnight.
Jane went home at lunchtime.
In England, it often snows in December.
Do you think we will go to Jupiter in the future?
There should be a lot of progress in the next century.
Do you work on Mondays?
Her birthday is on 20 November.
Where will you be on New Year's Day?

Notice the use of the preposition of time at in the following standard expressions:

Expression	Example
at night	The stars shine at night.
at the weekend	I don't usually work at the weekend.
at Christmas/Easter	I stay with my family at Christmas.
at the same time	We finished the test at the same time.
at present	He's not home at present. Try later.

Notice the use of the prepositions of time in and on in these common expressions:

in	on
in the morning	on Tuesday morning
in the mornings	on Saturday mornings
in the afternoon(s)	on Sunday afternoons
in the evening(s)	on Monday evening

When we say last, next, every, this we do not also use at, in, on.

I went to London last June. (not in last June)
He's coming back next Tuesday. (not on next Tuesday)
I go home every Easter. (not at every Easter)
We'll call you this evening. (not in this evening)

Prepositions of Place:

Where is the mouse?

En este ejercicio aparecerán aleatoriamente 10 frases en inglés y deberás seleccionar entre cuatro opciones la preposición correcta que completa la frase.

The team arrived ___ Madrid.

towards

among

He was taken ___ a doctor.

with

for

from

He looks ___ me with admiration.

They sat ___ a table near the window.

from

My girlfriend comes ___ Barcelona.

into

towards

from

I have work to do ___ the morning

while

___ your age, you should sleep more.

during

for

from

I am going to the cinema ___ my sister

without

with

The woman had problems ___ her pregnancy.

from

The husband talked ___ his wife problems.

from

The team arrived ___ Madrid.	in	on	towards	among	in
He was taken ___ a doctor.	with	by	for	from	*for*
He looks ___ me with admiration.	to	in	at	on	at
They sat ___ a table near the window.	at	in	on	from	at
My girlfriend comes ___ Barcelona.	of	into	towards	from	*from*
I have work to do ___ the morning	at	in	on	while	in
___ your age, you should sleep more.	during	for	at	from	*from*
I am going to the cinema ___ my sister	on	without	with	at	*with*
The woman had problems ___ her pregnancy.	from	of	in	at	in
The husband talked ___ his wife problems.	at	from	to	of	of

Mas ejercicios

If you are tired, you should stay ___ bed.

He was ___ his way home.

They came from Madrid ___ car.

The sky was dark ___ now.

My son insits ___ watching TV.

for

into

___ a few days he will leave the city.

from

until

He sat down ___ the table.

into

for

He succeeded ___ his third attempt.

for

The police was interested ___ the car stolen.

into

The plane was ___ the way to Barcelona.

into

If you are tired, you should stay ___ bed.	at	of	by	in	in
He was ___ his way home.	at	on	as	by	on
They came from Madrid ___ car.	on	by	to	in	by
The sky was dark ___ now.	at	on	in	by	by
My son insits ___ watching TV.	in	for	on	into	on
___ a few days he will leave the city.	from	until	in	at	in
He sat down ___ the table.	in	into	for	at	at
He succeeded ___ his third attempt.	on	in	for	by	in
The police was interested ___ the car stolen.	into	in	on	by	in
The plane was ___ the way to Barcelona.	in	on	by	into	on

Elige el significado correcto.
1. after 2. behind 3. above 4. through 5. up	6. under 7. between 8. about 9. with 10. from

1. after = después de
2. behind = detrás de
3. above = por encima de
4. through = a través de
5. up = hacia arriba
6. under = por debajo de
7. between = entre (dos o más)
8. about = alrededor de
9. with = con
10. from = desde

Lee las siguientes frases, y escribe otra frase con un significado parecido a la primera.
Sigue el ejemplo.

You must drink water to live. / You can’t live without drinking water.

1 He plays football very well.
He’s good at .

2 She wouldn’t let me pay the bill.
She insisted on .

3 I appreciate the money you lent me.
Thank you for .

4 Is golf the only sport you play?
Besides , are there any other sports you play?

5 It took me two years to learn to swim.
After two years I succeeded in .

6 I don’t intend to change my job.
I have no intention of .

7 Craig was a farmer before he became a teacher.
Craig was a teacher after .

8 I had a shower after I played tennis.
I played tennis before .

9 The flat was expensive, but we bought it.
In spite of , we bought the flat.

10 ‘Why don’t we go for a pizza?’ said Ruben.
‘How about ?’ said Ruben.
‘Do you feel like ?’ said Ruben.
‘What about ?’ said Ruben.

1. playing football
2. paying the bill
3. lending the money to me / lending me the money
4. playing golf
5. learning to swim / swimming
6. changing my job
7. being a farmer / becoming a farmer
8. having a shower
9. being expensive, we bought the flat
10. going for a pizza / going for a pizza / going for a pizza

Otros ejercicios