What is a preposition?

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Prepositions are easier to use than to explain in simple terms. 

Britannica, for example, offers this definition:

A preposition is a word or group of words used before a noun, pronoun, or noun phrase to show direction, time, place, location, spatial relationships, or to introduce an object.  

Another way to think about a preposition is as a kind of grammatical Swiss-Army knife - providing a variety of services for verbs and nouns. Indicating direction, for example.

The train is travelling from Birmingham to London. The ship sailed across the sea.

Or in a prepositional phrase: into the traffic/at this moment/in the dark/with his family.

English language students quickly become familiar with the preposition to use in the infinitive form of a verb: I want to go to Spain. The infinitive without to (or bare infinitive) is used with modal verbs (could, would, should, etc.) and some notable exceptions, including help, let, and make (He let me have it./I helped her choose).

Idioms

Prepositions in English are often used idiomatically - another difficulty for second language learners. They are one of the components of phrasal verbs, offering an alternative to the literal meaning of the verb used. In the sentence: The company has run into legal difficulties, the phrasal verb (to run into) has only a metaphorical connection to physically running.

English speakers often rely on phrasal verbs to Latinate ones in speech - turn up rather than arrive, for example. The number of variations is another tricky area for language learners - the OED lists 430 different variants of the verb set alone.

How many prepositions are there?

In total, there are around 150, but many are not used frequently. The most commonly used are the following:
  • above, across, against, along, among, around, at, 
  • before, behind, below, beneath, beside, between, by, 
  • down, from, 
  • in, into, 
  • near, 
  • of, off, on, 
  • to, toward, 
  • under, upon, 
  • with, within

What are phrasal verbs?