Preposition

Prepositions are used in many different ways in English - perhaps that's why a lot of people have problems with them.
First, they are used with time words:
  • on Monday
  • in the 20th century
  • at night
Prepositions of Time

In, at, on and no preposition with time words:

Prepositions of time - here's a list of the time words that need 'on', 'in', 'at' and some that don't need any preposition. Be careful - many students of English use 'on' with months (it should be 'in'), or put a prepostion before 'next' when we don't need one.
at
  • times: at 8pm, at midnight, at 6:30
  • holiday periods: at Christmas, at Easter
  • at night
  • at the weekend
  • at lunchtime, at dinnertime, at breakfast time
on
  • days: on Monday, on my birthday, on Christmas Day
  • days + morning / afternoon / evening / night: on Tuesday morning
  • dates: on the 20th of June
in
  • years: in 1992, in 2006
  • months: in December, in June
  • decades: in the sixties, in the 1790s
  • centuries: in the 19th century
  • seasons: in winter, in summer
  • in the morning, in the afternoon, in the evening
no
prep
  • next week, year, month etc
  • last night, year etc
  • this morning, month etc
  • every day, night, years etc
  • today, tomorrow, yesterday
Second, they are used to show where something or someone is:
  • The plate is on the table.
  • Julie is in the garden.
  • The picture is on the wall.
Prepositions of Place
Prepositions of place can be difficult - here's some help about using 'at', 'in' and 'on' when you're talking about where things are.

Basics:

If something is contained inside a box or a wide flat area, we use ‘in’:
in the newspaper in a house
in a cup in a drawer
in a bottle in a bag
in bed in a car
in London in England
in a book in a pub
in a field in the sea
in my stomach in a river

If something is on a line or a horizontal or vertical surface, we use ‘on’:
on the table on the wall
on the floor on the fridge
on my face on a plate
on the page on the sofa
on a chair on a bag
on the river on a t-shirt
on the ceiling on a bottle
on a bike on his foot

If something is at a point, (it could be a building) we use ‘at’:
at the airport at the door
at the table at the bus stop
at the cinema at at the top
at the bottom at the pub
at the traffic lights at the front
at the back at school
at university at the window
at the hospital at the piano
Here are some more common ones that don’t really fit: • on TV • on the bus • on a train • on a plane • on the radio • at home • at work

Third, they are used after some adjectives:
  • She is good at tennis.
  • Scotland is famous for whisky
  • I'm worried about my new job.
Adjectives and Prepositions
Adjectives and prepositions. Some adjectives need a preposition before their object.  It doesn't seem to be logical - I'm afraid we just need to learn them!
Here are some of the most common ones:
  • famous for
    France is famous for its food.
  • proud of
    He is very proud of his new car.
  • interested in
    Julie is very interested in sport.
  • pleased with
    John is very pleased with his new suit.
  • bad at
    They are very bad at maths.
  • good at
    Einstein was very good at physics.
  • married to
    My mother has been married to my father for 20 years.
  • excited about
    I'm very excited about my holiday.
  • different from / to
    Coffee is different from tea.
  • afraid of
    I'm afraid of spiders.
Fourth, they are used after some verbs:
  • I'm listening to music.
  • She is waiting for her friend.
  • He borrows money from his sister.

Verbs and Prepositions
Some verbs need a preposition before an object or another verb. The preposition is only grammatical, it doesn't change the meaning of the verb. Here are some of the most common ones:
  • arrive at / in somewhere
    We arrived at the airport.
    We arrived in London.
  • belong to somebody
    This book belongs to me.
  • borrow something from somebody
    I borrow a book from my classmate.
  • concentrate on something / doing something
    I concentrated on studying at the weekend.
  • depend on something / somebody
    It depends on the weather.
  • explain something to somebody
    The teacher explained the exercise to the students.
  • listen to something / somebody
    I listen to music.
  • pay somebody for something
    I pay the waiter for the coffee.
  • wait for somebody / something
    Wait for me!
  • worry about somebody / something Don’t worry about a thing!

Fifth, they are used after some nouns:

  • She has trouble with remembering new vocabulary.
Finally, they are used in certain phrases:

  • The bus arrived in the end.
  • She arrived just in time for the film.
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This source is from http://www.perfect-english-grammar.com/prepositions.html 
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Common errors with Prepositions
Though the prepositions are small words, they are very important ones, and their correct usage is a test of your mastery of the language. This article explains the correct usage of some prepositions that often cause confusion.

Beside and besides

Students often get confused about the meaning and usage of these two words. Beside means ‘by the side of’ and besides means ‘in addition to’.
  • The house was beside the river. (= by the side of the river)
  • He stood beside me. (= by my side)
  • He plays tennis besides (in addition to) basketball and football.
  • Besides (in addition to) being a good speaker, he is also an excellent actor.

Since and for

This is another set of prepositions often confused by foreign students. Since refers to the starting point of an action. It means ‘from a particular point of time in the past’ and it should be used with the present perfect tense of the verb.
  • He has been absent since last Monday. (NOT He is absent since last Monday.)
  • It has been raining continuously since yesterday morning. (NOT It is raining since yesterday morning.)
For is used to talk about duration. It refers to a period of time.
  • I have been waiting here for two hours.
  • We have been living here for three years.
A common mistake is to use since when referring to a period of time. You must not say ‘He has been absent since two days’ or ‘I have been studying since two hours.’

Between and among

We use between to say that somebody or something is between two or more clearly separate objects.
  • You have to choose between these two options.
  • I stood between John and Peter.
  • They marched up the aisle between the pillars.
  • He shared his money between his wife, his daughter and his son.
Among is used with more than two people or things.
  • The British were able to conquer India because the Indian princes quarreled among themselves.
  • The United Nations tries to maintain peace among the nations of the world.

By and with

 By is used to refer to the doer of an action; with is used to refer to the instrument with which the action is done.
  • He was killed by his servant.
  • He was killed with an axe.
  • The tiger was shot by me with my new gun.

In and At

 In is generally used to refer to large places – countries, districts, large cities etc. At is generally used to refer to small and unimportant places like villages, small towns etc.
  • We shall meet them at the club this evening.
  • My brother lives at Mumbai.
This rule is not very rigidly followed now, and in is often used for small places too, though at is seldom used for big places.
On, in, at and by
While speaking about time at indicates an exact point of time, on a more general point of time and in a period of time.
  • I shall be there at 4 pm.
  • We set out at dawn.
  • I was born on May 26.
  • The postman brought this letter in the morning.
  • I shall visit them in summer.
  • It is very hot in the day and quite cold at night.
Note that ‘at night’ is an exception to this rule.
By is used to show the latest time at which an action will be finished. So it is usually used with the future tenses.
  • I shall be leaving by 6 o’ clock.
  • I hope to finish the work by the end of this year.

On and upon

On
is generally used to talk about things at rest and upon to talk about things in motion.
  • He sat on a chair.
  • He jumped upon his horse.
However, this rule is not rigidly followed now, and on is often used to talk about things in motion too.
In and within (time)
In means at the end of a certain period; within means before the end of a certain period.
  • The spacecraft will reach the moon in three days. (= at the end of three days)
  • The spacecraft will reach the moon within three days. (= before the end of three days)
  • The loan should be repaid in a year.
  • The loan should be repaid within a year.
Note that this distinction too is not always kept and in is often used for within.
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This source is from http://www.perfectyourenglish.com/grammar/preposition-errors.htm

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