Prepositions of Direction and Movement For beginners

In this lesson, learn about prepositions of direction and movement like "to," "from," and "across," used to show where or how something moves. Simple explanations and easy examples to understand their use.

"Prepositions of Direction and Movement" in English Grammar

What Are Prepositions of Direction and Movement?

Prepositions of direction and movement are words that describe how a person or object moves from one place to another.

Common Prepositions of Direction and Movement

Some of the common prepositions of movement and direction are listed below:

over

under

into

out of

around

across

up

down

Now, let us see what each one means and how it functions:

Over

'Over' shows movement from one side to another above something. Take a look at some examples:

Example

The bird flew over the fence.

She jumped over the puddle.

Under

'Under' shows that someone/something is moving to a position below something. Look below:

Example

The cat ran under the table.

He crawled under the bed.

Into

'Into' is another preposition of movement and direction. It shows that something/someone is going inside a place:

Example

Let's go into the third room.

The cat jumped into the box.

Out of

'Out of' is another preposition of movement and direction. We use it to show a movement away from a place. For example:

Example

Move out of this room!

She took the book out of the bag.

Around

'Around' shows movement on all sides of something. Here are some examples:

Example

The kids are running around the table.

We took a walk around the Eifel Tower.

Across

Another common preposition of movement and direction is 'across'. It shows movement from one side to another side. Check out the following examples:

Example

I saw Jim running across the street an hour ago.

The dog ran across the yard.

Up

'Up' shows movement to a higher position. Look at the examples below:

Example

Maria is going up the ladder.

A:

Where are they going?

B:

They're going up the hill.

Down

Another preposition of movement and direction is 'down'. We use it to show movement to a lower position. Look at the following examples:

Example

There's a telephone box down the stairs.

He ran down the hill to catch the bus.

Quiz:


1.

Which of these sentences correctly uses the preposition "across"?

A

We took a walk across the Eifel Tower.

B

He ran across the street.

C

Maria is going across the ladder.

D

She took the book across the bag.

2.

Which of the following sentences correctly uses the preposition "under"?

A

The child crawled under the blanket

B

She went under the mountain.

C

He ran under the street.

D

The dog jumped under the pond.

3.

Sort the words into the correct order to form a meaningful sentence:

the
the
.
jumped
dog
over
fence
4.

Match each description with the correct example sentence.

Movement to the inside of a place.
Movement away from a place.
Movement on all sides of something.
Movement to a higher position.
Movement to a lower position.
The dog ran down the hill.
He jumped up the steps.
The children ran around the pool.
We walked into the room.
She stepped out of house.
5.

Complete the sentence with the correct preposition from the list below:

They walked

the bridge to get to the park.

The kids ran

the table during recess.

He climbed

the mountain to see the view.

The dog jumped

the fence.

She slipped

the stairs and hurt her knee.

over
up
around
down
across

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