Prepositions of Movement or Direction
What are Prepositions of Movement?
Preposition of movement or direction describes how, where, or in what direction something moves.
Some prepositions of place also describe movement or direction. For example, behind, between, over, round, etc.
List of Useful Prepositions of Movement or Direction
In the English language, prepositions express different kinds of relationships. Several prepositions are used in more than one category. Below is the list of some prepositions which we used to indicate movement or direction.
- Across
- Along
- Onto
- Into
- In
- Up
- Down
- Off
- Out of
- From
- To
- Through
- Towards
- Away from
- By
- Round
- About
- At
Uses of Some Common Prepositions of Movement
Across and Along
We use along to describe the movement of something on a straight line or edge.
Across describe the movement of something from one end to the other.
- They walked in a row along the road.
Onto, Into and In
We use into to describe the movement towards the inside, middle of something or imply movement in a surface direction. We use the preposition in place of into in everyday speech.
Onto describe movement ending on top of something. We often use on instead of the preposition onto.
- The sheep were loaded onto trucks.
- She was afraid to dive from the board into the pool.
- She was afraid to dive from the board in the pool.
Up, Down, and Over
We use the preposition up to describe movement heading up. The word down describes the movement of something heading down. Both the prepositions express vertical direction. The preposition over indicates motion (up and then down again) across something from one side to the other.
- He jumped over the stone.
Off
We use the preposition off to describe down movement or movement of someone or something away from its present place.
- The boy jumped off the roof.
By
The preposition by expresses the movement of something without stopping or stopping of movement for some time before continuing.
- The students walked by (= past) me without saying a word.
Out of
Out of describing movement ending outside something. It is the opposite of into.
- She ran out of my room to call her brother.
From, To
The preposition from express separation. We use from to describe a movement with a specific point where someone or something starts or point of origin or departure. We use the preposition to, which means in the direction of. It describes a movement direction and reception toward someplace or area with a specific aim.
- I saw a man running from the house to the library.
Through
Through describe movement from one side to the other or from the inside to the outside of an enclosed space.
- She walked through the street.
Towards and At
Towards means in the direction of or move closer to someone or something. Towards describes only direction or direction and movement. It points out a particular direction. The preposition at means towards or in the direction of. It conveys the idea of the preposition ‘to’ or ‘toward.’
- The baby ran towards his mother.
- This teacher is always shouting at us.
Away from
Away from describing movement farther from something.
- The prey ran away from the hunter and escaped.
Around and About
Both the prepositions around and about describe circular motion. They also describe motion in various directions.
- They were dancing around the school.
Examples of Prepositions of Movement
- The Fisherman walked along the shore.
- There are trees along the road.
- They made a bridge across the river.
- Shall I go into his house?
- The dog jumped onto the chair.
- The cat jumped into the box.
- They got onto the ship.
- The baby went into the zoo.
- The baby went in the zoo.
- Get off the bus carefully.
- The bike ran off the road.
- We start the book from the beginning.
- Where does she come from?
- She went to London last month.
- Can you come to the wedding ceremony?
- She drove through the center of New York.
- A ball rolled out of the bag.
- Several animals ran out of the zoo.
- The airplane flew over our college.
- The hunter ran towards the target.
- The children went towards the ice cream van.
- We went into the museum at the main entrance.
- The students went off the hostel to have lunch together.
- Going that way north. You will pass by some stores.
- The cat ran between the two cars.
