Prepositions of Relationship, Purpose, and Possession

In this lesson, you'll learn some English prepositions that are used to indicate relationships, purpose, and possession. You'll also learn some English words for animals.

Interactive flashcards and a quiz are included to help you learn the concepts covered in this lesson.

Annonce

Prepositions of Relationship, Purpose, and Possession

With

With is used to indicate accompaniment, connection, or the instrument used to perform an action.

I am going to the cinema with my brother.	Je vais au cinéma avec mon frère.
She cut the cake with a sharp knife.	Elle a coupé le gâteau avec un couteau tranchant.
Can you go with me to the concert?	Peux-tu venir avec moi au concert.

Without

Without is used to indicate the absence of something or someone.

He managed to finish the marathon without any water.	Il a réussi à finir le marathon sans aucune eau.
It is difficult to navigate the city without a map.	Il est difficile de se déplacer dans la ville sans carte.

Against

Against is used to indicate opposition, disagreement, or physical contact/pressure.

The local community voted against the new development.	La communauté locale a voté contre le nouveau développement.
He leaned his bicycle against the brick wall.	Il a appuyé son vélo contre le mur de briques.

For

For is used to indicate purpose, reason, or the person intended to receive something.

I bought this bouquet of flowers for my mother.	J'ai acheté ce bouquet de fleurs pour ma mère.
They are studying hard for their final exams.	Ils étudient dur pour leurs examens finaux.
He waited for two hours.

Of

Of is used to indicate belonging, origin, or the material something is made from.

This is the first page of the book.	Ceci est la première page du livre.
The table is made of solid oak.	La table est faite de chêne massif.

About

About is used to indicate the subject or topic of a conversation, book, or thought.

The story is about a cat.	L'histoire parle d'un chat.
We were talking about our plans for the summer.	Nous parlions de nos projets pour l'été.
I am reading a fascinating story about space travel.	Je lis une histoire fascinante sur les voyages dans l'espace.

Compound Prepositions

A compound preposition consists of two or more words, but acts like a single preposition. The following table shows some common compound prepositions.

ahead of	as far as	because of	by means of
in addition to	in back of	in case of	in regard to
in spite of	instead of	next to	out of

Examples

They arrived ahead of me.	Ils sont arrivés avant moi.
Your jacket is next to the door.	Votre veste est à côté de la porte.
I finished in spite of the interruptions.	J'ai fini malgré les interruptions.