Examples of prepositions of movement in English. Prepositions of direction in English

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Movement is life. Movement is life. All living beings and many objects are in constant motion. Language is always a reflection of life and its aspects. Prepositions help express movement in space or relative to other objects and objects in language. Just as in life it is important to move, so in learning a language: the main thing is not to stop. Let's move on to studying prepositions of movement.

Preposition to

Important!

The preposition to is never used with the words: home, here, there.

Example sentences

Are you coming to the party? Are you going to a party? They went to the theater last night. They went to the theater last night. See you later! I'm going home. See you! I'm going home. Come here! I need your help. Come here. I need your help.

Preposition INTO

Example sentences

The frog jumped into the water. The frog jumped into the water. He drove into the garage and turned off the engine. He pulled into the garage and turned off the engine. Jim ran into the classroom and sat down. Jim ran into the classroom and sat down.

Preposition OUT OF

Example sentences

He produced a rabbit out of his hat. He pulled a rabbit out of his hat. We drove out of the forest and took the road between the mountains. We left the forest and drove along the road between the mountains. Mr. Black used to spend evenings looking out of his kitchen window and watching passers by. Mr. Black spent his evenings looking out of the kitchen window and inspecting people passing by.

Preposition TOWARDS

Example sentences

The man moved towards the door. The man headed towards the door.   The dog ran up towards me. The dog ran up to me. The captain directed the ship’s course towards the islands. The captain directed the ship to the islands.

Preposition UP

Example sentences

Walk up the stairs and your room is on the right. Go up the steps, your room is on the right. He drove up Oxford Street for ten minutes but didn’t find any restaurant. He drove 10 minutes up Oxford Street but didn't find a single restaurant. Look! A kitten is climbing up that tree. Look! The kitten is climbing that tree.

Preposition DOWN

Example sentences

They were sailing down the river. They floated down the river. After repairing the roof he climbed down the ladder. After repairing the roof, he went down the stairs. The girl slide down the slide and hurt her leg. The girl was sliding down the slide and injured her leg.

Most English prepositions serve several different functions. Also, different prepositions can be used in similar situations. Often correct preposition It’s difficult to guess, so you just need to remember which one is used in a given situation.

Prepositions of movement to And from

To used to indicate a destination.

For example:

“Susan is traveling to Portugal by plane”
Susan goes to Portugal by plane.

From used to indicate the place or direction from which someone begins his movement.

For example:

“Is he leaving from here?”
Is he leaving there?

Prepositions of movement into, in And out of

Be careful: between prepositions in And into there is a difference even though they look similar. In refers to location, whereas into means movement.

For example:

“The strawberries are in the fridge"
The strawberries are in the freezer.

“She was getting out of the car and into the hotel"
She got out of the car and entered the hotel.

In the previous example, you noticed the preposition out of. This preposition also indicates movement and is used when someone is leaving a certain place.

For example:

“I was coming out of the restaurant when I saw Olivier”
I was leaving the restaurant when I saw Oliver.

Prepositions of movement on And off

On denotes the presence of someone or something on a surface or object, that is, this surface or object is located directly below it and bears its weight. Off- the exact opposite of on. The expression “taken off”, referring to an item, means that the item is no longer in its original place.

For example:

“Take your shoes off and put them on the floor"
Take off your shoes and put them on the floor.

Prepositions of movement up And down

Up means upward movement, that is, from a lower to a higher position, and down, down on the contrary, it indicates the direction from the top point to the bottom, that is, down.

For example:

“Samantha always goes up the stairs and comes down in the lift. This way she is always fit and healthy!”
Samantha always takes the stairs and goes down the elevator. This way she always remains slim and healthy.

Prepositions of movement over And under

Over indicates a position above or above something.

For example:

“Ladies and gentlemen, we are now flying over the Alps"
Ladies and gentlemen. We are now flying over the Alps.

Under has the opposite meaning - a position under something, that is, a level below. Respectively, under indicates downward movement.

For example:

“The little boy was hiding under the table"
The boy was hiding under the table.

Prepositions of movement through And across

Across means the direction from one side of a place or boundary to the other (from edge to edge). Both prepositions are translated into Russian as “through”, although through indicates movement from one side to another within the same area. That is through used in the meaning "by".

For example:

“Every Sunday, we walk across the bridge and through the park"
Every Sunday we cross the bridge and walk in the park.

Prepositions of movement along, round And past

Along- means moving towards the end of something, such as a road. This phrase is usually translated as “to walk along the road.” Round denotes movement in a circle along the edge of the area, that is, around a certain place. Finally, past- past, beyond a certain place. That is, leaving behind a certain point.

For example:

“You will need to drive along this road, round the stadium and past the hospital"
You will need to drive along the road around the stadium and past the hospital.

We believe that we will not surprise anyone if we say that pretexts for movement in English are used to show the direction of movement of an object or person. To do this, we must use a verb together with the preposition, because it is verbs that show changes in an object in space. In general, if you know the Russian translation of each preposition of direction, you can use it with almost any verb of movement. We will tell you about the most commonly used prepositions, give examples and, of course, a test so that you remember the material better.

Table of prepositions of direction

The best way to remember this material is to use a table. In the first column we will take the preposition of direction in English, then its equivalent in Russian, the third column is an example of how the preposition can be used. Now, for clarity, imagine that one very busy woman makes all these movements. So, Mrs. Jones ran... (Mrs. Jones ran...)

Features of the use of prepositions of movement in English

1. To is the most commonly used preposition of direction. It must be used with a specific destination:
   

   My friend moved to France 2 years ago. - My friend moved to France 2 years ago.

   The only time we don't use to after the verb of movement go, this is when we talk about home. Remember forever: go home- go home, no way to home. It’s easy to draw a parallel: we are welcome at home, we don’t need extra excuses to come home.

   I go home through the park. - I'm going home through the park.

2. Prepositions at And in can also be used with verbs of motion, but they indicate a specific place:
   

   He wants to throw this document in the bin. - He wants throw away this document add to cart.

   John invited me to have lunch at his place. – John invited have lunch with me to yourself home.

3. On many websites dedicated to English, you can find information that prepositions round And around are used the same way, without changing the meaning. But there is a slight difference, especially in British English. If we talk he was running around, then it is implied that his movements were erratic, chaotic.
   

   The teacher doesn’t let children run around at school. – The teacher does not allow children to run around the school at breakneck speed.

   And when do they use it? round, then a more orderly movement in a circle is implied.

   Usain Bolt runs round the track every morning. – Usain Bolt runs laps on a treadmill every morning.

As you can see, there are not many pretexts for movement. But they are very useful, especially if, for example, you were asked how to get to some place or attraction. To repeat everything again, we suggest you download a convenient tablet and take our test.

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Test

Prepositions of direction in English

In English, prepositions serve as endings. We will tell you about the most popular and problematic prepositions of direction in our article.

Go there - I don’t know where. Sometimes it can be very difficult to express your thoughts in English. Let's take for example the Russian preposition “in”. We are used to the fact that you can use it to describe your location and send it “to the address”:

I'm in the park.- location (where?)
Let's go to the park.- direction (where?)

Unfortunately or fortunately, in the English language we encounter a much greater variety of prepositions, each of which has its own functions. When talking about prepositions of place we can use in or at:

I'm in the park. - I'm in the park.

But if we are (where?) going there, we should use the pretext to(do not confuse with a verb particle - these are different things):

Let's go to the park. - Let's go (where?) to the park.

Prepositions of direction answer the question WHERE? and describe the process of movement of an object or object from point A to point B.
Let's look at the most popular prepositions of direction of movement that can be found in English.

To & From

The truly leading position in “formation of shipments” is occupied by the pretext to. It is translated into Russian as “in” or “to”:

Little Red Riding Hood went to her grandmother. - Little Red Riding Hood went to her grandmother.

Sue goes to school. - Sue goes to school.

In English, this preposition conveys the direction of movement of an object towards something:

She arrived to Paris by train. - She came to Paris by train.

Brad and Angelina want to go to the river. - Brad and Angelina want to go to the river / to the river.

Let's go back to the beginning. - Let's go back to the beginning.

We also use it to express movement to an organization or public establishment:

Gil suggests going to the cinema. - Jill suggests going to the cinema.

An important point is the use of this preposition with words suggesting a specific occupation. These include school, work, church. IN similar phrases The article is NOT used:

Take me to church. - Take me to church(line from the song by artist Hozier).

I don’t want to go to work today. - I don’t want to go to work today.

The only exception is the word home- a house that will be used in stable expression“go home” without an article and without a preposition - go home.

Reverse preposition to is from, which is translated into Russian “from”/“from”:

Are the Johnsons from Los Angeles? - Johnsons from Los Angeles?

Are these flowers really from Johnny Depp? - Are these flowers really from Johnny Depp?

Into & Out of

Next couple opposite meanings are prepositions into- “inside” and out of“direction of movement from the inside.”

English preposition Into

This preposition is practically a twin brother to. The difference in meaning is this: into implies movement into something (for example, a forest, a room, a box) while to expresses movement towards something without going inside:

Let's go into the water. - Let's go into the water(= let's dive into the water).

Let's go to the water. - Let's go to the water(= and spend time by the water).

English preposition Out of vs. out

Compound preposition out of is translated into Russian “from” and is used to describe movements from inside any volume or space:

Keanu Reeves went out of the town. - Keanu Reeves left town.

IN in simple form out has the translation “for”. Very popular compound word outdoors- on the street, outside the house (= outside the premises).

Preposition Down

Separately, we would like to talk about the pretext down, which has two meanings. In addition to the well-known meaning of “down” (for example down the river- downstream of the river) this preposition can be translated “along”, “further along”. Most often we can find the second option in phrases where “long” spaces are involved:

Go down the street and you’ll see the Hermitage. - Walk along the street and you will see the Hermitage.

The restroom is down the hall. - The toilet is further down the corridor.

In conclusion, we would like to say that prepositions of direction of movement involve the use definite article(with rare exceptions that we have listed).
The very situation of moving from point A to point B is due to the fact that the destination one way or another represents a certain place known to the speakers.

We wish you interesting language practice in English and get to the designated point of knowledge!

Victoria Tetkina

Have you often gotten lost on the streets in your life? unfamiliar city abroad? Or maybe you were asked in English how to get to such and such an address, but you didn’t know what to answer? Let's correct this unacceptable mistake once and for all and learn how to correctly ask for directions on a car, and also learn how to give hints to other people who find themselves in a difficult situation.

Everyone who has ever traveled has probably tried to ask for directions in English. However, not everyone knows how to ask for directions in order to be fully understood by foreigners. Besides, when we are suddenly asked in English how to get somewhere, it’s also not always possible to remember the right words. However, it's all about a few phrases that you just need to remember.

We give directions in English

The picture shows the main directions of movement with translation:

Go straight on until you come to a crossroads. - Go straight to the intersection.

Turn left into Gordon Street. - Turn left onto Gordon Street.

Take the next left. - The next turn is left.

Take the second road on the left . - On the second road, turn left (second lane).

Turn right at the traffic lights. - Turn right at the traffic light.

It's opposite the church. - It's opposite the church.

It's next to the bank. - It's next to the bank.

It's between the school and the shop. - It's between the school and the store.

It's at the end of the road. - It's at the end of the road.

It’s on the corner of Market Street and Baker Street. - It's on the corner of Market and Baker Streets.

It's just behind this building. - It's behind this building.

It's in front of the school. - It's in front of the school.

It's just around the corner. - It's around the corner here.

It's on the left/right. — It (is) on the left/right.

It's around the corner.- It's around the corner.

It is better if you take a taxi. - It's better to take a taxi.

It's 500 meters from here. — It's 500 meters from here.

Bank Street is parallel with this street. - Bank Street is parallel to this street.

Penny Street is perpendicular to this street. - Penny Street is perpendicular to this street.

It's four blocks down the street on this side of the road. - It's four blocks down this side of the street.

Turn right at the roundabout . - Turn right at the road roundabout.

Asking for directions: useful expressions

Use these template phrases to ask for directions in an unfamiliar place:

I'm trying to get to the museum. - I'm trying to get to the museum (I need to find my way to the museum).

Do you know where the post office is? - Do you know where the post office is?

What's the best way to get to the train station? - What is the best way to get to the railway station?

Can you give me directions to the nearest bus stop? — Can you indicate the direction to the nearest bus stop?

How do I get to the train station? — How to get to the railway station?

Where can I find the nearest bakery? — Where can I find the nearest bakery?

How can I get to the bank? — How to get to the bank?

Where is the hospital? —Where (is) the hospital?

Don't forget to be polite:

Exuse me, how can I go to the library? - Excuse me, how do I get to the library?

Exuse me, is there a supermarket near here? — Excuse me, is there a supermarket somewhere nearby?

Pardon me, I’m lost, how do I get to the library? - Sorry, I'm lost, how do I get to the library?

Could you, please, tell me how to get to the computer store? — Could you tell me how to get to the computer store?

Dialogue on the topic

If the presented material seems insufficient to you, I suggest moving on to a dialogue on the topic of orientation in English. Here you will find many additional phrases about how to ask for directions or help someone by indicating the direction of travel.

Fill in the gaps in the sentences with the following words: east, bank, school, roundabout, third, church

The dialogue is quite interesting and simple, so try to translate it yourself. Moreover, you received enough tips in this lesson, so you can use them when translating.

Lenny: Excuse me, I’m trying to find a pub called the Cock & Bull. Could you point me in the right direction?

George: Ah... the Cock & Bull. I know it well. Excellent pub.

Lenny: Oh, great. I’m new to the city and I’m supposed to meet a friend there, but I haven’t got a clue where I am.

George: Right. Go straight ahead. Then, take the (1) _______ road on your left. That's Queen Street. Follow it until you pass a (2) ________, and then… No, hang on. That's not right.

Lenny: Oh, I can ask someone else if you’re not sure.

George: No, no. I know London like the back of my hand… OK. Ignore everything I just said. From here, you want to get onto Charles Street, which is parallel to this street. Then walk (3) _____________ about 500 meters until you see an old (4) _______. Turn right at the church and… Wait a minute…

Lenny: I’ve got a map here…

George: I don't need a map. I've lived here all my life. And the Cock & Bull isn't far away. Excellent pub, by the way. They do a fantastic steak and kidney pie… Or was it steak and mushroom? Anyway. Go about four hundred meters that way and when you get to a (5)____________, hang a left. Walk for another two minutes and you’ll see a (5)_________ on the opposite side of the road. The pub is just next to the bank. You can't miss it.

Lenny: Great! Thank you!

George: No, hold on… That’s where the pub used to be. It moved 15 years ago.

Lenny: Maybe I should ask someone else.

George: No, no, I’m your man. I practically live at the Bear & Bull.

Lenny: You mean the Cock & Bull.

George: No, the Bear & Bull.

Lenny: I'm trying to get to the Cock & Bull.

George: The Cock & Bull? No idea! Never heard of it! Goodbye!

This is how dialogues in our lives can take place in such a funny way. Anyway, this dialogue showed us how to give directions in English in real life, and also how to ask passers-by for directions. As you can see, passersby cannot always help, so you need to be more patient and not despair.