Prepositions of movement are small words that tell us how someone or something moves from one place to another. They are very useful when we want to give directions, describe actions, or talk about travel. Here are the most common ones:
• "Into" shows movement from outside to inside. It answers the question: Where is the movement going?
- For example: She walks into the classroom.
• "Through" shows movement from one side to the other side of something that has space inside. It answers the question: How do we get from one side to the other?
- For example: He walked through the park.
• "Towards" shows movement in the direction of something. It means going closer to a place, person, or thing – but not always reaching it.
- For example: The dog is coming towards me.
• "Up" and "down" are complimentary. “Up” shows movement from a lower place to a higher place, and "down" shows movement from a higher to a lower place.
-For example: She climbs up the stairs. Snow is falling down from the sky.
• "Over" shows movement from one side to another, by going above something.
- For example: The cat jumps over the wall.
• "Past" shows movement going by something or someone, but not stopping there.
- For example: She walks past the shop.
• "Across" shows movement from one side to another, typically horizontally.
- For example: He swims across the river.
• "Around" shows movement following a curved line.
- For example: The dog runs around the tree.
• "From/to" indicate the starting and ending point of a movement.
- For example: They walked from the house to the supermarket.