Prepositional Phrases List

REF	LEVEL	PHRASE	MEANING	EXAMPLE
AT + PHRASE
PP01		at random	without being chosen intentionally	They received several answers, and they picked one at random.
PP01		at odds with sb/sth	in disagreement	There are cultural movements, sometimes at odds with each other.
PP01		at the expense of sb	making another person look silly	The dealers profited shamefully at the expense of my family.
PP01		at the crack of dawn	very early in the morning	I often start work at the crack of dawn when there is a big order to get out.
PP01		at any rate	whatever happens	I may be away on business next week but at any rate I'll be back by Sunday.
PP01		at heart	used to say what someone is really like	She may appear severe toward her kids but she is a fond mother at heart.
PP01		at liberty	no longer in prison or in a cage	The escaped prisoner has been at liberty for fifteen days.
PP01		at someone's disposal	available to be used by someone	The rest of the day was entirely at her disposal for recreation.
PP01		at the best of times	when everything is going well	She's never very happy at the best of times. She'll be much worse now!
PP01		at the earliest	not before the time or date specified	He's very busy, so he won't be with you till 6 o'clock at the earliest.
PP16		at this juncture	at the moment, in this situation	The children began to throw stones. At this juncture the police arrived.
PP16		at large	in general, as a whole	This group is not representative of the population at large.
PP18		at last	finally, after much waiting	At last he realised his dream of becoming a doctor after finishing school.
PP19		at all costs	regardless of the cost involved	We must at all costs prevent them from finding out about the plan.
PP20		at once	at the same time, immediately	When you contact these two wires, the machine will start at once.
PP21		at a loss	not knowing what to do, say etc.	When her husband left home, Gina felt completely at a loss.
PP22		at short notice	with little warning	Both players pulled out of the competition last week at short notice.
PP23		at times	sometimes	She's a lovely woman, even if she can be a bit tiring at times.
PP24		at first	at the beginning	At first we trusted him, but soon we found he's a bad egg.
PP25		at least	not less than, at the minimum	It's a tradition that dates back at least a thousand years.
PP26		at a profit	the money that you make in business	The gold in the oceans is too diffuse to be extractable at a profit.
PP27		at first sight	when first seen or examined	At first sight, there didn't appear to be much damage.
IN + PHRASE
PP02		in the long run	at a time that is far away in the future	He will tell us what we need to change, which is better in the long run.
PP02		in compliance with sth	in accordance with	The authorities hope all states will be in compliance with the law in 2008.
PP02		in vain	without success or a result	After waiting there in vain for two hours, they gave up and went back home.
PP02		in a flash	very quickly or suddenly	In a flash, Tina realized that they might be laughing at her.
PP02		in essence	basically, by nature	His speech was, in essence, a plea for understanding and conciliation.
PP02		in arrears	behind in making payments	There have been sharp increases in arrears on interest payments.
PP02		in the balance	in an uncertain or critical state	The fate of the African wild dog hangs in the balance.
PP02		in the spotlight	in the centre of public attention	They are back in the spotlight following the launch of their new album.
PP02		in view of	considering sth, because of sth	A high turnover may well have been justified in view of volatile markets.
PP02		in the meantime	during the time before sth happens	Nick wants to be an actor, but in the meantime he's working as a mechanic.
PP16		in no time	very quickly or very soon	After breakfast, he brushes his teeth and gets dressed in no time.
PP16		in earnest	in a very serious and focused way	Make a few test recordings before you start the session in earnest.
PP18		in advance	ahead in time	Customers are advised to make seat reservations well in advance.
PP19		in danger	in a situation where you may die	The doctors pronounced her to be no longer in danger.
PP20		in favour of	in support or to the advantage of	They concluded from his remarks that he was in favour of the plan.
PP22		in charge (of)	looking after sb or st	He is not in charge of the department; She has three people over her.
PP23		in common	in the same way as sb or sth	The two health insurance schemes have nothing at all in common.
PP24		in person	being present personally	It gave me a big thrill to meet my favourite artist in person.
PP25		in general	usually, or in most situations	These policies are unpopular with politicians and people in general.
PP27		in short	in a few words	In short, the planning scene had changed fundamentally.
ON + PHRASE
PP03		on the ball	alert to new ideas and trends	A photographer who was on the ball got great pictures of the incident.
PP03		on hand	immediately available for use	For the time being you've got bed, board, and a resident doctor on hand.
PP03		on the verge of	very near to doing or experiencing sth	Species that are on the verge of extinction are called endangered species.
PP03		on second thoughts	change your opinion about something	She had intended to go, but on second thoughts, she gave up the idea.
PP03		on the air	being broadcast on radio or television	The producer is responsible for getting the broadcast on the air.
PP03		on no account	not in any way, or under any condition	You should on no account overrate the enemy's combat effectiveness.
PP03		on tenterhooks	waiting nervously for sth to happen	She's been on tenterhooks all week waiting for the test results.
PP03		on the dot	exactly at the stated or expected time	She gets annoyed if her dinner isn't ready at two o'clock on the dot.
PP03		on remand	in custody pending trial	He's been on remand for three weeks and always protested his innocence.
PP03		on account of	because of something	They were forced to cancel the concert on account of very bad weather.
PP17		on the horizon	likely to happen soon	With this type of disease there is no obvious breakthrough on the horizon.
PP18		on foot	by walking	Crossing the North Pole on foot was an amazing feat of human endeavour.
PP19		on average	as an average quantity, rate, etc.	On average, people who don't smoke are healthier than people who do.
PP20		on behalf of	done for another person's benefit	On behalf of the department, I would like to thank you all.
PP21		on purpose	in a way that is planned or intended	She spilled her drink on purpose - she needed an excuse to leave the room.
PP23		on the contrary	saying the opposite	On the contrary, most Chinese live near their working area and markets.
PP25		on the outskirts	the outer edge of a city or town	Fierce fighting has continued all day on the outskirts of the town.
PP26		on loan	being borrowed	The paintings by Van Gogh are on loan from Dutch collections.
PP27		on bad/good terms	have bad/good relationship with sb	She is on good terms with Martin and takes what he says to heart.
FOR + PHRASE
PP04		for the best	having or producing a better result	Many people thought it was for the best that the councillor resigned.
PP04		for granted	believe something to be the truth	He seemed to take it for granted that she would go with him to Paris.
PP04		for fear of	in order to avoid or prevent, in case of	He was afraid to say anything to her for fear of hurting her feelings.
PP04		for the most part	mostly or usually	She continued her travels, but for the most part lived quietly in Essex.
PP04		for the sake of	for the benefit or good of sb/sth	Aircraft manufacturers want to reduce vibration for the sake of safety.
PP04		for a song	very cheaply	Dave bought an old cottage for a song and completely renovated it.
PP04		for all	despite	For all her many faults, it has to be said she was a good mother.
PP04		for donkey's years	for a very long time	Megan worked in the shop for donkey's years, although the pay was awful.
PP04		for the time being	for a limited period	The flat is really too small, but it's tolerable for the time being.
PP04		for good (and all)	for ever, permanently	For good and all, I will never forget the moments we shared.
PP16		for once	used to say that sth unusual happens	For goodness sake, Fred, why don't you just let yourself go for once?
PP18		for ages	for a very long time	They kept us waiting for ages while they packed their luggage.
PP19		for instance	for example	Garlic, for instance, can lower high blood pressure.
PP21		for a change	for the sake of variety	She usually takes the bus to town, but today she cycled for a change.
PP26		for fun	for amusement	She writes for fun, not because she expects to make money.
BY + PHRASE
PP05		by all accounts	as said by most people	The original building was, by all accounts, demolished ten years ago.
PP05		by all means	used to give permission	"Can I come and have a look at your collection?" - "Yes by all means".
PP05		by virtue of	because of, as a result of	Donna became an Italian resident by virtue of her marriage.
PP05		by degrees	a little at a time, gradually	The crowd in the shopping centre was thinning, but only by degrees.
PP05		by the book	exactly as the rules tell you	Jim showed little initiative, handling all matters strictly by the book.
PP05		by leaps and bounds	with unexpectedly rapid progress	China's economy has developed by leaps and bounds in recent years.
PP05		by the same token	in the same way	I want to win, but by the same token, I don't want to hurt his confidence.
PP05		by and large	on the whole, everything considered	By and large, most of the people in my town work in the mines.
PP05		by design	intentionally	We shall never know whether this happened by accident or by design.
PP05		by courtesy of	as a favour rather than by right	The pictures have been reproduced by courtesy of the Prado Museum.
PP16		by no means	not at all, certainly not	Although useful, the accessories are by no means essential.
PP18		by mistake	by accident, without intending to	Hannah deleted a whole afternoon's work on the computer by mistake.
PP20		by coincidence	through an accidental occurrence	Just by coincidence, I met my old friend again two months later.
PP21		by profession	by trade	He is an electrician by profession, and a musician, by choice.
PP22		by means of	with the help of something	She gained entry into the building by means of a bribe to the guard.
PP23		by accident	unintentionally, by chance	Did he leave your name out by accident or was it intentional?
PP24		by car/ship/boat	used for showing how sth is done	Is it possible to get to the city by train, or must I take a bus?
PP26		by surprise	to happen unexpectedly	The band's sudden rise to fame took everyone by surprise.
PP27		by far	by a great amount	The book is by far the best general reference on natural history.
OFF + PHRASE
PP06		off the beaten track	far away from other people, houses	I bought that antique table in a little shop that is far off the beaten track.
PP06		off the cuff	without previous preparation	He hadn't prepared a speech so he just said a few words off the cuff.
PP06		off limits	barred to a designated group	Downing Street has been off limits to the general public since 1982.
PP06		off duty	not engaged in one's regular work	I had no doubt he'd turn up in a moment, so I went off duty.
PP06		off your rocker	be crazy	Gina must be off her rocker to want to marry him!
PP06		off the hook	no longer in difficulty or trouble	As soon as she saw his smile she knew she was off the hook.
PP06		off balance	not physically balanced	The sudden movement of the ship knocked us both off balance.
PP06		off the peg	(of clothes) ready-made	She buys her food, like her clothing, ready made and off the peg.
PP06		off the mark	a long way from an intended target	He undoubtedly was not far off the mark in analyzing its predictions.
PP06		off the record	not made as an official statement	The President told the reporters his remarks were strictly off the record.
PP18		off colour	slightly unwell	I'm fine, thank you, but Alice's a bit off colour at the moment.
PP22		off the record	not for quotation	He made it clear that his comments were strictly off the record.
WITH + PHRASE
PP07		with the exception of	except, not including	I like all kinds of music, with the exception of Pop music.
PP07		with the compliments of	as a gift from	Please accept this box of chocolates with the compliments of the boss.
PP07		with a view to	with the aim of doing something	Damian is painting the house with a view to selling it.
PP07		with/in reference to	in relation to, as regards	I am writing with reference to your letter of November 02, 2022.
PP07		with flying colours	very well, with a very high mark	In spite of his worries, he passed the exam with flying colours.
PP07		with one accord	everybody in agreement	We protested with one accord that we had not done it.
PP07		with the aid of	using something to help you	The building was converted into flats with the aid of a development grant.
PP07		with bated breath	in an anxious or excited way	The soldiers' families waited with bated breath for news.
PP07		with your bare hands	without using any type of weapon	They'll fight with their bare hands to protect their homeland.
PP07		with all due respect	used to express polite disagreement	With all due respect, I think you've misunderstood what Helen said.
PP21		with regard to	concerning, about	The manager has no complaints with regard to his work.
UNDER + PHRASE
PP08		under false pretences	by tricking people	She brought me down here to work for her under false pretences.
PP08		under the influence	drunk or feeling the effects of a drug	About one in ten Americans are driving under the influence of alcohol.
PP08		under a cloud	under suspicion or discredited	The military are under a cloud for killing civilians during the demonstration.
PP08		under the aegis of	with the protection of sb/sth	Medical supplies are being sent under the aegis of the Red Cross.
PP08		under siege	surrounded by an army in a siege	At the very end of the war, Prague again came under siege.
PP08		under the counter	bought or sold secretly and illegally	They are selling the goods under the counter at reduced prices.
PP08		under your breath	in a very quiet voice; almost inaudibly	She muttered something under her breath to the person next to her.
PP08		under the weather	slightly unwell or in low spirits	I'm feeling a little under the weather so I couldn't come tonight.
PP08		under no circumstances	in no case or situation	Under no circumstances should Susan lend Tom any money.
PP08		under the impression	believing that something is true	I was under the impression that she wasn't coming until tomorrow.
PP18		under repair	being repaired	He was given a courtesy car to use while his car was under repair.
PP21		under control	being actively controlled	It took almost 20 firemen to bring the blaze under control.
PP23		under age	less than mature or legal age	He was rejected by the conscription office because he was under age.
PP26		under pressure	being forced to do something	Hospital staff are coming under pressure to work longer hours.
WITHOUT + PHRASE
PP09		without fail	in every case, for certain	He goes to church every Saturday and Sunday, without fail.
PP09		without detriment to	without harm or damage to	This tax cannot be introduced without detriment to the economy.
PP09		without stint	generously and in large amounts	Her parents have always supported her without stint.
PP09		without a hitch	smoothly, easily, and successfully	The discussion on the amendment of the tax law passed off without a hitch.
PP09		without a second thought	acting immediately	She'll spend a hundred pounds on shoes without a second thought.
PP09		without respite	non-stop, without stopping	The rain continued for twenty hours without respite.
PP09		without precedent	that has never happened before	The achievements of this period were without precedent in history.
PP09		without a murmur	without complaining	He took the punishments meted out to him without a murmur.
PP09		without fear or favour	in a fair way	The appointments are supposed to be made without fear or favour.
PP09		without prejudice to sth	without harming or affecting sth	You should make a decision without prejudice to our rights.
PP16		without precedent	when sth has never happened before	This is a wonderful achievement without precedent in Dutch history.
PP19		without (a) doubt	used to emphasize your opinion	Without a doubt, Jim already became this team leader character.
PP20		without delay	quickly or immediately	They need to get those vegetables planted without delay.
BEYOND + PHRASE
PP10		beyond the pale	offensive or unacceptable	She thought taking the boys to a topless show was beyond the pale.
PP10		beyond recall	impossible to bring back	The photographs and other documents were damaged beyond recall.
PP10		beyond a shadow of a doubt	to a degree that could not be doubted	I knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that this was where I wanted to be.
PP10		beyond compare	better or greater than any other	A two-day trip to Paris would have been a gift beyond compare.
PP10		beyond measure	very much	Alan was delighted beyond measure to run into an old friend.
PP10		beyond reproach	such that no criticism can be made	Her behaviour throughout this affair has been beyond reproach.
PP10		beyond your ken	not in your area of knowledge	This burglar alarm system is beyond my ken, I'm afraid.
PP10		beyond one's means	too expensive to afford	Over 20% of Europeans admitted they were living beyond their means.
PP10		beyond the grave	after death	Do you really think there's life beyond the grave?
PP10		beyond a joke	no longer funny, serious	I don't mind helping him out sometimes, but this is getting beyond a joke.
PP20		beyond belief	too great or bad for anyone to believe	That concert was amazing, it was actually beyond belief!
PP24		beyond repair	irreparable	Unfortunately the module is beyond repair and requires a replacement.
OUT OF + PHRASE
PP11		out of your own pocket	using one's own money	They had no intention of paying for the meal out of his own pocket.
PP11		out of all proportion	in the wrong relation to the size	The importance of her remarks has been magnified out of all proportion.
PP11		out of range	too far away to be reached	The demonstrators were hurling rocks but the police stayed out of range.
PP11		out of the ordinary	unusual or different	Did you notice anything out of the ordinary in Ann's behaviour?
PP11		out of bounds	forbidden, barred	The town's pubs and bars are out of bounds to soldiers.
PP11		out of action	unable to perform a usual function	Huge sections of the rail network are out of action.
PP11		out of sorts	ill or upset	Peter explained that he'd been feeling out of sorts and had overreacted.
PP11		out of one's depth	not having the knowledge, experience	He is clearly intellectually out of his depth. He'd always struggled at school.
PP11		out of the blue	without warning, unexpectedly	Sonia phoned me out of the blue and said she was in some kind of trouble.
PP11		out of a hat	as if by magic, at random	Where am I going to get the money? I can't just pull it out of a hat!
PP16		out of respect for	be respectful of another person	They observed a minute's silence out of respect for the disaster victims.
PP18		out of reach	inaccessibly located or situated	Be sure to keep the medication out of reach of any children.
PP22		out of breath	breathing with difficulty, gasping	He reached the company out of breath only to be told he was fired.
PP23		out of fashion	not fashionable	Bell-bottom jeans went out of fashion decades ago.
PP24		out of practice	no longer used to doing sth	Susie is out of practice, so she will not dance well tonight.
PP25		out of use	unfashionable, not in use	This kind of textile machine has long since been out of use.
PP26		out of danger	no longer in a risky situation	He's not completely cured, but at least he's out of danger.
PP27		out of stock	not available for sale	Sorry, this model is out of stock and we've discontinued carrying it.
TO + PHRASE
PP12		to such (some) an extent	so much	She had changed to such an extent that I no longer recognized her.
PP12		to all intents and purposes	in all the most important ways	The book was, to all intents and purposes, a copy of his earlier efforts.
PP12		to the touch	describing the way that sth feels	Although snakes look slimy their skin is actually dry to the touch.
PP12		to the detriment of	in a way that is harmful to	Julia worked very long hours, to the detriment of her marriage.
PP12		to one's dismay	to one's disappointment	He discovered, to his dismay, that his exam was a month earlier.
PP12		to the tune of	to the stated amount	The cinema has been refurbished to the tune of a million pounds.
PP12		to the exclusion of	in a way that excluded	He spent all his time with friends to the exclusion of his own family.
PP12		to the bitter end	until something is finished	We are prepared to fight for our rights to the bitter end.
PP12		to the contrary	saying or showing the opposite	No matter what they say to the contrary, I am positive that he was present.
PP12		to the best of my knowledge	as far as I know	He still lives in Barcelona to the best of my knowledge.
PP16		to spare	still available	One of the great bonuses of retirement is having time to spare.
PP22		to one's astonishment	to one's surprise	To my astonishment, the man lifted the object effortlessly.
UP + PHRASE
PP13		up to a point	to some degree but not completely	The plan worked well, up to a point, before new challenges emerged.
PP13		up the creek	in a difficult or bad situation	If she doesn't get her passport by Saturday, she'll be up the creek.
PP13		up and running	operating normally	Hopefully, the telescope will be up and running as early as next month.
PP13		up to scratch	reaching an acceptable standard	The Browns spent thousands of pounds getting their house up to scratch.
PP13		up the spout	ruined, lost, wasted	My plans for the weekend seem to have gone up the spout.
PP13		up for grabs	available and ready to be taken	There are £5 000 worth of prizes up for grabs in our competition!
PP13		up the duff	pregnant	There were continual rumours that Helen was up the duff.
PP13		up to no good	be behaving in a dishonest way	He knew that his sister was up to no good but he didn't tell anyone.
PP13		up and about	out of bed and doing things	Tom recently had surgery, but now he's up and about again.
PP13		up to speed	having the most recent information	Is she up to speed yet on the latest developments?
WITHIN + PHRASE
PP14		within limits	moderately, up to a point	He can decorate the flat himself - within limits, of course.
PP15		within (easy) reach	close to something	The city centre is within easy reach - just a five minute walk away.
PP15		within earshot	near enough to hear somebody	Everyone within earshot soon knew her opinion of Mark.
PP16		within your grasp	able to be found, possible	An agreement to end the war seemed within their grasp.
PP17		within one's rights	be legally entitled to do something	Ann was within her rights not to reveal the details of her childhood.
PP26		within reason	within reasonable limits	You can send almost anything within reason through the post.
BEHIND + PHRASE
PP14		behind the scenes	in secret or in private	Although she had retired, Alice remained active behind the scenes.
PP15		behind the times	old-fashioned in your ideas, methods	Her style of dress is attractive but it's really behind the times.
PP15		behind bars	in prison	Almost 7,000 people a year are put behind bars over motoring penalties.
PP17		behind schedule	later than planned or expected	Due to the bad weather, the building work was already behind schedule.
DOWN + PHRASE
PP14		down in the dumps	depressed or unhappy	If you're feeling down in the dumps, come over and have a chat.
PP15		down to earth	very realistic and practical	Susan is the everyday down to earth kind of person, I like to work with her.
PP17		down the drain	be totally wasted	He was aware that his public image was rapidly going down the drain.
AGAINST + PHRASE
PP15		against all odds	despite success being very unlikely	Some women do manage to achieve business success against all odds.
PP17		against nature	not natural, and morally wrong	The novel demonstrates mankind's successful battle against nature.
PP22		against the law	illegal or unlawful	It is against the law for a government official to solicit political cash.
FROM + PHRASE
PP20		from time to time	sometimes, occasionally	We have to work every other weekend from time to time.
PP21		from now on	from this moment and forever	From now on, she will only be working in the evenings.
PP25		from scratch	from the very beginning	Building a home from scratch can be both exciting and challenging.
MISCELLANEOUS
PP14		across the board	affecting everyone or everything	The changes will cause problems right across the board.
PP14		back and forth	backward and forward	They travel back and forth all the time between Spain and Italy.
PP14		between jobs	unemployed for a short time	The time spent between jobs should not be a period of inactivity.
PP14		since the year dot	for an extremely long time	Traditionally, physicists have been involved in war since the year dot.
PP14		along the lines of	similar in type	You can play along the lines of what the teacher told you.
PP14		round/around the clock	all day and all night	He's been working around the clock to get the project ready.
PP14		into the bargain	in addition to everything else	They bought the house, and the furniture into the bargain.
PP15		beside yourself	extremely upset	She was beside herself when she found out that her cat had died.
PP15		beneath your dignity	suitable for sb who is less important	She made it quite clear that much speech was beneath her dignity.
PP15		above and beyond	more than a particular amount or level	She went above and beyond when she was planning this party.
PP15		outside interest	interests that are not part of your work	Some of her many outside interests include music and reading.
PP17		beneath contempt	very shameful or disgusting	Trying to get someone else blamed for it was beneath contempt.
PP17		beside the point/mark	not important or irrelevant	What she said may be true enough, but it is beside the point/mark.
PP17		inside out	with the inner surface turned outwards	Chris turned all his pockets inside out but found no money.
PP17		through thick and thin	no matter how difficult	I will go on loving Mary through thick and thin no matter what happens.
PP17		above yourself	conceited, arrogant	You pay Ann a few compliments and she immediately rises above herself.
PP24		over the moon	extremely happy and excited	The whole team was over the moon at winning the competition.