Prepositions of movement and of place

PREPOSITION OF MOVEMENTS

Prepositions are used to show movement to or from a place.

For example:-

to, through, across

We use to to show movement with the aim of a specific destination.

For example:-
I moved to Germany in 1998.  
He's gone to the shops.

We use through to show movement from one side of an enclosed space to the other.    

For example: 
The train went through the tunnel.

We use across to show movement from one side of a surface or line to another.

For example: 
She swam across the river.

More prepositions of movement

She ran...
	across	the road. (from one side to the other)
	along	the road. (The length of the road.)
	around	the playground.
	away from	the policeman.
	back to	the shop.
	down	the hill.
	into	the room.
	off	the stage.
	onto (on to)	the platform.
	out of	the theatre.
	over	the bridge. (from one side of an open space to the other)
	past	the opening.
	round	the track.
	through	the tunnel.
	to	the door.
	towards	the bus stop.
	under	the shelter.
	up	the hill.

At and in can also be used as prepositions of movement, but they're used to show the purpose of the movement.

For example:

I threw the paper in the bin.
Let's have dinner at my place.

When used after some verbs, the preposition at also shows the target of an action:

The bowler was sent off for throwing the ball at the umpire, instead of to the batsman.

!Note - a lot of sites say that around and round are the same, but there can be a difference, especially in BrE. If someone says "they were running around", it implies the movement is erratic.

For example: Children tend to run around at school.

In BrE when we use "round" we imply a more definite purpose and a more circular movement.

For example: The athlete ran round the track.

PREPOSITION OF PLACE 

In general, we use:

• at for a POINT
• in for an ENCLOSED SPACE
• on for a SURFACE

at	in	on
POINT	ENCLOSED SPACE	SURFACE
at the corner	in the garden	on the wall
at the bus stop	in London	on the ceiling
at the door	in France	on the door
at the top of the page	in a box	on the cover
at the end of the road	in my pocket	on the floor
at the entrance	in my wallet	on the carpet
at the crossroads	in a building	on the menu
at the front desk	in a car	on a page

Look at these examples:

• Jane is waiting for you at the bus stop.
• The shop is at the end of the street.
• My plane stopped at Dubai and Hanoi and arrived in Bangkok two hours late.
• When will you arrive at the office?
• Do you work in an office?
• I have a meeting in New York.
• Do you live in Japan?
• Jupiter is in the Solar System.
• The author's name is on the cover of the book.
• There are no prices on this menu.
• You are standing on my foot.
• There was a "no smoking" sign on the wall.
• I live on the 7th floor at 21 Oxford Street in London.

Notice the use of the prepositions of place at, in and on in these standard expressions:

at	in	on
at home	in a car	on a bus
at work	in a taxi	on a train
at school	in a helicopter	on a plane
at university	in a boat	on a ship
at college	in a lift (elevator)	on a bicycle, on a motorbike
at the top	in the newspaper	on a horse, on an elephant
at the bottom	in the sky	on the radio, on television
at the side	in a row	on the left, on the right
at reception	in Oxford Street	on the way