Prepositions of Movement: Rules, Examples and Common Mistakes

Prepositions of movement tell us where someone or something is going: to the station, into the room, across the road, through the tunnel. We use them after verbs of movement such as go, walk, run, drive, come, jump and fly. This guide shows the most common ones at A2 level, how they differ, and the mistakes learners often make.

What is a preposition of movement?

A preposition of movement shows direction: a change from one place to another. A preposition of place shows position: where something is and stays.

• The cat is in the box. (position: it is there now)
• The cat jumped into the box. (movement: it was outside, now it is inside)

If you need to review position words first, read our guide to prepositions of place (in, on, under, next to).

The basic form

The pattern is simple:

Subject	Verb of movement	Preposition	Place / object
She	walked	into	the kitchen.
We	drove	through	the city.
The dog	ran	across	the garden.
I	climbed	up	the hill.

The verb is often in the past simple when we tell stories or give directions about what happened: He ran across the road and jumped onto the bus.

The main prepositions of movement

Preposition	Meaning	Example
to	in the direction of a place, and arriving there	I go to work by train.
from	the starting point	She came from Madrid.
into	from outside to inside	He walked into the shop.
out of	from inside to outside	She took her phone out of her bag.
onto	to a position on a surface	The cat jumped onto the table.
off	away from a surface	The book fell off the shelf.
up	from lower to higher	We walked up the stairs.
down	from higher to lower	The ball rolled down the hill.
across	from one side to the other (flat surface)	They swam across the river.
through	from one end to the other, inside something	The train went through a tunnel.
along	following a line	We walked along the beach.
over	above something, or to the other side of something high	The horse jumped over the fence.
under	below something, from one side to the other	The boat went under the bridge.
past	beside something and then further on	Walk past the bank.
around / round	in a circle, or to the other side of a corner	We drove around the lake.
towards	in the direction of (not necessarily arriving)	A man was walking towards me.
away from	leaving a place or person	Move away from the window.

To and from

To shows the destination; from shows the starting point. We often use them together.

• We flew from London to Rome.
• It takes ten minutes to walk from my house to the school.

Into and out of

Into means moving from outside to inside. Out of is the opposite. Note: into is one word, out of is two words.

• She got into the taxi.
• Get out of the water, it’s cold.

Onto and off

Onto means moving to a position on top of a surface. Off means moving away from that surface.

• The child climbed onto the chair.
• Take your feet off the sofa, please.

Up and down

We use these for stairs, hills, mountains, ladders and trees. Down can also mean “along” a street in everyday speech.

• He ran up the stairs.
• Go down this street and turn right.

Across, through and along

These three are easy to confuse:

• across = from one side to the other of something flat or open: a road, a river, a field, a bridge.
• through = inside something, in one end and out the other: a tunnel, a forest, a door, a crowd.
• along = following a long line: a road, a river, a beach, a corridor.

Examples:

• Look both ways before you walk across the road.
• We walked through the forest for two hours.
• They cycled along the river to the next village.

Over and under

Over means above something, or to the other side of something high. Under means below it.

• The plane flew over the mountains.
• The cat went under the bed.

Past, around and towards

• past: you go next to something and continue. Go past the supermarket; the post office is on the left.
• around / round: in a circle, or to a place on the other side. The Earth goes around the Sun. The shop is just round the corner. (Round is more common in British English.)
• towards: in the direction of something, but we don’t say if you arrive. She was running towards the station.

Signal words: verbs of movement

Prepositions of movement usually follow verbs like these:

go, come, walk, run, drive, ride, cycle, fly, swim, climb, jump, fall, move, get, take, put, throw, travel

When you see one of these verbs, ask yourself: is this about position or direction? If it is direction, you probably need a preposition of movement.

Transport: get in, get on and more

With transport, English uses fixed combinations:

Type of transport	Getting in	Getting out
car, taxi	get into / get in	get out of
bus, train, plane, boat	get on	get off
bike, motorbike, horse	get on	get off

The rule of thumb: if you can stand up and walk inside it (bus, train, plane), use on/off. If it is small and you sit down immediately (car, taxi), use in/into and out of.

• I got off the train at the wrong station.
• She got into the car and drove away.

You can practise this vocabulary in our A2 Travel and Transport test.

Movement vs place: the key difference

Many movement prepositions have a matching place preposition:

Place (position)	Movement (direction)
She is in the kitchen.	She went into the kitchen.
The keys are on the table.	I put the keys onto the table.
He is at the station.	He went to the station.

In everyday English, people often say in and on after verbs of movement too: He jumped in the pool. Put it on the table. This is correct and natural. But into and onto make the movement clearer, and in tests they are usually the expected answer after verbs like jump, walk, run and fall.

However, at and to are never interchangeable here: go to the station (movement), be at the station (position).

Special cases without a preposition

Some words never take to after go, come or get:

• home: I went home early. (not to home)
• here / there: Come here. We went there last summer.
• downstairs / upstairs: She ran upstairs.
• abroad: They travel abroad every year.

Arrive in, arrive at

We never say arrive to.

• arrive in + city or country: We arrived in Tokyo at midnight.
• arrive at + building or smaller place: We arrived at the hotel at 1 a.m.

Common mistakes

✗ I went to home after the party. → ✓ I went home after the party. Home doesn’t take to after verbs of movement.

✗ We arrived to the airport at six. → ✓ We arrived at the airport at six. Arrive takes at or in, never to.

✗ Let’s go to there tomorrow. → ✓ Let’s go there tomorrow. There and here never take to.

✗ She got on the taxi. → ✓ She got into the taxi. Use get into / get in for cars and taxis.

✗ I got off from the bus. → ✓ I got off the bus. Get off needs no extra from.

✗ We walked across the forest. → ✓ We walked through the forest. A forest surrounds you, so use through.

✗ The train went across the tunnel. → ✓ The train went through the tunnel. With tunnels you are inside, so use through.

✗ He came out the room. → ✓ He came out of the room. In standard British English, out needs of before a noun.

✗ The ball fell of the table. → ✓ The ball fell off the table. Off (movement away) and of are different words.

Giving directions

Prepositions of movement are essential for directions. Notice how they work together:

Go out of the station and turn left. Walk along Park Road and go past the cinema. Go across the bridge and walk up the hill. The museum is at the top.

Try describing your own route from home to work or school using at least four prepositions from this guide.

Quick check

Choose the correct preposition (or write – if no preposition is needed).

1. We drove ___ a long tunnel under the mountain.
2. Please get ___ the bus at the next stop.
3. She jumped ___ the swimming pool and swam to the other side.
4. Walk ___ the bank. The café is just after it, on the right.
5. I’m really tired. Let’s go ___ home now.

Answers

1. through – you are inside the tunnel.
2. off – we use get off for buses.
3. into – from outside the water to inside it (in is also possible in informal English).
4. past – you go beside the bank and continue.
5. – – no preposition: go home.

Next step

Now put what you’ve learned into practice: test yourself with our A2 Prepositions of Movement test, which mixes direction words, transport phrases and the special cases above. If you mix up in and into or at and to, go back over position words with the A1 Prepositions of Place test, and then explore more topics at your level on our English A2 tests page.