English Mastery
Module 5 · Articles & Prepositions

Prepositions of Direction

Intermediate50 min25 questions7 sections
Step 1

Quick Look

Movement words. TO points at a destination; INTO and ONTO capture the moment of entry or landing; ACROSS, THROUGH, ALONG, PAST trace the path. And hiding at the end of this chapter is the correction Indian English needs most: the verbs that take NO preposition at all — you enter a room (not enter into), reach home (not reach at), and discuss a deal (not discuss about).
Sentence TypeStructure + Example
Destination
to
He drove to Meerut. (but: home, here, there take nothing — went home)
Entry / landing
into (enters an enclosed space), onto (lands on a surface)
walked into the office / jumped onto the platform
Path
across (one side to the other), through (inside a space, end to end), along (following a line), past (going by)

The golden rule of the no-preposition verbs: ENTER, REACH, DISCUSS, MARRY, RESEMBLE, ATTEND take their object DIRECTLY. ‘Enter into the room’, ‘reach at home’, ‘discuss about the price’ — all Hindi-transfer doubles, all wrong. The verb already contains the direction; adding a preposition breaks it. (Exception: enter into an agreement/contract — the legal idiom keeps ‘into’.)

Movement words: to · into · onto · out of · off
tothe destinationto Meerutintocrossing the boundaryinto the roomontolanding on a surfaceonto the roofout ofreverses intoout of the caroffreverses ontooff the wall
Dotted ghost = where the movement starts; the arrow shows the path; the solid ball is where it ends.
Step 2

When to Use It

drove to the siteNO “TO” BEFOREhome · herethere · abroad
Use 1

TO — pure destination

Movement that ends somewhere.
  • We drove to the Badalpur site after lunch.
  • She has gone to the bank.
  • But the free-travellers take nothing: go home, come here, went there, moved abroad.
INTOthen you are INONTOthen you are ON
Use 2

INTO / ONTO vs. IN / ON — movement vs. position

Into/onto capture the crossing moment; in/on describe the state after.
  • He walked into the cabin and sat in the corner chair. (entry into; position in)
  • The labourer climbed onto the roof and worked on it till noon.
  • Water leaked into the basement. / The papers fell onto the floor.
OUT OFreverses INTOOFFreverses ONTO
Use 3

OUT OF / OFF — the exits

Out of reverses into; off reverses onto.
  • He stepped out of the car with the file.
  • Take the banner off the wall before the inspection.
  • The cat jumped off the boundary wall and ran out of the compound.
ACROSSside to sideTHROUGHend to endALONGfollowing
Use 4

The path-tracers: across, through, along, past, towards, around

Each draws a different line on the map.
  • We walked across the road to the chemist. (one side other)
  • The new sewer line passes through the colony. (inside, end to end)
  • Walk along the boundary wall till you see the gate. (following the line)
  • You’ll drive past the petrol pump — the site is 200 metres after it.
  • He headed towards the tehsil office. (direction, not arrival)
  • The kids cycled around the park. (circling)
enter= go intoenter intoreach= arrive atreach atdiscuss= talk aboutdiscuss aboutattend= be present atattend in
Use 5

The no-preposition club — Indian English’s biggest fix

enter, reach, discuss, marry, resemble, attend, answer — object comes directly.
  • We entered the sample flat at 4. (NOT entered into)
  • They reached Haridwar by noon. (NOT reached at/to)
  • Let’s discuss the payment plan today. (NOT discuss about)
  • She married a bank officer. (NOT married with/to... though ‘is married TO him’ as a state is correct)
  • He attended the AGM but didn’t answer my question. (NOT attended in / answer to)
Path words: each one draws a different line
acrossside to sidethe roadthroughinside, end to endthe colonyalongfollowing a linethe wallpastgoing bythe pumptowardsdirection onlythe officearoundcirclingthe park
Same ball, same landmark idea — only the line it traces changes.
The no-preposition club
The verb already holds the direction — add NOTHINGenter= go intoenter into the roomHe entered the room.reach= arrive atreach at homeWe reached home.discuss= talk aboutdiscuss about the priceLet's discuss the price.marry= get married tomarry with a bankerShe married a banker.resemble= look likeresemble to his fatherHe resembles his father.attend= be present atattend in the AGMHe attended the AGM.answer= reply toanswer to my questionAnswer my question.LEGAL EXCEPTIONenter into an agreement(a fixed legal idiom)
Hindi adds से / में / पर / के बारे में here; English adds nothing.
Step 3

Hindi Concept Note

अHindi Concept Noteहिंदी में समझिए
हिंदी का ‘में गया’ दिमाग़ में ‘went in’ डालता है — English में घुसने की हरकत के लिए INTO: वह कमरे में गया He went INTO the room. (कमरे में था he was IN the room — हरकत बनाम स्थिति!)
सतह पर चढ़ना/गिरना onto: छत पर चढ़ा climbed ONTO the roof।
रास्ते के शब्द: सड़क के पार across the road; सुरंग/गली के अंदर से होकर through the tunnel; दीवार के साथ- साथ along the wall; किसी चीज़ के पास से गुज़रते हुए past the petrol pump।
अब सबसे बड़ा सुधार — जिन verbs में हिंदी ‘में/पर/के बारे में’ जोड़ती है, English में कुछ नहीं लगता:
कमरे में घुसा entered the room (‘entered into’ नहीं!)। घर पहुँचा reached home (‘reached at’ नहीं!)। दाम के बारे में बात करें discuss the price (‘discuss about’ नहीं!)।
एक legal छूट याद रखो: agreement/contract में enter INTO सही है — We entered into an agreement — यह क़ानूनी मुहावरा है।
Step 4

Common Mistakes Hindi Speakers Make

Wrong
Right
Why
The manager entered into the cabin angrily.
The manager entered the cabin angrily.
Enter takes its object directly. (Into survives only in ‘enter into an agreement’.)
We reached at the site before the JCB.
We reached the site before the JCB.
Reach takes no preposition — ever.
Let’s discuss about the landing price first.
Let’s discuss the landing price first.
Discuss already means ‘talk about’ — adding about is a double.
She went in the kitchen to make tea. (movement)
She went into the kitchen to make tea.
Crossing the boundary into. (In = already inside.)
He jumped on the moving tempo. (landed on it)
He jumped onto the moving tempo.
Landing on a surface onto.
They returned back from Dehradun yesterday.
They returned from Dehradun yesterday.
Return already means ‘come back’ — ‘returned back’ is a double. Same family: ‘repeat again’, ‘enter into’.
Step 5

Signal Words

Direction triggers:
Destination to (but home/here/there/abroad take nothing)
Boundary being crossed into; surface being landed on onto
Exits out of (spaces), off (surfaces)
Paths across (side to side), through (inside, end to end), along (following), past (going by), towards (direction only)
No-preposition club: enter, reach, discuss, marry, resemble, attend, answer
Step 6

Practice

Set A

Fill in the blanks

0 / 10
  1. 1
    He walked the conference room and put the file the table. (two blanks: entry, then landing)
  2. 2
    We drove the toll plaza and took the first cut the site. (two blanks: going by, then destination)
  3. 3
    The dog squeezed the gap in the boundary wall. (end to end)
  4. 4
    She stepped the auto and rushed the registrar’s office. (two blanks: exit, then destination)
  5. 5
    Walk this lane till the end, then go the footbridge. (two blanks: following, then side to side)
  6. 6
    The monkey jumped the water tank from the neem tree.
  7. 7
    They (reach) Rishikesh 11. (verb + one blank: fill correctly)
  8. 8
    The pipeline passes three villages before the plant.
  9. 9
    He turned and walked the exit without a word. (direction)
  10. 10
    Take these boxes the tempo and carry them the store room. (two blanks: off the surface, then into)
Set B

Correct the mistake

0 / 8
  1. 11
    The CEO entered into the boardroom at sharp ten.
  2. 12
    We reached at Hapur before sunset.
  3. 13
    Please discuss about this with your partner first.
  4. 14
    She married with a doctor from Moradabad.
  5. 15
    He came in the office shouting. (movement)
  6. 16
    The cat jumped on the almirah from the fridge. (landed on top)
  7. 17
    They returned back from the exhibition at 9.
  8. 18
    We entered an agreement with Bidhuri Constructions last month. (legal context — fix it)
Set C

Translate into English

0 / 7
  1. 19
    वह कमरे में गया और कुर्सी पर बैठ गया।
  2. 20
    हम शाम तक Delhi पहुँच गए।
  3. 21
    इस बारे में हम कल बात करेंगे... मतलब, कल discuss करेंगे।
  4. 22
    बिल्ली छत पर कूद गई।
  5. 23
    सड़क के पार एक ATM है... मतलब, ATM जाने के लिए सड़क पार करो।
  6. 24
    गाड़ी mandir के पास से गुज़री।
  7. 25
    वह auto से उतरा और bank की तरफ़ चल दिया।
Step 7

Answer Key

Show answersHide answers
Answers · Set A
1
into ... onto (on)
2
past ... to
3
through
4
out of ... to
5
along ... across
6
onto
7
reached ... by
8
through
9
towards
10
off ... into
Answers · Set B
11
The CEO entered the boardroom at sharp ten. (Enter + object directly.)
12
We reached Hapur before sunset. (Reach takes no preposition.)
13
Please discuss this with your partner first. (Discuss = talk about.)
14
She married a doctor from Moradabad. (Marry + object directly.)
15
He came into the office shouting. (Movement across the boundary into.)
16
The cat jumped onto the almirah from the fridge. (Landing onto.)
17
They returned from the exhibition at 9. (Return already means back.)
18
We entered into an agreement with Bidhuri Constructions last month. (The one legal exception — enter INTO an agreement.)
Answers · Set C
19
He went into the room and sat on the chair.
20
We reached Delhi by evening.
21
We will discuss this tomorrow.
22
The cat jumped onto the roof.
23
Cross the road to reach the ATM. / There’s an ATM across the road.
24
The car went past the temple. / The car passed the temple.
25
He got out of the auto and walked towards the bank.

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Next up · Chapter 6Prepositions of Location

The at/in/on system for WHERE you are: at work, in class, on the bus... and why you’re IN a car but ON a train.