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Prepositions
Both Task 1 and Task 2
Prepositions are frequently misused by IELTS candidates. Correct preposition use is essential for both fluency and accuracy in academic writing.
The correct preposition for time depends on the type of time reference.
Rules
- AT: specific times, precise moments — at 9 o'clock, at the end, at this point
- ON: days and specific dates — on Monday, on 5 March, on the following day
- IN: months, years, decades, centuries, periods — in 2010, in the 1990s, in March, in the future
- BY: deadlines and endpoints — by 2030, by the end of the period, by then
- DURING: throughout a period — during the period, during the 20th century
- BETWEEN ... AND: defining a range — between 2000 and 2020
- OVER: across a span of time — over the period, over the next decade, over time
- THROUGHOUT: from start to finish — throughout the period, throughout the year
Examples
✓
The figures rose sharply between 2005 and 2015.
Two endpoints = 'between...and'
✓
By 2020, the proportion had almost doubled.
Endpoint = 'by'
✓
During the period, oil consumption fluctuated considerably.
Throughout a span = 'during'
✕In Monday the figures increased.
✓
On Monday the figures increased.
Day = 'on'
Common grammar mistakes — avoid these in your IELTS essays
✕Do NOT guess prepositions — learn them as fixed collocations with specific verbs and adjectives
✕Do NOT use 'in' for all time expressions — 'in' (months, years, decades), 'on' (days, dates), 'at' (times, specific points)
✕Do NOT use 'of' after all verbs — learn which verbs take which prepositions
✕Do NOT confuse 'between' (two things) and 'among' (three or more)
✕Do NOT overuse 'about' — replace with 'regarding', 'concerning', 'in terms of', 'with respect to'
✕Do NOT use prepositions at the end of sentences in formal writing unless unavoidable