Commonly Confused Prepositions

Some English prepositions have such similar meanings. Are words like above and over always interchangeable, or are there usage differences?

Above & Over

These prepositions can be interchangeable, but the most common usage is this:

Use above when there is no movement.
Use over when there is movement.

Examples

There is a painting above the sofa. (no movement)
The chandelier hangs above the dining room table. (no movement)
The plane flew over the building. (movement)
The dog jumped over the log. (movement)

On

What about on? Use on when two nouns are touching (when a noun is directly on top of another noun). Use above when there is no touching.

Examples

There is a book on the desk. (touching)
The cat is sleeping on the bed. (touching)
The sun is directly above our heads. (no touching)
I see blue sky through the skylight above me (no touching).

Below & Under & beneath & underneath

These prepositions are even more interchangeable than above and over. The important thing to remember is this:

Use under in most cases as it is much more common than “below.”
Use below when the meaning is “less than”.

Examples

My shoes are under the bed. (no movement, no touching)
The saucer is under the cup. (touching)
The boat passed under the bridge. (movement)
It is 18 degrees below zero. (less than)

Under is almost always a preposition. You use under to say that one thing is at a lower level than another, and that the other thing is directly above it. For example, you might say that an object on the floor is under a table or chair.

There's a cupboard under the stairs.

A path runs under the trees.

What about beneath and underneath? These prepositions are also interchangeable with under and below, though I tell my students that they are a little more formal and that under is the best choice.

Examples

We sat under the tree. (most common/best choice)
We sat below the tree. (less common)
We sat underneath the tree. (a little more formal)
We sat beneath the tree. (more formal)

Whereas under is always a preposition, below, beneath and underneath can also be adverbs.

Let's pull up the carpet and see what's underneath.

They stood at the top of the mountain and looked at the valley below.

He stared out of the window at the courtyard beneath.

Beside & Next to

Beside and next to are two prepositions that describe the position of an object or a person. Both these prepositions have the same meaning. The only difference between beside and next to is their level of formality; beside is generally considered to be more formal than next to.

In front of & Opposite
In front of refers to objects and people who are ahead of something or someone else. In other words, "in front of" refers to a progression from back to front. Someone who is in front of you is one place or space farther ahead. The antonym of "in front of" is "behind" as these examples show:
- There are 50 people in front of us in this line. I hope I get a ticket. (the 50 people all have places that are ahead of "us" in line.)
- The books are placed in front of the students on their desks. (the books are directly in front of each student, likely on top of each desk.)

Opposite refers to something that is facing another object. In other words, "opposite" refers to two objects or people who are looking at each other. The main difference between "in front of" and "opposite" is that the former refers to placement in a sequence, whereas the latter refers to things that face each other.