Prepositions by complement

Preposition	NP	-ing Clause	Finite Clause	PP	No Complement	Example
about	✔	✔	✖	✔	(rare)	talk about the issue
above	✔	✖	✖	✔	✔	birds flying above
across	✔	✖	✖	✔	✔	walk across the road
after	✔	✔	✔	✔	✖	leave after she arrived
against	✔	✖	✖	✔	✖	lean against the wall
along	✔	✖	✖	✔	✔	walk along the river
around	✔	✔	✖	✔	✔	walk around the park
as	✔	✔	✔	✖	✖	work as a teacher
at	✔	✔	✖	✔	✔ (stranding)	laugh at the joke
before	✔	✔	✔	✔	✖	leave before she arrives
behind	✔	✖	✖	✔	✔	stay behind
below	✔	✖	✖	✔	✔	temperature below zero
beneath	✔	✖	✖	✔	✖	beneath the surface
beside	✔	✖	✖	✔	✖	sit beside me
between	✔	✔	✖	✔	✖	choose between options
beyond	✔	✖	✖	✔	✖	beyond the hills
by	✔	✔	✖	✔	✖	succeed by working hard
despite	✔	✔	✖	✖	✖	despite the rain
down	✔	✖	✖	✔	✔	walk down the street
during	✔	✖	✖	✖	✖	during the meeting
for	✔	✔	✖	✔	✖	leave for London
from	✔	✖	✖	✔	✖	come from Paris
in	✔	✔	✖	✔	✔	live in London
inside	✔	✖	✖	✔	✔	stay inside
into	✔	✖	✖	✔	✖	walk into the room
near	✔	✖	✖	✔	✔	stand near the door
of	✔	✖	✔ (rare)	✖	✖	cup of tea
off	✔	✖	✖	✔	✔	jump off the table
on	✔	✔	✖	✔	✔	book on the table
onto	✔	✖	✖	✔	✖	climb onto the roof
out	✔	✖	✖	✔	✔	walk out
outside	✔	✖	✖	✔	✔	wait outside
over	✔	✔	✖	✔	✔	argue over money
past	✔	✖	✖	✔	✔	walk past the house
since	✔	✔	✔	✔	✖	here since Monday
through	✔	✖	✖	✔	✔	go through the tunnel
throughout	✔	✖	✖	✖	✖	throughout the year
to	✔	✖	✖	✔	✖	go to the store
toward(s)	✔	✖	✖	✔	✖	walk towards the river
under	✔	✖	✖	✔	✔	hide under the bed
underneath	✔	✖	✖	✔	✔	underneath the table
until	✔	✔	✔	✔	✖	stay until she arrives
up	✔	✖	✖	✔	✔	walk up the hill
with	✔	✔	✖	✔	✖	talk with her
within	✔	✖	✖	✖	✖	finish within an hour
without	✔	✔	✖	✖	✖	leave without saying goodbye

Prepositions that take finite clauses

Preposition	Example
after	after she arrived
before	before he leaves
since	since he moved
until / till	until she returns
as	as I expected

Prepositions that take -ing clauses

Preposition	Example
before	before leaving
after	after finishing
by	by working hard
without	without saying goodbye
despite	despite being tired
in	in doing so
on	on arriving

Intransitive prepositions (no complement)

Preposition	Example
inside	She stayed inside.
outside	Wait outside.
above	The birds flew above.
below	The temperature fell below.
down	Sit down.
up	Come up.

Taking PP

Keep the flowers away from the candle

According to this website,…

The land is more level east of the river (east is a preposition)

They has to cancel the trip because of the fog

Columns in the Preposition Complement Table

Column	Meaning
Preposition	The preposition that functions as the head of a preposition phrase (PP).
NP	Indicates whether the preposition can take a noun phrase complement. Example: in the room.
-ing Clause	Indicates whether the preposition can take a gerund-participial clause as its complement. Example: by working hard.
Finite Clause	Indicates whether the preposition can take a finite clause with subject and tense. Example: after she arrived.
PP	Indicates whether the preposition can take another prepositional phrase as complement. Example: from under the bed.
No Complement	Indicates that the preposition can be intransitive (no complement). Example: She stayed inside.
Example	A typical sentence illustrating the preposition in use.

Summary:
Prepositions can take several complement types: NP, -ing clause, finite clause, PP, or sometimes none.