Prepositions categories

Category	Examples	Function / Notes
Accompaniment / association	with, together with, along with	indicate co-occurrence or company
Agent / cause (passive)	by	indicate agent in a passive construction
Causal / reason	because of, due to, on account of	indicate cause or reason
Comparative / similarity / contrast	like, unlike, similar to, as…as, in the same way as, akin to, in contrast to/with	indicate similarity, comparison, or contrast
Directional / path	to, into, onto, toward, from, out of, off	indicate motion toward/away from a point
Instrumental / means	with, by, using	indicate instrument or means
Measure / extent	per, by, in terms of	indicate measurement, rate, or scope
Manner / style	like, in the manner of, in the style of	indicate manner or fashion
Purpose / goal	for, for the sake of, to	indicate intended purpose
Condition / concession	except, aside from, barring	indicate exception, limitation
Source / origin	from, out of, of	indicate source, provenance, material
Spatial / locative	in, on, at, under, over, above, below, behind, between, among, beside, near	indicate location or place
Temporal / time	at, on, in, during, since, for, by, until, from…to…	indicate time or duration

Notes on CGEL treatment

• All these are lexical prepositions (take NP complements).

• Multiword prepositions (e.g., because of, in terms of, on account of) are treated as single prepositional units.

• Some prepositions can fit multiple categories, depending on context:

I cut with a knife

I went with her

with → instrumental (“I cut it with a knife”) or accompaniment (“I went with her”)

words like this

he swims like a fish

like → comparative (“words like this”) or manner (“he swims like a fish”)