Prepositions of movement: into / out of / across / through…

Rules

• Rule 1: into ↔ out of

  into = moving to the inside. out of = moving from the inside to the outside. Don't forget of!

  Pattern: into / out of + place

  Example: She walked into the kitchen.

  Example: He jumped out of the pool.

• Rule 2: across ↔ through

  across = from one side of a flat surface to the other (road, river, field). through = inside something, from one end to the other (tunnel, forest, window).

  Example: We ran across the field.

  Example: The fox ran through the woods.

• Rule 3: up ↔ down, along

  up = higher, down = lower. along = following a road, river or coast.

  Example: The cat ran up the tree.

  Example: We cycled along the river.

• Rule 4: over, past, toward

  over = above something to the other side. past = going by something without stopping. toward = in the direction of.

  Example: The dog jumped over the box.

  Example: We drove past the zoo.

Common mistakes

• He got out the car. → He got out of the car.

  out of is two words; you need of.

• The cat jumped in the box. → The cat jumped into the box.

  Movement to the inside → into.

• We walked through the road. → We walked across the road.

  A road is a flat surface → across.