A complex preposition is a word group (such as “along with” or “on account of”) that functions like an ordinary one-word prepositions.
Complex prepositions can be divided into two groups:
- two-word units (a word + a simple preposition), such as apart from (also known as compound prepositions)
- three-word units (a simple preposition + a noun + a simple preposition), such as by means of (also known as phrasal prepositions)
Examples of Complex Prepositions in English
- according to
- ahead of
- along with
- apart from
- as for
- as well as
- aside from
- away from
- because of
- but for
- by means of
- by virtue of
- by way of
- close to
- contrary to
- due to
- except for
- far from
- for lack of
- in accordance with
- in addition to
- in back of
- in between
- in (the) case of
- in charge of
- in exchange for
- in front of
- in light of
- in line with
- in place of
- in (the) process of
- in regard to
- inside of
- in spite of
- instead of
- in view of
- near to
- next to
- on account of
- on behalf of
- on top of
- out of
- outside of
- owing to
- prior to
- subsequent to
- such as
- thanks to
- together with
- up against
- up to
- up until
- with respect to
- “Up until Pearl Harbor, half of the 48 states had laws making it illegal to employ a married woman.”
- “Her name is Miss Mey. She owns all the land for miles around, as well as the house in which we live.”
- “To see what is in front of one’s nose needs a constant struggle.”
- “But our deeds are like children that are born to us; they live and act apart from our own will.
- Juan’s car is parked in front of the store.
- “Up until Pearl Harbor, half of the 48 states had laws making it illegal to employ a married woman.”
- “Her name is Miss Mey. She owns all the land for miles around, as well as the house in which we live.”
- “To see what is in front of one’s nose needs a constant struggle.”
- “But our deeds are like children that are born to us; they live and act apart from our own will.
- Juan’s car is parked in front of the store.
- We were late because of the heavy traffic.
