Understanding prepositions through visual comparison with your native language
Prepositions are words that show relationships between nouns (or pronouns) and other words in a sentence. They often indicate location, direction, time, or other abstract relationships.
Important: Prepositions don't always translate 1:1 between languages. The examples below show how English prepositions (yellow highlight) map to their equivalents in Danish.
Use 'on' for surfaces and physical contact with objects
The book is on the table
Bogen er på bordet
Spatial preposition showing location/position
Use 'at' with specific clock times and precise moments
I'll meet you at noon
Jeg mødes med dig ved middag
Temporal preposition indicating time
Use 'to' to indicate direction or destination of movement
She walked to the store
Hun gik til butikken
Directional preposition showing movement
Use 'since' to mark a starting point in time that continues to the present
He's been working since morning
Han har arbejdet siden morgen
Temporal preposition marking duration/starting point
Use 'from...to' to show movement between a source and destination
The cat jumped from the chair to the window
Katten hoppede fra stolen til vinduet
Multiple prepositions showing source and destination
Use 'before' to indicate something happens earlier in time sequence
We arrived before sunset
Vi ankom før solnedgang
Temporal preposition indicating sequence
Use 'for' to indicate the intended recipient or purpose
The gift is for you
Gaven er til dig
Preposition showing purpose or recipient