Some prepositions don’t fit neatly into “place” or “time” — they connect ideas, show relationships, and appear in almost every sentence you speak. This lesson covers five of the most common: by, with, of, for, and about. Because they are so frequent, using them accurately has a big impact on your IELTS fluency.

by — method, agent, and time limit

• Method of travel: We came by car.
• Who did the action (passive): Fireworks were invented by the Chinese.
• Deadline: We must finish by Tuesday.

with — together / using

• Accompaniment: Do you live with your parents?
• Instrument: I made this chair with my own hands.

of, for, and about

Common mistakes to avoid

• ❌ I went there with bus. → ✅ I went there by bus. (transport = by)
• ❌ It’s made from wood (when the material is still visible) → ✅ made of wood (use from when the material changes form, e.g. paper is made from wood)
• ❌ I’m waiting you. → ✅ I’m waiting for you.

💡 IELTS tip

These connectors appear in essential IELTS collocations: responsible for, interested in, good at, depends on. Learning the preposition together with its partner word is the most efficient path to Band 7+ accuracy.

Related on Simply IELTS

• ➡️ Continue: Lesson 5: Position & Comparison
• 📚 Part of the Prepositions in English course.
• 🔗 Related: IELTS grammar: collocations for Band 7.