This final lesson covers rare, literary, and borrowed prepositions you’ll meet in novels, poetry, journalism, and formal writing: amid (amidst), astride, atop, save, vis-à-vis, and per. You don’t need them in everyday speech, but recognising them — and using one or two well — marks truly advanced English.

Amid vs amidst

Both mean “in the middle of” or “surrounded by”. Amid is more common (especially in American English and news writing); amidst has a more literary, poetic, or old-fashioned feel. They are otherwise interchangeable.

• I couldn’t hear her amid the noise.
• We were lost amidst the trees.

Rare & literary prepositions in detail

Vis-à-vis: a borrowed preposition

From French (literally “face to face”), vis-à-vis means “in relation to” or “compared with”. It is formal and best kept for writing:

• What is our position vis-à-vis our competitors?
• I need to speak to you vis-à-vis your homework.

Common mistakes to avoid

• ❌ on top of of the hill when you mean one word → ✅ atop the hill (already includes “on top of”)
• ❌ Using save as “except” in casual speech → it sounds archaic; use except instead.
• ❌ per of hour → ✅ per hour (no of)

💡 IELTS tip

You will rarely need these in IELTS Speaking, but recognising them helps in IELTS Reading, where literary and journalistic texts use amid, atop, and per freely. In Writing, one precise word like amid (“amid growing concern…”) can read more naturally than a longer phrase.

FAQ

What is the difference between amid and amidst?

None in meaning — both mean “surrounded by”. Amid is more common and modern; amidst sounds more literary or formal and is more frequent in British English.

What does vis-à-vis mean?

It means “in relation to” or “compared with”. It is borrowed from French and is used in formal writing, e.g. our strategy vis-à-vis the competition.

Related on Simply IELTS

• 🎓 You’ve finished! Return to the Prepositions in English course to review.
• 📚 Part of the Prepositions in English course.
• 🔗 Related: Prepositions that confuse IELTS test-takers.