WREN & MARTIN's English grammar-quick reference

 

Quick Reference — Common Compound Prepositions:

Compound Preposition	Formation	Meaning	Example
into	in + to	Movement from outside to inside	walked into the room
onto	on + to	Movement to and onto a surface	climbed onto the roof
upon	up + on	On top of; immediately after	upon the table / once upon a time
within	with + in	Inside the limits or boundaries of	within the law / within a week
without	with + out	In the absence of; lacking	without permission
outside	out + side	Beyond the boundaries of; not inside	outside the building
inside	in + side	Within the interior of	inside the box
underneath	under + neath	Directly below; covered by	underneath the carpet
throughout	through + out	In every part of; all through	throughout the country
amid/amidst	a + mid/midst	In the middle of; surrounded by	amid the crowd
beside	be + side	Next to; at the side of	beside the river
beyond	be + yond	Further than; on the other side of	beyond the mountains
beneath	be + neath	Below; under; lower than	beneath the surface
notwithstanding	not + withstanding	In spite of; regardless of	notwithstanding the difficulties
across	a + cross	From one side to the other of	across the road
along	a + long	Moving in a line beside	along the corridor
above	a + bove	Higher than; over	above the clouds
below	be + low	Lower than; under	below sea level