Simply outstanding. A thorough book on prepositions. It does go deep into the subject but in a very compreensible way.

The best thing about this book is that the author tries to give the reader not just an understanding of why a certain preposition is used he also tries to link perspectives, feelings and relations to prepositions. This way it should be easier for all non-native English to understand and imagine why and if a certain preposition fits in well or not.

+ Author explains relatively well how and why respective prepositions are used, not only examples but also tries to elaborate and link a certain traits/features to each preposition which is very practical

+ Very good sketches to visually demonstrate traits/features of prepositions

+ Very good comparison of prepositions against meaning (e.g. I'm from Germany <> I'm of Germany | at the office <> in the office | at sea <> on the sea | in one's mind <> on one's mind)

+ Taking colloquial expressions into account (e.g. There is something in here)

+ Explains subtleties and change of meaning (e.g. in, inside, within | onto, upon)

+ Well structured

- Use of nomenclature like 'earmarking the landmark' when talking about words. Though, no big issue.

- Some examples might only work in the US or are rarely used in general, it would be good to stress that these aren't used in everyday speaking and writing

- Explanations on the preposition 'for' + VERB + ing , he is not really talking about the gerund, although this perhaps could have simplified the explanation, not a major point though, I'm getting a bit too picky about it I found

Most ESL students have trouble with their use of prepositions. They sometimes do not know which preposition to use, like "in the corner" or "at the corner".
I, as an ESL teacher, have had a hard time trying to teach students how prepositions should be used. I have not managed to produce good results so far. But from now on, I have a great help.
This book starts with "Introduction" and "Orientation". After them, in each chapter some prepositions are discussed, such as "on vs in", "by vs near", "for vs to". Using iconic and pictorial illustrations of usage of prepositions makes it easy to understand their images or meanings. Most of this book is written in plain English so that ESL students can use this book by themselves. Of course ESL teachers will find this one quite a good book.

EFL teachers know how difficult it could be sometimes to explain English prepositions to their learners. English prepositions have their own peculiar way of semantic behaviour and functionality which no other languages have. Grammar books and usage references usually give detailed explanations of certain prepositions, but they are never pedagogically comprehensive in the teaching of prepositions.

What an EFL/ESL teacher needs is explanations and explanatory techniques that can be used in any context of teaching, i.e. with adult learners or young learners. English prepositions are not a separate, isolated chapter in any syllabus or in the contents of a coursebook although considerable amount of classroom time is spent teaching and explaining them in any available way that the teacher has developed or borrowed from elsewhere. Therefore, explanations and techniques suggested by Lindstromberg in his book are the ones that a teacher can use when learners want to hear clear explanations supported with visuals or "icons" as the writer suggests.

The preposition "toward" is explained, for example, with the meaning of the suffix "-ward(s)" with reference to some other prepositions that have this suffix and with the stem "to-" as the central meaning unit of the preposition.

Some important concepts are introduced such as the relationship between the subject of the sentence and the landmark via the preposition used in a sentence as in:

There was a candle on the table.

The landmark of the preposition here is "the table", which is one of the basics as a concept and an important term in order to understand and present to learners what a preposition does in a sentence.

Non-depictable aspect of a preposition is also mentioned throughout the book when needed because this is the point where a visual may not be very helpful as in the writer's examples (p. 17):

We live by the sea. (depictable)
It was broken by vandals. (non-depictable)

Therefore, the book will also help especially the novice EFL teachers (native or non-native) to raise their language awareness in that simple visual techniques are not always adequate to present such a meaning in the second example above. Moreover, idiomatic and metaphorical extensions of meaning in English prepositions are dealt with thoroughly in the book.

Phrasal verbs are dealt with in chapter 22 as their meanings are not easy to work out without knowing the role of prepositions in their meaning. Looking at the perfective aspect of certain prepositions in phrasal verbs, for example, is an approach that seems to work in order to understand certain number of phrasal verbs that suggest "completeness" as in the example "I've read this book through."

"English Prepositions Explained" is a resourcefully written comprehensive reference and teaching guide book on prepositions for both native and non-native teachers who wish to understand them and to have ideas, suggestions, techniques in order to present their meaning clearly and effectively in an EFL/ESL learning environment.

I've just got this book, and when I saw it at first time, I thought I'd thrown my money away. It's kind of small, and you can even think it isn't worth its prize. Well, I was wrong. It explains how to use and distinguish all the prepositions, making use of really helpful examples. I highly recommend this book for those who want their english to get really better. But there's only one thing to say: this is NOT a book for those who want to LEARN english. It is an advanced book.