This list includes 19 Prepositions that start with P, from “pace” to “pursuant to”. They mostly express spatial, temporal, or logical relations. The list includes single-word items and common multi-word forms used in everyday, academic, and legal writing.

Prepositions that start with P are words and phrases that link nouns to other sentence parts. Several, like “per” and “pro”, come from Latin and appear often in formal or legal texts.

Below you’ll find the table with Preposition, Definition, Common pairings, Example sentence, and Notes.

Preposition: The head word or phrase as it appears in the alphabetized list; you use it to locate entries.

Definition: A concise, 10–20 word explanation of meaning that helps you choose correct usage quickly.

Common pairings: Three to five typical collocations or complements that show how the preposition normally combines.

Example sentence: One clear sentence showing natural, modern usage to help you model your own writing.

Notes: Short comments on formality, regional use, or rarity so you can choose appropriate contexts.

Prepositions that start with P

PrepositionFormMeaningCommon pairings
persingle-wordfor each; according toper person, per cent, per annum, per day
per annummulti-wordper yearsalary, interest rate, income, growth rate
per capitamulti-wordper personincome, GDP, consumption, emissions
per diemmulti-wordper day; daily allowanceallowance, rate, expenses, payment
per centmulti-wordfor every hundred; percentageincrease, of GDP, interest rate, change
per headmulti-wordper personcost, price, meal, fee
per personmulti-wordfor each personticket, cost, meal, fee
per monthmulti-wordeach monthpayment, subscription, rent, salary
pastsingle-wordbeyond in time or placemidnight, the house, due, belief
pendingsingle-worduntil; awaitingapproval, decision, outcome, arrival
plussingle-wordin addition to; besidestax, interest, two years, charges
postsingle-wordafter (in time)1990, war, event, publication
prior tomulti-wordbefore in timearrival, commencement, agreement, event
pursuant tomulti-wordin accordance with; underlaw, agreement, order, regulation
prosingle-wordfor; in favor ofpro and con, pro choice, proponent of
pro bonomulti-wordfor the public good; free of chargelegal work, services, representation, lawyers
pro ratamulti-wordin proportion to; proportionallydistribution, allocation, payments, fees
pro temmulti-wordtemporarily; for the time beingchair, appointment, judge, committee
pacesingle-wordwith due respect to; despiteSmith, critics, scholars, convention

Descriptions

per
Primary preposition for rates and rules (“per hour”, “per capita”); neutral register and very common in formal and everyday use.
per annum
Formal financial phrase meaning “each year”; common in contracts, finance, and reporting (formal).
per capita
Statistical phrase meaning “per head”; frequent in economics, demography, and policy writing (formal).
per diem
Latin phrase used for daily payment rates or allowances in business and travel contexts (formal).
per cent
British-style “percent” expression used with numbers to show percentages (formal/neutral; US spelling “percent”).
per head
Everyday phrase allocating cost to each person; common in hospitality and budgeting (informal/neutral).
per person
Straightforward phrase used in pricing and statistics; widely used in speech and writing (neutral).
per month
Simple time-rate phrase frequent in billing, contracts, and schedules (neutral).
past
Common preposition meaning “beyond” (time/place); also functions as adjective/adverb in other uses (neutral).
pending
Used as a preposition meaning “while awaiting” or “until”; common in formal and everyday contexts (neutral).
plus
Used to add amounts or items (“plus tax”); common in informal and business contexts (informal/neutral).
post
Formal preposition meaning “after”; often seen in compounds like “post-war” or “post-2000” (formal/neutral).
prior to
Formal equivalent of “before”; especially common in legal, administrative, and formal writing (formal).
pursuant to
Legal/formal phrase meaning “under” or “in accordance with”; frequent in statutes and contracts (formal/legal).
pro
Latin-derived preposition meaning “for” or “in support of”; used in phrases like “pro and con” (formal/rare).
pro bono
Latin phrase especially for free professional services (notably legal); common in professional contexts (formal).
pro rata
Latin finance phrase meaning “proportionally”; common in accounting, HR, and contracts (formal).
pro tem
Short for “pro tempore”; used for temporary appointments or roles (formal/informal; Latin).
pace
Latin-derived preposition used mainly in academic or legal writing to politely disagree (“pace X”) (formal/rare).
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