A compound preposition is formed with more than one word, but it is exactly like a simple preposition. The last word of a compound preposition is always one of the simple prepositions, so it will be easy to recognize compound prepositions. You will notice that many of the following compound prepositions are formed with a directional word and the simple preposition de. Remember that if a directional word is used without de, it is no longer considered a preposition. The most common compound prepositions indicate location. The following are some compound prepositions of location. Other compound prepositions are more idiomatic.