在英语的词类之中,尽管介词的数量相对较少,但由于其用法灵活多样,经常给外语学习者的习得造成困难。因此,近年来,对于介词用法的研究已经得到了越来越多的关注。笔者着重讨论了介词in各种不同的用法,以期找到其中潜在的联系。通过运用隐喻理论,尤其是容器隐喻,笔者分析了四本权威词典中有关介词in的词条,并且在此基础上把介词in所表达的空间关系归纳为六大类,其中每一类都从不同的角度表达了实体之间的“包围”关系。由此可见,“包围”关系是联系文章中介词in六大用法的一个核心概念。 Although the number of prepositions in English is relatively small, the acquisition of foreign language learners often causes difficulties due to its flexible use. Therefore, in recent years, more and more attention has been paid to the research on the usage of prepositions. The author focuses on the various uses of prepositions in order to find potential links among them. Through the use of metaphor theory, especially the container metaphor, the author analyzes the entries in the four authoritative lexicons on the prepositions in, and on this basis, the space relations expressed in the prepositions in the six categories, each of which from Different perspectives express the “encirclement” relationship between entities. Thus, the “encirclement” relationship is a core conception of the six uses of the preposition in the article.