Prepositions

Is it any wonder that prepositions create such troubles for students for whom English is a second language? We say we are at the hospital to visit a friend who is in the hospital. We lie in bed but on the couch. We watch a film at the theater but on television. To address all the potential difficulties with prepositions in idiomatic usage would require volumes, and the only way English language learners can begin to master the intricacies of preposition usage is through practice and paying close attention to speech and the written word. Keeping a good dictionary close at hand is an important first step. Prepositions of Time: at, on, and in We use at to designate specific times. The train is due at 12:15 p.m. We use on to designate days and dates. My brother is coming on Monday. We're having a party on the Fourth of Ju y. We use in for nonspecific times during a day, a month, a season, or a year. !he i"es to #og in the morning. $t's too co d in %inter to run outside. &e started the #ob in 1'(1. &e's going to )uit in *ugust. Prepositions of Place: at, on, and in We use at for specific addresses. &e ives at 55 +oret, -oad in .urham. We use on to designate names of streets, avenues, etc. &er house is on +oret, -oad. nd we use in for the names of land!areas "towns, counties, states, countries, and continents#. !he ives in .urham. .urham is in Windham /ounty. Windham /ounty is in /onnecticut. NOUNS and PREPOSITIONS approval of awareness of belief in concern for confusion about desire for fondness for grasp of hatred of hope for interest in love of need for participation in reason for respect for success in understanding of

ADJECTIVES and PREPOSITIONS afraid of angry at aware of capable of careless about familiar with fond of happy about interested in $ealous of made of married to proud of similar to sorry for sure of tired of worried about

VER S and PREPOSITIONS apologi%e for as& about as& for belong to bring up care for find out give up grow up loo& for loo& forward to loo& up ma&e up pay for prepare for study for tal& about thin& about trust in wor& for worry about

The following table contains rules for some of the most frequently used prepositions in English'

Prepositions Time Preposition in in months year seasons part of the day duration part of the day time of day celebrations fi2ed phrases days of the wee& date special holidays a special part of a day later than sth. how far sth. happened "in the past# earlier than sth. time that separates two points not later than a special time through the whole of a period of time period of time two points form a period time of the day point of time no later than a special time time of the day not more than a special time during a period of time Use Examples in (uly) in *eptember in +,-.) in +,,, in summer) in the summer of /, in the morning) in the afternoon) in the evening in a minute) in two wee&s at night at / o0cloc&) at midnight at 1hristmas) at Easter at the end of the wee& at the same time on *unday) on 3riday on the 4.th of 5ecember6 on 7ood 3riday) on Easter *unday) on my birthday on the morning of *eptember the ++th6 after school / years ago before 1hristmas between 8onday and 3riday by Thursday during the holidays for three wee&s from 8onday to Wednesday from 8onday till Wednesday from 8onday until Wednesday 4: minutes past / "/'4:# since 8onday till tomorrow until tomorrow 4: minutes to / ".':;# up to / hours a day within a day

at

on

after ago before between by during for from ... to from... till9until past since till9until to up to within

Prepositions Place (Position and Direction) English in at Usage room, building, street, town, country boo&, paper etc. car, ta2i picture, world meaning ne0t to1 by an ob#ect for tab e for events place where you are to do something typical "watch a film, study, wor&# attached for a place with a river Example in the &itchen, in <ondon in the boo& in the car, in a ta2i in the picture, in the world at the door, at the station at the table at a concert, at the party at the cinema, at school, at wor&

on

the picture on the wall <ondon lies on the Thames.

 by, ne2t to, beside under below over above across through to into towards

being on a surface for a certain side "left, right# for a floor in a house for public transport for te evision1 radio left or right of somebody or something on the ground, lower than "or covered by# something else lower than something else but above ground covered by something else meaning more than getting to the other side "also across# overcoming an obstacle higher than something else, but not directly over it getting to the other side "also over# getting to the other side something with limits on top, bottom and the sides movement to person or building movement to a place or country for bed enter a room 9 a building movement in the direction of something "but not directly to it# movement to the top of something in the sense of %here from

on the table on the left on the first floor on the bus, on a plane on T=, on the radio (ane is standing by 9 ne2t to 9 beside the car. the bag is under the table the fish are below the surface put a $ac&et over your shirt over +/ years of age wal& over the bridge climb over the wall a path above the la&e wal& across the bridge swim across the la&e drive through the tunnel go to the cinema go to <ondon 9 Ireland go to bed go into the &itchen 9 the house go . steps towards the house

onto from

$ump onto the table a flower from the garden

Other important Prepositions English from of Usage who gave it who9what does it belong to Example a present from (ane a page of the boo&

what does it show the picture of a palace a boo& by 8ar& Twain on foot, on horsebac& get on the bus get in the car get off the train get out of the ta2i prices have risen by +> percent by car, by bus she learned ?ussian at @. we were tal&ing about you

by on

who made it wal&ing or riding on horsebac& entering a public transport vehicle entering a car 9 Ta2i leaving a public transport vehicle leaving a car 9 Ta2i rise or fall of something travelling "other than wal&ing or horseriding# for age for topics, meaning %hat about

in off out of by

at about