GRAMMAR REVIEW 11

Prepositions of Time, Prepositions of Place

PART A. TEST YOURSELF
Read the pairs of sentences below and circle the sentence which is correct.
EXAMPLE: A. We usually play basketball in the weekend.
B. We usually play basketball at the weekend.

1. A We arrived to the train station very early.

B We arrived at the train station very early.
2. A You can have a great summer holiday on a Greek island.
B You can have a great summer holiday at a Greek island.
3. A Did you know that Fiona studied in Cambridge University?
B Did you know that Fiona studied at Cambridge University?
4. A All the students sat quietly at their desks working.
B All the students sat quietly on their desks working.
5. A I can’t wait for the party at Friday night.
B I can’t wait for the party on Friday night.
6. A Jill works between 8 to 4 every day.
B Jill works from 8 to 4 every day.
7. A The cafe is across the railway station.
B The cafe is opposite the railway station.
8. A Until John had finished washing the car, his clothes were all wet.
B By the time John had finished washing the car, his clothes were all wet.
9. A Frank will be working in the bank till the end of next week. Then he’s retiring.
B Frank will be working in the bank by the end of next week. Then he’s retiring.
10. A There was a plant in one corner of the room.
B There was a plant at one corner of the room.
11. A Please turn off all mobile phones while the performance.
B Please turn off all mobile phones during the performance.
12. A I cried at the end of the film.
B I cried in the end of the film.
13. A I’ve kept a place for you in front of the queue.
B I’ve kept a place for you at the front of the queue
14. A They walked into the restaurant and chose a table near the window.
B They walked in the restaurant and chose a table near the window.
15. A I can see Peter. He’s standing besides your cousin.
B I can see Peter. He’s standing beside your cousin
16. A She looked out of the window at her friends.
B She looked out from the window at her friends.
17. A Their new flat is in the third floor.
B Their new flat is on the third floor.
 18. A Paris is most beautiful at the spring.
B Paris is most beautiful in the spring.
19. A Once the plane arrived in Athens, we got out quickly
B Once the plane arrived at Athens, we got out quickly.
20. A They ran all the way till the park.
B They ran all the way to the park

Check your answers with your teacher. How many of them are correct?
0-6: Start studying! 7-9: Try harder! 10-12: Quite good!
13-15: Good! 16-20: Excellent

PART B. GRAMMAR RULES

PREPOSITION OF TIME
PREPOSITION USE EXAMPLES

during (+ noun) to show a period of time in
while (+ S - V) which something happened
by a. means not later than
b. up to a certain point in time
by the time not later than the moment
(+ subject + verb) when something happens
until / till to show a state or situation
which continues to a certain
point in time and then stops
not until not before
from ... to to show the beginning and
from ... through ending of a period of time
(American English)
between something happening in a
period of time from one time/
day/date to another
at the beginning of before a noun
at the end of
in the beginning / before subject + verb
in the end
at first happened at the beginning of
a period of time
at last after a long time has passed
in time early enough, before the last
moment
on time at the planned time
NOTES
1. We say: in the morning, in the afternoon, in the evening but at night. We say in the night when
He fell ill during his visit to the town.
He fell ill while he was visiting the town.
They should be back by 6.30.
By the evening, I was exhausted.
By the time I finished, I was exhausted.
I worked until / till 9 o'clock last night.
I won't leave until I’ve written this
report.
She was a student from 1998 to 2001.
The doctor sees patients between 4 and 7
each evening.
I'll see you at the beginning of next week.
She is going into hospital at the end of the
month.
In the beginning, I hated maths.
In the end, we decided to stay.
At first we planned to fly but it was too
expensive.
We waited for hours and at last our
favourite singer came on stage.
She got to the bus stop in time.
They arrived just in time.
Our plane left on time.
we refer to one specific night. He heard a noise in the night. (= during)
2. We do not use at/ in/on before next and last. We’re going away next weekend. I saw her last
week.
PREPOSITIONS OF PLACE
PREPOSITION USE EXAMPLES

at the front of before a noun to

show He sits at the back of the class.
at the back of position The patio is at the front of the house.
in front of He waited in front of the cinema.
on the way (to) in the middle of a journey The shop is on the way to school.
from one place to another
in a position which stops a
in (the) way person from moving freely or Move your bike. It’s in the / my way.
seeing clearly
Other prepositions of place: among, beside, between, near, next to, opposite
It’s very peaceful beside the pond in the garden. (place)
Prepositions that show movement: to, into, across, around, along, through, up, down, past,
towards, out of, off
The children ran into the garden. (movement)
NOTES
1. We use arrive in with towns or countries. We use arrive at in all other situations
They arrived in Germany yesterday.
She arrived at the station. (but: He arrived home at 8.30.)
2. Beside is a preposition of place. Besides is a connector meaning in addition to.
I sat beside her on the bus.
Besides being expensive, this dress is also ugly.

COMMON MISTAKES
The following sentences contain mistakes commonly made by students. Rewrite them correctly.
1. We walked together till the car park and then separated.
...........................................................................................................................................
till => to

2. I expect that you will have finished your homework until 10 o’clock.
until => by
...........................................................................................................................................
3. By the time we arrived to the party, everyone was dancing.
...........................................................................................................................................
arrived => have arrived

4. Last spring, we went to the United States during two weeks.

during => for
...........................................................................................................................................
PART C. GRAMMAR PRACTICE
A. PREPOSITIONS OF TIME:
Complete the following sentences with at, in, on or by.
1. My family always get together ____ at Easter, and ____on Easter Sunday the children have
great fun looking for the Easter eggs.
2. ____
At the beginning of the 20th century, family relationships were very formal. However,

____
in the 1960s, relationships had become more relaxed ____ in the future, they will probably
change again.
3. “What are you doing _____ at the weekend?”
“Well, ____
on Saturday morning I’m playing volleyball, ____ at lunchtime I’m meeting my
friends and ___ in the evening I’m going to the cinema.”
4. Pam’s birthday is ___ on the 10th of July. Because her birthday is ____ in July, she usually has a
barbecue ____ at the beach for her family and friends. That is the advantage of having a
birthday ____in the summer.
5. The train left _____
on time, _____
at 11 o’clock ____
at night, and arrived in Edinburgh early ____in
the morning.
6. Life must have been very difficult ____ in the past without computers. It was only ____in the
late 20th century, for example, that people began to have computers_____ at home.
7. He starred in his first film ____at the age of 30 ____
by the time he celebrated his 40th birthday,
he had won two Oscars.
8. ___
In the past, she was a well-known storyteller. Her first children’s book will be published

____
in a few weeks’ time.
B. PREPOSITIONS OF PLACE
Complete the following paragraphs by circling the correct preposition.
1. “Excuse me, can you tell me the way 1. at / to/ for
the post office?” “Certainly. It’s 2. at/ in/ on the end
of the 3. next/ near/opposite street. You can’t miss it;
it’s 4. on/ at/ in your left, 5) across/ opposite/ next the
police station.”
2. My brother Sam has just moved to a new flat 1) in/ at/
along the same street as me. Our street is very
conveniently located because it is 2) near/ next/ by a
supermarket and not far 3) to/ from/ across a public
library. Sam’s flat is 4) by/ in/ at the back of the
building, so it is very quiet. I’ve brought him a lovely plant to put 5) at/ on/ in the corner of
his new living room.
3. Yesterday, Judy spent the morning 1) at/ at the/ in the
home and then went to visit a friend of hers 2) at/ in/ on
hospital. Her friend’s room was 3) on/ at/ in the end of
a long corridor. She went in and sat down 4) beside/
besides/ next her friend and tried to cheer her up. At the
end of her visit, Judy left the hospital and caught a bus
at the bus stop 5) next/ in front/ opposite the hospital.
C. Complete the following sentences with by, until (till), in the beginning or at the
beginning, at the end or in the end
1. It was a wonderful concert, and ________________
in the end everyone applauded enthusiastically.
2. __________________,
In the beginning Tom found it very hard to speak Spanish but he soon became more
confident.
3. It took us a long time, but ________________
in the end we found the halls of residence.
4. Young people in Britain cannot get a driving licence _____________ till they are 17.
5. It is impossible to make a decision _______________________ we have all the facts.
6. If you want to come with me, you must be ready _________________ until half past ten.
7. You have got ________________
till 12 o’clock to finish the test.
8. She had written all the invitations to the party ___________
lunchtime.
9. Sarah arrived late so she wasn't there _______________
at the beginning of the
lesson.
10. It was a long hike, and _________________
at the end of the day I was
exhausted.
11. At first we didn’t like our new teacher, but in ___________
the end we got used to her.
12. They hope to have finished the puzzle ____________________
till the end of the day.
D. In the sentences below, one of the underlined words or phrases is incorrect. Mark
which one and change the word or phrase to make it correct.
1. I expect to finish my project until midnight, and I’ll give it to the teacher in the morning.
The lesson starts at 10.
2. We saw John at the concert on last night, sitting between his brother and sister in the
front row.
3. Queen Victoria ruled from 1837 to 1901 and during this time there were many changes in
Britain. By she died, the population had risen from 26 million to 41 million, and there were
train stations all over the country.
4. While I was in the way home, I saw a strange man coming towards me. so I quickly ran
across the road.
5. My seat on the plane was besides the window. Jill sat on my right and Lucy was in front
of us.
PART D. EXAM PRACTICE
A. KEY WORD TRANSFORMATIONS Complete the second sentence so that it has a
similar meaning to the first sentence, using the word given. Do not change the word
given. You must use between two and five words, including the word given.
1. Please move your bicycle as we can’t get past it in the hall. way
Your _______________________________________ in the hall - please move it!
2. The hotel we stayed at in Scotland was near the sea. coast
We stayed at a hotel which __________________________________
near the coast of Scotland.
3. We liked her in the beginning, but then we changed our minds. first
We ______________________________________
liked her at first but then we changed our minds.
4. I had to wait for my brother to come home before I went to sleep. until
I couldn’t go to sleep __________________________________________
until my brother came home.
5. They were confused, but after a while they realised what to do. end
They were confused __________________________________
in the end they realised what to do.
6. While they were visiting the town, they took lots of photographs. during
They took lots of photographs __________________________________
during they visited to the town.
7. I saw Brian a week ago. since
I haven’t __________________________________________
seen Brian since two week.
8. By the time they got to the party, it was very late. arrived
By the time _________________________________
they arrived at the party, it was very late.
B. Read the advertisement for an electronic diary and fill in the missing words. Choose
from the words in the table below. (There are two words you won’t need and three that
you may use more than once.)
A. at B. in C. on D. to E between
F. time G. until H. during I. way J. of

The OL 100 is so useful that everyone will have one (1) ________
time a
few years’ time!
DIARY: Record the date and Lime of your appointment by
speaking into the microphone (2) ______ the left side of your OL
100. When von wake up (3) _______
in the morning, the OL 100 will
remind you (4) ______
of all the appointments you have that day.
You can set it to remind you (5) ______ the day as often as you
want: (6) _____ the hour of your appointment, (7) __________ the
same time each day, or at different times on different days, for
example (8) ______
at weekends.
LOCATION: Press the button marked “Location” and a map will
appear. The red dot (9) _______ the map shows you where you are. Your OL 100 can tell
you how to get (10) ______
to any place (11) ______ the country. Press the button marked
“Directions” and say the name of the street and town. The OL 100 will give you directions.
For example, you might hear: "Turn left (12) ______
on the next corner. The street you want is
the third turning (13) _____ the right, just past the school.” If you get lost on the (14) ____
the OL 100 senses this and warns you.
No more excuses for not being on (15) ________ for appointments or for getting lost!
OPEN CLOZE
Read the text below and think of the word which best fits each space. Use only one word
in each space.
been A WEEKEND BREAK
My friends and I had (1) ___ working very hard so we decided to go away for the weekend.
We had a long discussion about where we should go and in the (2) _______ way we agreed to
visit the Channel Islands. We travelled down to Portsmouth, where the ferries leave from,
(3) ______
by train. As the train was delayed, we almost missed our ferry. Luckily, though, we
got to the port just in (4)_______
order to catch it. It didn’t (5) _______
last long to reach the islands,
and as soon as we got there, we made (6) _________
up the hotel. It was situated (7) _______
in a
lovely location very (8) near
_____ the beach. We went to bed late that first night and we didn’t
wake up (9) _____
at 10 o’clock the next day. That morning we took a bus tour (10) ______to the
island before having lunch in a restaurant near the sea. We spent Sunday morning (11) ____ by
the beach, then caught the ferry back to Portsmouth. (12) _____ By the time we got home, we
were all tired but happy.

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