PREPOSITION AND ARTICLES

A preposition is a word or group of words used before a noun, personal pronoun, or noun
phrase to indicate direction, location, time, place relationship or introduce an object.
Prepositions indicate a relationship between words in a sentence.
(preposisi adalah kata atau kumpulan kata yang digunakan sebelum kata benda, kata ganti orang, atau frasa benda untuk
menunjukkan arah, lokasi, waktu, hubungan tempat atau mengenalkan suatu objek. Preposisi mengindikasikan adanya
hubungan antar kata di dalam sebuah kalimat)

Following are several types of english prepositions, namely: direction, place and time.

A. Preposition of direction
In this type of direction there are several prepositions. They are, near, inside, on, beside,
under, behind, in between, above, out of, and around.

Near: dekat
• The book is near the glass.
• Jonathan won’t go near the river.
• There are restaurants near here.

Inside: di dalam
• There’s a treasure inside the cave!
• Inside the box, you’ll find my ring.
• She has to write a note inside the book.

On: di atas menempel

• The cat sits on the table.
• Don’t jump on the bed!
• Put the pillows on the sofa.

Beside: sebelah
• Stand beside the statue, you’ll see the most beautiful sunset.
• Walk slowly beside me, don’t run.
• The guy beside my dad was wearing a black suit.

Above: di atas tidak menempel

• The plane is flying above the clouds.
• The people above my apartment are my childhood friends.
• Henry scored above average in the Spanish Exam.

Under: di bawah
• There are still a lot of secrets we have yet to find under the seas.
• The cat sleeps under the chair.
• Do you have to put your shoes under your bed?

Behind: di belakang
• The squirrel is hiding behind the tree.
• You have to stand behind me.
• Someone grabbed Melissa from behind.
 In between: di antara
• The bakery is between the restaurant and the cafe.
• I learned how to skateboard between the age of 9 and 12.
• The sweater came up in different colors, black, blue, red, yellow, and everything in
between.

Out of: dari (keluar)

• Samantha just walked out of the library.
• Get out of there! It’s dangerous!
• Mike’ll be out of town for several months.

Around: di sekeliling
• Angelina had a scarf around her neck.
• They sat around the table.
• The earth goes around the sun.

B. Preposition of Place
In (di, di dalam)
In menunjukkan bahwa sesuatu ada di atau berada di dalam sebuah tempat.
• I live in Bandung
• She put her drinks in the refrigerator.
• My cat sleeps in the box.

On (di, di atas permukaan)

On digunakan untuk menunjukkan tempat yang lebih spesifik daripada in, yaitu di lantai
sebuah gedung, di sebuah jalan, dan di atas permukaan suatu benda.
• The bakery is on Jalan Beo.
• I put my glasses on the table.
• I found a coin on the floor.

At (di)
At digunakan untuk tempat atau lokasi yang spesifik. Biasanya tempat yang disebutkan
sudah khusus
• I left my book at home.
• She is still waiting for the bus at the stop
• He met his friend at the bookstore

Under (di bawah)

Under yang berarti di bawah digunakan ketika posisi benda yang dimaksud ada di bawah
sesuatu atau benda lain dan tertutupi.
• There are many coral reefs under the sea
• Tora is hiding under the table.
• We can rest for a while under the tree.

Between (di antara)

Between artinya di antara dua atau lebih benda, tempat, atau orang.
• She stood between two trees.
• There is a big luggage between us.
• The bakery is between the restaurant and the café.
Below (di bawah)
Below juga berarti di bawah, yang maksudnya ada di bawah sesuatu juga atau posisinya
lebih rendah dari suatu benda/hal lain. Below bisa digunakan untuk menunjukkan
pengukuran.
• The example is below the table.
• You need to write a caption below the chart.
• Sometimes the temperature in city A during the winter can be below 0 degrees.

Above (di atas)

Above merupakan lawan dari below. Jadi suatu benda berada di atas atau posisinya
lebih tinggi.
• We are sitting above the roof and looking at the stars.
• The paragraph above the picture is the concluding paragraph.
• I think you need to see a doctor. Your body temperature is above 37 degrees.

In front of (di depan)

In front of maksudnya suatu benda berada di depan suatu benda lain.
Contoh:
• Mr. Bimo asked us to read the poem in front of the class.
• He parked his car in front of the house.
• My mother’s chair is in front of me.

Beside (di samping)

Beside hampir sama artinya dengan next to yang artinya di sebelah atau di samping.
• I always be beside you.
• The restaurant beside the bakery is very popular.
• The grocery store beside my house closes at 10 p.m.

Behind (di belakang)

Behind artinya posisi suatu benda berada di belakang suatu tempat lain, benda, atau
seseorang.
• I’ve been standing behind you for five minutes.
• We have to stand behind the lines.
• My sister hid behind the car.

Among (di antara)

Among artinya juga di antara, namun maksudnya di antara banyak benda, tempat, atau
orang.
• His house is among those buildings.
• There is a singer among us.
• My sister looks tall among her classmates.

Inside (di dalam)

Inside artinya berada di dalam suatu benda yang tertutup.
• Nancy was very surprised to see her best friend hiding inside a big box.
• The bird sleeps inside the cage.
• I felt like I was inside a cave.

Near (di dekat)

Near artinya di dekat suatu benda atau tempat lain atau seseorang).
• There is a new bookstore near the café.
• The boy near you is my little brother.
 • The house near the river is my grandmother’s house.

Next to (di sebelah)

Next to artinya berada di sebelah suatu benda atau seseorang.
• The guy next to you is listening to music.
• The mall is next to the hotel.
• The bag next to my luggage is Rena’s.

C. Preposition of Time

Preposition of time is a preposition to indicate time information.

In
The use of prepositions of time is divided into several types. Here's the explanation:

In used for long-term periods, such as months, years, seasons, and so on. (digunakan
untuk waktu jangka pajang, seperti bulan, tahun, musim, dan lain sebagainya).
For example:
• In March / pada bulan Maret
• In 2022 / pada 2022
• In the 18th century / pada abad ke-18
• In the morning / di pagi hari
• In the first week of April / di minggu pertama bulan April

In used for the future (digunakan untuk waktu yang akan datang).
For example:
• The train wil be leaving in a few minutes / Kereta akan berangkat dalam beberapa
menit lagi.

In used to express how long an activity lasts (digunakan untuk mengungkapkan lamanya
suatu kegiatan berlangsung).
For example:
• You must finish this task in two days / Kamu harus menyelesaikan tugas ini dalam dua
hari.
On
The use of prepositions of time is divided into two types, namely:
1. Used to refer to dates and names of days (digunakan untuk mengacu pada tanggal dan
nama hari)
For example:
• On Saturday / di hari Sabtu
• On Lebaran Day / di hari Lebaran
• On March 20th / pada tanggal 20 Maret
• On weekend / di akhir pekan.

2. The words on + time can be used to express events that take place in a timely
manner (kata on + time dapat digunakan untuk menyatakan kejadian yang berlangsung
secara tepat waktu).
For example:
• The 8 am Fajar Utama Yogyakarta left on time / Kereta Fajar Utama Yogyakarta
berangkat tepat waktu.

At
This type of preposition of time is used when you want to say what time it is or a more
specific time description Jenis preposition of time ini digunakan saat ingin mengatakan
jam berapa atau keterangan waktu yang lebih spesifik.
For example:
• At 5 o'clock / pada jam 5
• At night / pada malam hari
• At the moment / saat ini
• At the same time / pada saat yang sama.
Before (sebelum)
Before describes the time before something happens (menerangkan waktu sebelum
sesuatu terjadi).
• Before 12 pm, I’m going to buy some cake.
• Roney must be at home before his father going home
• I must pray before go to bed.

After (setelah)
After describes the time after something happens (menerangkan waktu setelah sesuatu
terjadi).
• I’ll see you after June.
• You should pay your bill after finished your meal
• I will pick you after 8 o’clock.

For (selama)
For used to express a certain duration of time (digunakan untuk menyatakan durasi waktu
tertentu).
• You have been watching TV for three hours.
• I have waited my brother for 2 hours in the gym
• I have been practicing violin for a week

Since (sejak)
Since used to express the time something starts (digunakan untuk menyatakan waktu
dimulainya sesuatu).
• We have lived in Indonesia since 2000.
• I have been studying in prestigious school since 2018.

By (pada atau sebelum)

By states the time before or at a certain moment (menyatakan waktu sebelum atau pada
saat tertentu).
• She will finish the task by 7 o’clock.
• I will move to the new office by the end of this month.
• By Saturday, she had finished three article to publish
ARTICLES : a, an, the

Do you know how to use a, an and the? Test what you know with interactive exercises and
read the explanation to help you.

Look at these examples to see how articles are used.

• She's a doctor.
• I need an umbrella.
• Have you heard the news?
• I don't like spiders.

Try this exercise to test your grammar.

Complete the sentences with 'a', 'an' or 'the', or '-' if no article is needed.

1. I like listening to ………… music. It helps me relax. (-)

2. ………… money he gave me wasn't enough. (the)
3. He doesn't like ……….. dogs. One bit him when he was a child. (- )
4. Could you please pass me ………. salt? (the)
5. Do you want ………… apple? I've got two in my bag. (an)
6. I can take ……….. children to school today. (the )
7. This is my uncle Phil. He's …….. teacher and he lives in London. (a)
8. Is there …….. university where you live? (a)

Grammar explanation
Here are some of the most important things to know about using articles.

Jobs
When we say what people's jobs are, we usually use a/an.
For example:
• He's an architect.
• She's a scientist.
• My grandmother was a teacher.

Singular nouns
Singular, countable nouns always have an article – a/an or the (or another determiner – my,
your, this, that, etc.).

We use a/an – the indefinite article – when we talk about something for the first time, or
something that is part of a group or type.
For example:
• I saw a good film yesterday.
• Do you want a drink?

We use a when the word that follows it begins with a consonant sound. We use an when
it's followed by a vowel sound. This makes pronunciation easier.
For example:
• She has a university degree.
• It took me an hour to get home.
We use the – the definite article – when the listener already knows which thing we are talking
about because it was mentioned before or because there's only one of them.
For example:
• I'm going to take the dog for a walk.
• Have you seen the car key?
• They go to the school next to the bridge.

Things in general
When we talk about things in general, we normally use a plural or uncountable noun with no
article.
For example:
• Birds eat worms.
• Water freezes at 0°C.
• Children need a lot of sleep.

Particular groups of things

When we talk about a particular group of things, we use the.
For example:
• We went to the zoo and saw the kangaroos. (These are the particular kangaroos in that
zoo – not kangaroos in general.)

Do this exercise to test your grammar again.

Complete the sentences with 'a', 'an' or 'the', or '-' if no article is needed.

1. Do you want …… sandwich? I've got cheese and bread in the shopping bag. (a)
2. She wants to be ….. ambulance driver when she finishes school. (an)
3. Did you see ….. moon last night? (the)
4. I really hate …… mosquitos. They always bite me. (-)
5. If you need to contact me over the weekend, please send me ….. email. (an)
6. I'm a fun-loving person. I love ……. parties and dancing! (-)
7. I'll be there in ……. hour. (an)
8. ……. teachers at my son's school are great. (the)