Prepositions

Use these prepositions and phrases to describe where you live.

❖ I live in a small house/big apartment.

❖ The house is in/on a quiet street.
❖ It’s near/not far from the train station.
❖ There’s a garden behind the house.
❖ It’s a ten-minute walk to/from the town Centre.

Note that when we say a ten-minute walk, a twenty-minute walk, etc. we

use a number + a hyphen (–) + the word minute in the singular.

There is/are
Use there is/are to write about the things in or near your home.

Use there is with singular nouns. Use a before the singular noun. The
negative form is there isn’t.

• There is a bus stop near the apartment.

• There isn’t a bath in the bathroom.

You can shorten there is to there’s.

• There’s a single bed in the guest bedroom.

Use there are with plural nouns. We often use some or a number before
the noun.

• There are two bedrooms in the flat.

• There are some books on the shelf.
In negative sentences, we use any, NOT some.

• There aren’t any towels in the guest bedroom.

Has/Has got
You can also use has or has got to write about what is in the house. The
negative form is doesn’t have or hasn’t got.

• The flat has WIFI. The flat doesn’t have WIFI.

• The house has got a garden. The house hasn’t got a garden.

Just/Only
You can use just or only when there are a small number of things. Look
where just and only go in a sentence.

• There’s just one bedroom. / There’s only one bedroom.

• The flat only has one bedroom. / The flat just has one bedroom
• The house has only got a shower, not a bath. / The house has just
got a shower, not a bath.

With
Use with to add extra information about a home, room, or piece of
furniture.

• I live in a small house with a big garden.

• There’s a kitchen with three chairs.
• There’s a cupboard with five shelves.
Some useful adverbs
Start your sentence with one of these adverbs to talk about different
parts of your home.

• Upstairs, there are three bedrooms.

• Downstairs, there is a kitchen and a living room.
• Inside, there are five rooms.
• Outside, there is a garden.