PREPOSITIONS

II BTX A/B/C
 AT
• AT – used for an exact point of time, festivities,
“the weekend” and the noun “night”
• ex: Ian will arrive at 9 o’clock
• ex: We all go to church at Christmas
• ex: I’ll see you at the weekend
• ex: Policemen often work at night.
- used to describe being at a specific place at a
certain time
• The man was at the door.
• Meet me at school at lunchtime.
 AT
- Used to explain when someone is arriving at
places and events which are not towns or
countries.
• ex: I arrived at the airport.
• ex: I arrived at the carnival.
- Used when answering the question WHERE.
• ex: Where is that noise coming from? –
Someone is at the door.
• ex: Where is she waiting? – At the bus stop
• ex: Where is the car? – At the traffic light.
• ex: Where are you on the page? – At the top.
 AT
• Exceptions –
• ex: at home/at work/at school/at university/at
the station/at the airport/at the end of the
street
 IN
• IN – used for a point during a longer period of
time (months, weeks, years, seasons,
centuries). It is also used for parts of the day,
except at night
• ex: In winter, we go skiing.
• ex: I was born in 1977 in the month of July.
• ex: We study in the mornings, in the
afternoons, in the evenings, but never at
night.
 IN
- Used to describe arriving in a particular town or
country.
• ex: They arrived in Madrid.
• ex: Tom arrived in England.
- used to describe being inside a place or object
• ex: James was in the snow fort.
• ex: in a room/in a shop/in a box/in a garden/in a
park/in a town
• Also – in the water/in the sea/in my coffee/In
France/In Rome
 ON
• ON - used in expressions referring to days and
dates.
• ex: My birthday is on Wednesday.
• ex: Schools start on September 1st.
• ex: We are going to see a film on Saturday
night.
- used to describe being physically on top of
something
ex: He was sitting on the chair.
ex: The astronauts were on the Moon.
 ON
• ex: on a table/on the floor/on the wall/on the
ceiling
• ex: on a bus/on a train/on a plane, BUT in a
car
 FOR
• FOR – used to describe a period of time
(usually with present perfect)
• ex: He has been playing football for 3
hours.
- used to describe when someone is doing
something FOR someone
• ex: He was cleaning the house for his
mother.
• ex: He has been working for that
company for 3 years.
 FOR
- used when discussing giving a
present/something to someone.
• ex: I bought a present for Maria’s birthday.
- used to talk about studying
• He has been studying for that exam all night.
 FROM
• FROM – used with til/until/to to show the
starting point and end of a period of time.
• ex: Most shops are open from 9 until 5.
• ex: My father works from Monday to Friday.
- used to describe what someone’s origins are
• ex: Miss Riviere is from Canada and France.
- used to explain who gave or sent something
• ex: That letter is from Jerry.
- used to describe how someone moves from one
location to another
• ex: Julia went from one side of the room to the
other.
 ABOUT
- used to describe when someone is talking
about something
• ex: The story was about two little girls who
met in the woods.
- used to describe a topic which is being
described
• ex: What are we talking about?
- Another was of saying “connected with” or
“pertaining to”
• ex: We were talking about Sophie.
• ex: I’m worried about David.
 OF
- used to show possession, belonging or origin
• ex: a friend of mine
• ex: the President of the United States
• ex: employees of that company
• ex: a habit of mine
• ex: the colour of his hair
• ex: the complete plays of Federico Garcia
Lorca
 DURING
- Used to talk about something from the
beginning to the end of a particular period of
time; also means “throughout”
• ex: They work during the night and sleep
during the day.
• ex: During World War Two, many people died.