Module 1: Prepositions

Module 1: Prepositions
Prepositions are function words that indicate how a noun or noun phrase relates to the
rest of the sentence. Some prepositions, such as, in, on, after, or since, express temporal or
spatial relationships.

In other cases, the relationships is more abstract and the best preposition to use may
depend on the words around it. These are known as “dependent prepositions”, and they do
not follow any clear pattern.

Choose prepositions carefully because sometimes changing a preposition can

completely change the meaning of the phrase.
 Module 1: In, on, at.
These are the most common prepositions in English. We can use them to talk
about time or place. The use of each one is a little different all depends on the contexts
in which we are talking.
 Module 1: In, on, at (place).
To refer to a position or location which we see as a point:

I was sitting at my desk.

To talk about locations at companies, workplaces when we see them as a place of activity:

How many people are working at Microsoft?

To refer to activities which involve a group of people:

Were you at Lisa’s party? (also at the cinema, at the theatre)

With school/college/university:

She always did well at school.

 Module 1: In, on, at (place).

To refer to an address:

They once lived at number 12 South George’s Street.

To talk about public places where we get treatments, such as a hairdresser’s or doctor’s surgery:

I can’t meet at four. I’ll be at the hairdresser’s until five.

To refer to most shops:

Look what I bought at the butcher’s today.

 Module 1: In, on, at (place).
To refer to a position on any surface:

I know I left my wallet on the table.

To describe a position along a road or river or by the sea or by a lake:

Dublin is on the east coast of Ireland.

To talk about a floor in a building:

They live on the 15th floor!

To talk about being physically on public transport:

I was on the train when she phoned. (but to talk about ways of travelling, we use by: I
went to Rome by train.)
 Module 1: In, on, at (place).
To talk about locations within a larger area:

I know my book is somewhere in this room. Can anyone see it?

To talk about workplaces when we see them as a physical location:

She works in an open-plan office. (but we use on when we talk about a farm: I’ve
always wanted to work on a farm.)

With class:

He found it difficult to concentrate in class.

 Module 1: In, on, at (time).
With particular points on the clock:

I’ll see you at five o’clock.

With particular points in the day:

The helicopter took off at midday and headed for the island.

With particular points in the week:

What are you doing at the weekend?

With special celebrations:

At the New Year, millions of people travel home to be with their families (but we say on
your birthday).
 Module 1: In, on, at (time).
With dates:

We moved into this house on 25 October 1987.

With a singular day of the week to refer to one occasion:

I’ve got to go to London on Friday.

With a plural day of the week to refer to repeated events:

The office is closed on Fridays. (every Friday)

In informal situations, we often leave out on before plural days:
Do you work Saturdays?

With special dates:

What do you normally do on your birthday?

 Module 1: In, on, at (time).
With parts of the day:
I’ll come and see you in the morning for a cup of coffee, okay?

With months:
We usually go camping in July or August.

With years:
The house was built in 1835.

With seasons:
The garden is wonderful in the spring when all the flowers come out.

With long periods of time:

The population of Europe doubled in the nineteenth century.
 Module 1: In, on, at (time).
Other uses of in with time
We use in to say how long it takes someone to do something:

He was such a clever musician. He could learn a song in about five minutes.

We use an apostrophe -s construction (in a year’s time, in two months’ time) to say when something will
happen. We don’t use it to say how long someone takes to do something:

I won’t say goodbye because we’ll be seeing each other again in three days’ time.

We can also say in three days, without time.

He ran the marathon in six hours and 20 minutes.

Not: He ran the marathon in six hours and 20 minutes’ time.

 Module 1: In, on, at (time).
Time expressions without at, on, in

We don’t normally use at, on or in before time expressions beginning with each, every,
next, last, some, this, that, one, any, all:

He plays football every Saturday.

Are you free next Monday at two o’clock?

Last summer we rented a villa in Portugal.

 Module 1: In, on, at (time).
At the end or in the end?
We use at the end (often with of) to talk about the point in time where something finishes. We use in
the end to talk about things that happen after a long time or after a series of other events:

At the end of the film, everyone was crying.

Not: In the end of the film …

I looked everywhere for the book but couldn’t find it, so in the end I bought a new copy.

At the beginning or in the beginning?

We use at the beginning (often with of) to talk about the point where something starts. We usually use
in the beginning when we contrast two situations in time:

At the beginning of every lesson, the teacher told the children a little story.

In the beginning, nobody understood what was happening, but after she explained everything
very carefully, things were much clearer.
 Module 1: In, on, at (time).
At or on?
We use at to talk about public holidays and weekends, but when we talk about a particular special
day or weekend, we use on.

Compare
We never go away at the New Year because the traffic is awful.

On New Year’s Day, the whole family gets together.

I’ll go and see my mother at the weekend if the weather’s okay.

The folk festival is always held on the last weekend in July.

 Module 1: In, on, at (time).
In or on?
We use in with morning, afternoon, evening and night, but we use on when we talk
about a specific morning, afternoon, etc., or when we describe the part of the day.

Compare

I always work best in the morning. I often get tired in the afternoon.

The ship left the harbour on the morning of the ninth of November.

In the evening they used to sit outside and watch the sun going down.

It happened on a beautiful summer’s evening.

 Module 1: In, on, at (time).

At or in?
In the night usually refers to one particular night; at night refers to any night in
general:

I was awake in the night, thinking about all the things that have
happened.

‘It’s not safe to travel at night,’ the officer said.

 Module 1: In, on, at (time).

Typical errors

We use on not at to talk about a particular day:

The two couples were married in two different cities on the same day, 25 years ago.

Not: … at the same day, 25 years ago.

We don’t use at to refer to dates:

The General was killed on 26 August.

Not: … at 26 August.
 Module 1: In, on, at (time).

Typical errors

We use at, not in, with weekend(s):

What do you usually do at the weekend? Do you go away?

Not: What do you usually do in the weekend?

We use in with months, not on:

They’re going to Australia in September for a conference.

Not: They’re going to Australia on September

 Module 1: In, into.
Position and direction
We use in to talk about where something is in relation to a larger area around it:
A: Where’s Jane? B: She’s in the garden.
I’ve left my keys in the car.

We use into to talk about the movement of something, usually with a verb that expresses
movement (e.g. go, come). It shows where something is or was going:
A: Where’s Jane? B: She’s gone into the house.
Helen came into the room.
Module 1: In, into.
She’s gone for a walk in the garden. She walked into the garden.
She is in the garden walking. She entered the garden.
 Module 1: In, into.

With some verbs (e.g. put, fall, jump, dive) we can use either in or into with no
difference in meaning:

Can you put the milk in/into the fridge?

Her keys fell in/into the canal.

 Module 1: In, into.
Into: enthusiasm, interest
We use be into to express enthusiasm or strong interest for something:

He’s really into his work.

I’m into classical music and Thai food.

Change into, turn into

We use into after verbs describing change:

We’ve translated the course into six different languages.

She changed into her swimming costume and went for a swim.

They divided the cake into four pieces.

 Module 1: In, into.

In: phrasal verbs

We use in to make a number of phrasal verbs.

I was feeling very tired and I couldn’t really take in what she was
saying. (understand)

Please call in and see us next time you’re in the area. (visit us
briefly)
 Module 1: At, in and to(movement).
We use to when we are talking about movement in the direction of a point, place, or position:

Let’s all go to the cinema tonight!

When you come to my place, you’ll see our new pet rabbit.

If you drive to the end of the road, then turn left and park in the first car park on the
right …

We often use the combination from … to … when we are talking about moving from one point
to another:

Is it far from your house to the nearest shop?

How long will it take to get from the hospital to the train station?
 Module 1: At, in and to(movement).

We say that we arrive at a place, when we see it as point, but we arrive in a larger area
(e.g. a city or a country). We don’t use to with arrive:

I arrived at the station just in time. (arrive at a place)

Not: I arrived to the station …

It was 4 pm when we arrived in Italy. (arrive in a country)

Not: … when we arrived to Italy.

 Module 1: Prepositions of place
● Nex to
● Beside
● By
● Between
● Behind
● In front of
● Opposite
● Under
● Above
● Below
 Module 1: Prepositions of time
Before as a preposition
We use before most commonly with noun phrases to refer to timed events:

I like to go for a run before breakfast.

You can check in online but you have to do it at least four hours before your flight.

We use before to refer to place, especially when it is seen as part of a journey or as part of a sequence of
events in time:

Get off the bus just before Euston Station.

Just before the end of the poem, there is a line where the poet expresses his deepest fears.
 Module 1: Prepositions of time

Before as an adverb
Before often comes after nouns such as day, morning, night, week, month, year to refer to the
previous day, morning, etc.:

Two people were ill at work yesterday and three people the day before!

A: Did you graduate in 1989?

B: No, actually, I finished college the year before.
 Module 1: Prepositions of time
Before as an adjunct
We use before to connect earlier events to the moment of speaking or to a point of time in the past:

I’m so looking forward to the trip. I haven’t been to Latin America before. (up to the moment of
speaking)

I introduced Tom to Olivia last night. They hadn’t met before. (up to that point in the past)

Before as a conjunction
We use before as a subordinating conjunction. We commonly use before with the past simple tense.
It suggests that the second event happened soon after the first one. The before clause, which indicates
the second action, can be at the end or at the beginning of the sentence:

Before she left, she gave everyone a present.

She gave everyone a present before she left.

 Module 1: Prepositions of time
After as a preposition and conjunction
After means ‘later than’ and ‘next in time or place’.

After can be used before a noun phrase (as a preposition):

Shall we have a swim after lunch?

The bank is just after the park, on the left.

After can introduce a clause (as a conjunction):

After I left him a message, he phoned me immediately.

She did voluntary work in a hospital after she graduated.

 Module 1: Prepositions of time
After or afterwards as an adverb
We can use after as an adverb, but afterwards is more common. When after is used, it is
usually as part of an adverb phrase:

They lived happily ever after. (means ‘for ever’)

She had an operation on her leg and afterwards was unable to walk for at
least a month.
 Module 1: Prepositions of time
During
We use during before nouns and noun phrases to refer to when something happens over a period of time.
During can refer to the whole time of the event:

You are not allowed to use your mobile phone during class. (the whole of the class)

I have to have my window open during the night. (the whole of the night)

In this meaning, during can often mean the same as in:

His grandfather fought in the army during the First World War. (or … in the First World
War.)

When I was a kid, our cousins often came to stay with us during the summer. (or … in the
summer.)
 Module 1: Prepositions of time
During
During can refer to something that happened while the main event was taking place. In
such contexts, during means ‘at some unspecified point in time’ and is more common than in:

What was that noise I heard during the night, I wonder? or … in the night. (I heard a
noise at an unspecified point in the night.)

One day, during the Second World War, her father just disappeared. (He disappeared at
an unspecified point.)
 Module 1: Prepositions of time
For: purpose
We use for to talk about a purpose or a reason for something:

I’m going for some breakfast. I’m really hungry.

She leaves on Friday for a 15-day cruise around the Mediterranean.

I wear these old trousers for painting.

In questions we often use what … for instead of why to ask about the reason or purpose of
something especially in informal situations:

What are you here for?

What are they doing it for?

 Module 1: Prepositions of time
For someone
We often use for to introduce the person or people receiving something:

She bought a teapot for her sister.

Mike Cranham and his staff at the hotel cook for 800 people a day, on average.

For: duration
We use for with a period of time to refer to duration (how long something lasts):

There’s a lovely open-air pool near us. We usually go there for a couple of hours in
the evenings when it’s warm enough.
 Module 1: Prepositions of time
For: exchange
We use for to refer to an exchange:

2 for £2 or £1.36 each. (Two for two pounds or one pound thirty-six each.)

I got 124 euros for 100 pounds at today’s exchange rate.

For meaning because

We sometimes use for as a conjunction meaning ‘because’. We use it in very formal, and often literary,
contexts:

Chasing the white stag through the forests, never catching it, of course, for it is a
creature of legend.
 Module 1: Prepositions of time

For in multi-word verbs

We often combine for with a verb to form a multi-word verb:

She’s been caring for her mother for years.

It’s not a good time to look for it now. We have to go.

Module 1: Prepositions
of direction
 Module 1: Prepositions of direction

Where am I and where

do I want to go?
Module 1: Prepositions of direction

My friend lives across the

across on the other side of
street from me.

The ducks are eating along

along beside
the river.

The girl was sitting among

among within a group
her friends.

They told stories around the

around in a circular way
campfire.
Module 1: Prepositions of direction

The employees parked

behind at the back of
behind the store.

lower relative to something I hung the poster below the

below
else mirror.

beside next to Come stand beside me.

over above The spices are over the sink.

Module 1: Prepositions of direction

The river runs through the

through from one point to the next
woods.

The man started walking

toward in the direction of
toward the exit.

up from low to high The store is right up the road.

The boy tumbled down the

down from high to low
hill.
Module 1: Prepositions of direction
Have you ever been inside an
inside/in within
abandoned building?

The movie theater is by the

near close by
interstate.

The dog climbed onto the

onto moving on top of something
bed.

off away from Don’t jump off that wall.

She drove right past the

past on the farther side of
house.
 turn left

roundabout

next to

go past

take the second left

turn right

opposite

take the second right

traffic lights

go straight on
 turn left

roundabout

next to

go past

take the second left

turn right

opposite

take the second right

traffic lights

go straight on