Preposition power

1. PREPOSITION POWER !!

2. What are PREPOSITIONS?

• Words which show relationships among
other words in the sentence.
• The relationships include direction,
place, time, cause, manner and amount.

3.

PREPOSITIONS OF
PLACE

4. ‘‘ AT ’’

• We use “at” to refer to a specific & precise
place. (when we see it as a point)
• At the bus stop.
At the back of the bus.
At home.
At the bottom of the page.
At the front of the cinema.

5. ‘‘ IN ’’

• We use “in” to refer to something that is
inside a space, often with four walls
around it.
• The hammers are in the bag.
There are some cows in the field.
Tim is in the bathtub.
The mouse is in the box.

6. ‘‘ ON ’’

• We use “on” if something is on a horizontal or
vertical surface.
• The picture is on the wall.
On the front cover of the magazine.
The spider is on the ceiling.
We are travelling on the road.

7. ‘‘ UNDER ’’

√ To describe something that is physically
lower than another thing. In many cases you
can use “below” as well.
• They stood under a tree (= below its branches) to avoid
getting wet.
Her shoes were under the bed.

8. ‘‘ ABOVE ’’

√ To describe a point on a scale (such as a
thermometer) that is higher than the starting
point.
• Fifteen degrees above zero.
100 meters above sea level
√ To refer to an object that is higher than
another object.
There is a light above your desk.
There is a mirror above the washbasin.

9. ‘‘ BELOW ’’

√ To describe a point on a scale (such as a
thermometer) that is lower than the starting
point
• Three degrees below zero.
Twenty metres below sea level.
The author's name was printed below the title.

10. ‘‘ NEAR / NEARBY / CLOSE TO’’

√ Near & Close to: To describe things that are
within a short distance of one another.
• Jane’s house is close to/near the beach.
√ Nearby = not far away
• I noticed a policeman standing nearby.
Incorrect: I noticed a policeman standing nearby to
the vehicle/ nearby the vehicle
• Trainer’s Note: Nearby is used with only one point
of reference.

11. ‘‘ NEXT TO / BESIDE ’’

√ To describe something that is very close
to another thing, and almost touching that
thing.
• He sat next to me at my birthday party.
Go and sit beside the dog.
Trainer’s Note: Do not use ‘Besides’ !
It means except/other than.
Eg: Do you play any other sports besides football?

12. ‘‘ BETWEEN vs. AMONG ’’

√ Between: To describe something that is between
two people/places/groups
• A pile of books lay between the students
A narrow path ran between two rows of houses
√ Among: To describe something that is in the middle of
many things.
• The green apple is among the red ones.

13. ‘‘ OPPOSITE’’

√ We use “opposite” for two things that are
facing one another.
• They sat opposite each other in the meeting room.
Our office is right opposite the police station.
Trainer’s Note: Do not say ‘opposite to the police station’

14. Hmmm….

I was just wondering..

15.

In the bed OR On the bed ??
Both.
ON the bed = laying (or standing/sitting) on top of the covers of the bed.
IN the bed = between the covers, retired for the night, and preparing to
sleep; or possibly between the covers and resting due to sickness, etc.
In the corner OR At the corner ??
We say 'in the corner of a room', but 'at the corner (or 'on the corner') of
a street‘

16. Describe the room using all the prepositions of place

17.

PREPOSITIONS OF
TIME

18. ‘‘ AT ’’

√ Used with time of the day.
“He comes to the office at 8:30 a.m.”
At night; At weekend(s);
At + holidays (Christmas)
“My husband sleeps well at night”.
“We used to give each other presents at
Christmas”
Used with precise time.
“Call me later – I’m busy at the moment!”
“Lets meet at lunchtime, shall we?”

19. ‘‘ ON ’’

√ Used with days (days of
the week/other days).
• “What do you enjoy doing on rainy
days?”
• “I’ve never worked on Sunday in
my life.”
• “On the 3rd of June we are flying
to Canada”.

20. ‘‘ IN ’’

√ Used with seasons.
“In summer children usually have holidays.”
√ Used with months, years, centuries etc.
“When’s your Birthday? – In August.”
“First Coca-Cola was bottled in 19th century.”
“In the 2015 I will learn to drive a car.”
√ Used with “the morning”, “the evening”, “the afternoon” (but not “night”!)
“Many people wake up early in the morning – I wake up in the afternoon”

21. Hmmm….

I was just wondering..

22.

On Monday morning or in Monday morning?
On, never in if there is a name of the day of the week.
At Christmas or on Christmas?
Both: On Christmas refers exactly to the Christmas day, At Christmas
means during the holiday itself.
At, on or in the next week?
No preposition is used with « next », « last », « this », today, tomorrow, every
day.

23. ‘‘ DURING, UNTIL ’’

√ During is used with nouns to say when
something happens (in the process of a
period of time).
“We saw a lot of penguins during our trip to
South Africa.”
√ Until is used to say how long something
lasts (until specifies the end of an action).
“In on vacation until the next Wednesday.”

24. ‘‘ FOR, SINCE’’

√ For + period of time is used to highlight the
duration.
“I’ve taught English for more than 4 years.”
√ Since + starting point is used to show when
something begins
“I’ve taught English since graduating from HighSchool.”

25. Hmmm….

I was just wondering..

26.

Until or Till?
There is no difference between these two.
Use the one you like more
From to or From until?
Once again – no difference!