Unit 11 prepositions

Prepositions

By Nguyen Trung Kien
/>

Definition of prepositions
Prepositions are a class of words that indicate relationships
between nouns, pronouns and other words in a sentence.
Most often they come before a noun. They never change
their form, regardless of the case, gender etc. of the word
they are referring to.
There are about 150 prepositions in English. Yet this is a
very small number when you think of the thousands of
other words (nouns, verbs etc). Prepositions are important
words. We use individual prepositions more frequently
than other individual words. In fact, the prepositions of, to
and in are among the ten most frequent words in English.
Many of these prepositions have more than one meaning.
Please refer to a dictionary for precise meaning and usage.


Prepositions of time
English


on

Usage


days of the week



months / seasons
time of day
year
after a certain period of time
(when?)




in







at




for night
for weekend
a certain point of time
(when?)

Example


on Monday



in August / in winter
in the morning
in 2006
in an hour









at night
at the weekend
at half past nine


Prepositions of time


since



from a certain point of time (past till now)



since 1980



for



over a certain period of time (past till now)



for 2 years



ago



a certain time in the past



2 years ago



before



earlier than a certain point of time



before 2004


Prepositions of time


to



telling the time



ten to six (5:50)



past



telling the time



ten past six (6:10)



to /
till /
until



marking the beginning and end of
a period of time



from Monday to/till
Friday



till /
until



in the sense of how long something is
going to last



He is on holiday until
Friday.



I will be back by 6
o’clock.
By 11 o'clock, I had read
five pages.



by




in the sense of at the latest
up to a certain time



Prepositions of place
English

Usage




in










at



room, building, street, town,
country
book, paper etc.
car, taxi
picture, world
meaning next to, by an object

for table
for events
place where you are to do
something typical (watch a film,
study, work)

Example











in the kitchen, in London
in the book
in the car, in a taxi
in the picture, in the world

at the door, at the station
at the table
at a concert, at the party
at the cinema, at school, at
work

Prepositions of place





on








by, next
to, beside



attached
for a place with a river
being on a surface
for a certain side (left,
right)
for a floor in a house
for public transport
for television, radio

left or right of somebody

or something











the picture on the wall
London lies on the Thames.
on the table
on the left
on the first floor
on the bus, on a plane
on TV, on the radio

Jane is standing by / next to /
beside the car.


Prepositions of place


under



below



over



on the ground, lower than (or covered
by) something else



the bag is under the
table



lower than something else but above
ground



the fish are below
the surface



covered by something else

meaning more than
getting to the other side (also across)
overcoming an obstacle



put a jacket over
your shirt
over 16 years of age
walk over the bridge
climb over the wall










Prepositions of place


above



across



through








higher than something else, but not
directly over it

getting to the other side (also over)
getting to the other side

something with limits on top, bottom
and the sides



a path above the
lake



walk across the
bridge
swim across the

lake





drive through the
tunnel


Prepositions of place


movement to person or building
movement to a place or country
for bed



enter a room / a building



movement in the direction of
something (but not directly to it)




to



into



towards







go to the cinema
go to London /
Ireland
go to bed



go into the
kitchen / the house



go 5 steps towards
the house

Prepositions of place



onto



from



movement to the top of
something



jump onto the table



in the sense of where from



a flower from the garden


Prepositions of place

Prepositions
Prepositions typically come before a noun:
For example:







after class
at home
before Tuesday
in London
on fire
with pleasure


Prepositions
A preposition usually indicates the temporal, spatial
or logical relationship of its object to the rest of
the sentence.
For example:
 The book is on the table.
 The book is beside the table.
 She read the book during class.
In each of the preceding sentences, a preposition
locates the noun "book" in space or in time.

Prepositions are classified as simple or compound.


Prepositions
Simple prepositions
Simple prepositions are single word prepositions.
These are all showed above.
For example:
The book is on the table.
Compound prepositions
Compound prepositions are more than one word.
in between and because of are prepositions made
up of two words - in front of, on behalf of are
prepositions made up of three words.



Prepositions
For example:



The book is in between War and Peace and The Lord of
the Rings.
The book is in front of the clock.

Examples:




The children climbed the mountain without fear.
There was rejoicing throughout the land when the
government was defeated.
The spider crawled slowly along the banister.


Other important prepositions
English


from



of



by



on



in

Usage

Example



who gave it



a present from Jane







who/what does it belong to
what does it show



a page of the book
the picture of a palace



who made it



a book by Mark Twain







walking or riding on horseback
entering a public transport vehicle



on foot, on horseback
get on the bus



entering a car  / Taxi



get in the car


Other important prepositions


off



leaving a public transport vehicle



get off the train



out of



leaving a car  / Taxi



get out of the taxi



rise or fall of something
travelling (other than walking or
horseriding)




prices have risen by 10
percent
by car, by bus



by





at



for age



she learned Russian at 45



about



for topics, meaning what about



we were talking about you


Exercise on Prepositions
Complete the exercise according to the picture










………(at/in/on) the picture, I can see a woman.
The woman is sitting ……(at/in front of/on) a table.
She is sitting ………..(at/in/on) a chair.
There is another chair………..(across/beside/opposite) the
woman.
Her feet are………..(beside/on/under) the table
The woman is holding a cup……(at/in/into) her hands.
………….(Above/At/On) the table are a laptop, a paper, a
calculator, an appointment calendar, two pens and a muffin.
The woman is looking………..(At/on/to) her laptop.
The woman's bag is……….(Between/behind/under) the
table.

Complete the exercise according to the picture


Answer for the exercise
Complete the exercise according to the picture.
 In the picture, I can see a woman.
 The woman is sitting at a table.
 She is sitting on a chair.
 There is another chair opposite the woman.
 Her feet are under the table
 The woman is holding a cup in her hands.
 On the table are a laptop, a paper, a calculator, an
appointment calendar, two pens and a muffin.
 The woman is looking at her laptop.
 The woman's bag is under the table.


Exercise on Prepositions
Complete the exercise with the correct prepositions.
 If you want to go bus, you have to go…………the bus stop.
 You look………..the time table.
 Then you wait…………your bus.
 When the bus arrives, you get……………the bus.
 You buy a ticket……………the driver or show your
ticket………….the driver.
 When you arrive………….your destination, you
get………….the bus.
 Sometimes you even have to change
buses……………….another bus stop.

Answer for the exercise
Complete the exercise with the correct prepositions.
 If you want to go by bus, you have to go to the bus stop.
 You look at the time table.
 Then you wait for your bus.
 When the bus arrives, you get on the bus.
 You buy a ticket from the driver or show your ticket to the
driver.
 When you arrive at your destination, you get off the bus.
 Sometimes you even have to change buses at another bus
stop.


Exercise on Prepositions – McDonald’s











The first McDonald’s restaurant was opened…………..Dick and
Mac McDonald……………..the 15th……………..May 1940.
The best selling products………………their restaurant were

hamburgers.
So the McDonald brothers thought…………………a way to produce
hamburgers more quickly.
This was introduced……………..1948 and became
known……………….the Speedee Service System.
The first franchised McDonald’s restaurant was
opened…………..1953, and today you can find McDonald’s
restaurants………………more than 100 countries.
The meats………..the burgers vary…………….the
culture…………….the country.
Franchisees and future managers…………………..McDonald’s
restaurants are trained…………………… Hamburger University,
which is located……………………Oak Brook, a
suburb…………….Chicago.
McDonalds is also known……………….its sponsorship……………
various international sport events.


Answer for the exercise
Complete the exercise with the correct prepositions.











The first McDonald’s restaurant was opened by Dick and Mac
McDonald on the 15th of May 1940.
The best selling products at their restaurant were hamburgers.
So the McDonald brothers thought of a way to produce
hamburgers more quickly.
This was introduced in 1948 and became known as the
Speedee Service System.
The first franchised McDonald’s restaurant was opened in
1953, and today you can find McDonald’s restaurants in more
than 100 countries.
The meats for the burgers vary with the culture of the country.
Franchisees and future managers of McDonald’s restaurants
are trained at Hamburger University, which is located in Oak
Brook, a suburb of Chicago.
McDonalds is also known for its sponsorship in various
international sport events.