Ly thuyet va Bai tap Prepositions

PREPOSITIONS
A/ Definition: Prepositions are shorts words that usually stand infront of nouns
(sometimes also infront of gerund verbs).

Prepositions – Time
English

Usage

Example

on

days of the week



on Monday

in

months / seasons



in August / in winter

time of day



in the morning

year



in 2006

after a certain period of time (when?)



in an hour

for night



at night

for weekend



at the weekend

a certain point of time (when?)



at half past nine

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

to

telling the time



ten to six (5:50)

past

telling the time



ten past six (6:10)

at

Prepositions – Place (Position and Direction)
English
in

Usage

Example

room, building, street, town, country



in the kitchen, in London

book, paper etc.



in the book

car, taxi



in the car, in a taxi

picture, world



in the picture, in the world


English
at

Usage

Example

meaning next to, by an object



at the door, at the station

for table



at the table

for events



at a concert, at the party

place where you are to do something typical (watch a film,



at the cinema, at school, at

study, work)
on

by, next to,

work

attached



the picture on the wall

for a place with a river



London lies on the Thames.

being on a surface



on the table

for a certain side (left, right)



on the left

for a floor in a house



on the first floor

for public transport



on the bus, on a plane

for television, radio



on TV, on the radio

left or right of somebody or something



Jane is standing by / next

beside

to / beside the car.

under

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



the bag is under the table

below

lower than something else but above ground



the fish are below the
surface

over

covered by something else



put a jacket over your shirt

meaning more than



over 16 years of age

getting to the other side (also across)



walk over the bridge

overcoming an obstacle



climb over the wall

above

higher than something else, but not directly over it



a path above the lake

across

getting to the other side (also over)



walk across the bridge

getting to the other side



swim across the lake

through

something with limits on top, bottom and the sides



drive through the tunnel

to

movement to person or building



go to the cinema

movement to a place or country



go to London / Ireland


English

Usage

into

Example

for bed



go to bed

enter a room / a building



go into the kitchen / the
house

towards

movement in the direction of something (but not directly to 

go 5 steps towards the house

it)
onto

movement to the top of something



jump onto the table

from

in the sense of where from



a flower from the garden

Other important Prepositions
English

Usage

Example

from

who gave it



a present from Jane

of

who/what does it belong to



a page of the book

what does it show



the picture of a palace

by

who made it



a book by Mark Twain

on

walking or riding on horseback



on foot, on horseback

entering a public transport vehicle



get on the bus

in

entering a car / Taxi



get in the car

off

leaving a public transport vehicle



get off the train

out of

leaving a car / Taxi



get out of the taxi

by

rise or fall of something



prices have risen by 10 percent

travelling (other than walking or horseriding)



by car, by bus

at

for age



she learned Russian at 45

about

for topics, meaning what about



we were talking about you


B/ EXERCISES
1/ Complete these sentences with at, on or in.
a. Do you live …in… Manchester?
b. He was …at… the bus stop for half an our.
c. Are the plates …… the cupboard?
d. Look at the example …………… the board.
e. I met my girlfriend …………… a party.

f. Kathy’s not here – she’s ………. Work at the moment.
g. Are my books ………………….that shelf?
h. My toothbrush isn’t ………………the bathroom. Where is it?
i. She usually sits …………… the floor.
j. Is your daughter happy ……………. At school?
k. We had breakfast …………….the garden.
l. There are too many cars ………….the road.
2/ Complete the sentences with at, on or in.
a. College starts …at… 9 o’clock in the morning.
b. I usually go swimming …on… Tuesdays.
c. I got up ……… 7 o’clock this morning.
d. Jim came around ………… Saturday afternoon.
e. The children get too many presents ……….. Chrismas.
f. We usually take our holiday ………… September.
g. They don’t go out very often………….the evenings.
h. She was born in Australia ………..1952.
i. I always go and see her ………….her birthday.
j. She phoned up ……..the beginning of the match on TV.
k. They usually come and stay with us ………. The summer holidays.
l. We moved here …………..20th October.
3/ Complete the sentences using to, at or from.
a. Linda works …at.. the post office.
b. Can you come ………….. our party?
c. We arrived ……………… the station half an hour late.
d. I often return ……………… my old hometown.
e. They were tired when they arrived so they caught a taxi ……….the air port……………
the hotel.
f. Kathy brought her daughter ………… work with her yesterday.
g. We landed ……………. Athens airport at 5 o’clock in the morning.
h. “How did you get here?” “I caught the train and walked ………….the station”.

i. I landed ……………….. Istanbul airport and caught the train ……………. Istanbul …………..


Ankara.
j. He travelled all night …………Paris and arrived …………….the office here in London at
6:30 in the morning.
4/ Complete the sentences using onto, on or off.
a. Can I sit …on… this chair?
b. I’m going to take the washing ….off…. the line.
c. Be careful. You’re going to fall …….. that seat.
d. She dressed and walked out …….. the balcony.
e. We spent the day …….. the beach.
f. The prisoners climbed …….. the roof.
g. Why haven’t you got any pictures ………. The wall?
h. He lost control of the car and it went ……. The road.
i. Don’t park ……….. the grass.
j. He was very angry and he pushed me ………. my chair.
5/ Complete the sentences with into, in or out of.
a. She’s living ….in…. a flat on her own now.
b. Anne suddenly came …into… the room with a letter in her hand.
c. We usually meet ……..our old flat because of the neighbors.
d. The plane took off and flew up ……. the clouds.
e. All my clothes fell …………… my suitcase when I picked it up.
f. They carried the new sofa ……………..the flat.
g. At the end of the working day they all hurry ……….the office.
h. Can you leave your coasts …………. the bedroom?
i. We can’t park ………..the hotel car park.
6/ Complete the sentences using to, at, from, onto, on, off, into, in or out off.
a. I got …out of… the bath when the phone rang.
b. I forgot to send a birthday card ……….. Helen yesterday.

c. He was very tired when he got back ………… Australia.
d. We’re going to stay …….. a holiday apartment in Spain.
e. We stopped ………….. the traffic lights and the car broke down.
f. He took all the toys ……………the box and left them …………….. the floor.
g. Our friends met us …………..the airport when we arrived ………….Berlin.
h. He felt very hot and so he jumped ……………….the beautiful, clear water.
i. We took our lunch …………..the garden and ate it……………the grass.
j. When I arrived, I carried my heavy bag all the way …………the station …………..the
hotel.
k. I arrived ……………..work late this morning.
l. Why did you throw that ball ……….the roof?
m. All the books suddenly fell ……..the shelf.
n. It was a lovely morning so I walked ………..work.