I. PREPOSITION OF PLACE: AT, IN, ON
In general, we use:
AT for a POINT
IN for an ENCLOSED SPACE.
ON for a SURFACE
AT IN ON
At the corner In the garden On the wall
At the bus stop In London On the ceiling
At the door In France On the door
At the top of the page In a box On the second floor
At the end of the road In my pocket On a page
At the entrance In a building On the carpet
At the crossroads In a car On the menu
Some other expressions:
AT IN ON
At home In a car On a bus
At work In a taxi On a train
At school In a helicopter On a plane
At university In a boat On a ship
At college In a lift (elevator) On a bicycle, on a motorbike
At the top In the newspaper On a horse, on an elephant
At the bottom In the sky On the radio, on television
At the side In a row On the left, on the right
At reception In the Street On the way
*** Other prepositions of place: under, over, between, among, in front of, behind, next
to, near, below, above, opposite.
II. PREPOSITION OF TIME: AT , IN, ON
We use:
AT for a PRECISE TIME
IN for MONTHS, YEARS, CENTURIES, and LONG PERIODS
ON for DAYS and DATES.
AT IN ON
At 3 o’clock In May-month On Sunday (morning)
At 10.30 am In summer-season On Tuesdays
At noon In the summer On 6 March
At dinnertime In 1991-year On 25 Dec, 2002
At bedtime In the 1990s -decade On Christmas Day
At sunrise In the next century On Independence Day
At sunset In the Ice Age On my birthday
At the moment In the past/ future On New Year’s Eve
Some other expressions:
AT IN ON
At night In the morning(s) On Tuesday morning
At the weekend In the afternoon(s) On Saturday mornings
At Christmas/ Easter In the evening(s) On Sunday afternoons
At the same time On Monday evening
At present
NOTE: When we say last, next, every, this ; we do not use AT, ON, IN.
I went to London last June (not in last June).
He’s coming back next Tuesday (not on next Tuesday)
**** Other prepositions of time: since, until/till, by, from....to/ until
I haven’t seen you since last weekend.
We have been waiting for them for 2 hours.
She will stay until they come back.
III. PREPOSITIONS OF MOVEMENT
TO: To show where we go: I go to school everyday.
TOWARDS: We are going in that direction. She walked towards the man to get
his name.
FROM: the point where we start. She walks home from school everyday.
ROUND/ AROUND: circular movement. Linh ran around the tree.
BETWEEN: describe a route. That train travels between Ha Noi and HCMC.
INTO: go from outside to a place inside. The frog jumped into the water from a
tree.
OUT OF: opposite of INTO. She walked out of the classroom.
ON/ ONTO: movement starting from below and ending on the top of something.
He jumped onto my chair
OFF: opposite of ON/ ONTO. Hong was sleeping and fell off the chair.
UP/ DOWN He ran up and down the stairs because he was in a hurry.
IV. ADJ + PREP
OF WITH AT/ BY ABOUT AT FOR TO
Nice, kind, good,
generous, stupid,
silly, intelligent,
sensible,
(im)possible, rude,
afraid, frightened,
scared, jealous,
envious, suspicious,
proud, ashamed,
aware, conscious,
fond
Angry,
delighted,
pleased,
satisfied,
disappointe
d, bored,
fed up
Crowded
Amazed,
shocked,
surprised,
astonished
Excited,
worried,
upset,
sorry,
crazy
Good,
bad,
excellent
brilliant
Sorry,
Famous,
Responsible
Nice,
kind,
good,
polite,
rude,
friendly,
married,
engaged
V. VERB + PREP
Apologize TO Belong TO Take care OF
Concentrate ON Look AT Suffer FROM
VI. VERB + OBJECT + PREP
prefer someone/ something to
someone/something
provide someone with something
provide something to someone
spend (money) on something
protect someone from something
explain something to someone
congratulate someone on
something
remind someone of something
ask someone for something
borrow something from someone
throw something to someone
V. NOUN + PREP
A reason FOR
A rise/ an increase/ a fall IN
Advantage/disadvantage OF
A reaction/solution/attitude TO;
Cause OF...
VI. PREP + NOUN
IN/ON time
ON a diet/ vacation/business/a trip/ an expedition
BY mistake/ accident/ chance
IN cash/ opinion...
PRACTICE
A. At, on, in for time
I. Complete the sentences. Each time use at, in, on + one of the
following:
the evening about 20 minutes 1492 Sundays
the Middle Ages 11 seconds the moment July 21, 1969
night the 1920s the same time
1. Columbus made his first voyage from Europe to America ……………………
2. Most people in the US do not work ……………………
3. If the sky is clear, you can see the stars ……………………
4. After working hard during the day, I like to relax ……………………
5. The first man walked on the moon ……………………
6. It’s difficult to listen if everyone is speaking ……………………
7. Jazz became popular in the US ……………………
8. I’m going out to the store. I’ll be back ……………………
9. (on the phone) “Can I speak to Chris?” “I’m sorry, he’s not here
……………………”
10. Many of Europe’s great cathedrals were built ……………………
11. Bob is a very fast runner. He can run 100 meters ……………………
II. Put in at, on or in
1. Mozart was born ………… 1756.
2. “Have you seen Kate recently?” “Yes, I saw her ………… Tuesday”
3. The price of electricity is going up ………… October.
4. I’ve been invited to a wedding ………… February 14 th .
5. Hurry up! We’ve got to go ………… 5 minutes.
6. I’m busy now, but I’ll be with you …………a moment.
7. Jenny’s brother is an engineer, but he’s out of work ………… the moment.
8. There are usually a lot of parties ………… New Year’s Eve.
9. I hope the weather will be nice ………… the weekend.
10. ………… on Saturday night I went the bed ………… 11:00.
11. I don’t like driving ………… night.
12. We traveled overnight to Paris and arrived ………… 5:00 ………… the
morning.
13. The course begins ………… January 7 th and ends sometime ………… April.
14. It was a short book and easy to read. I read it …………a day.
15. I might not be at home ………… Tuesday morning, but I’ll be there …………
the afternoon.
16. The telephone and the doorbell rang ………… the same time.
17. Mary and Henry always go out for dinner ………… on their anniversary.
18. Henry is 63. He’ll be retiring from his job ………… in two years’ time.
B. At, in, on for place
III. Complete the sentences. Use at, in, on + one of the following:
the window your coffee the mountains that tree
my guitar the river the island the next gas station
1. Look at those people swimming ………………………
2. One of the strings ………………………is broken.
3. There’s something wrong with the car. We’d better stop ………………………
4. Would you like sugar ………………………?
5. The leaves ……………………… have a beautiful color.
6. last year we had a wonderful ski trip ………………………
7. There’s nobody living ………………………. It’s uninhabited.
8. He spends most of the day sitting ……………………… and looking outside.
IV. Complete the sentences with in, at or on
1. There was a long line of people …………… the bus stop.
2. I like that picture hanging …………… the wall …………… the kitchen.
3. There was an accident …………… the intersection this morning.
4. I wasn’t sure if I had come to the right office. There was no name ……… the
door.
5. Look at those beautiful horses …………… that field!
6. You’ll find the sports results …………… the back page of the newspaper.
7. I wouldn’t like a job in an office. I couldn’t spend the whole day sitting …… a
desk.
8. What’s the tallest building …………… the world?
9. The man the police are looking for has a scar …………… his right cheek.
10. The main office of the company is …………… Tokyo.
11. Maria was wearing a silver ring …………… her little finger.
12. If you walk to the end of the block, you’ll see a small store …………… the
corner.
13. My office is ………… the 2 nd floor. It’s …… the left as you come out of the
elevator.
14. You will find the page number …………… the bottom of the page.
15. I usually buy a newspaper …………… the way to work in the morning.
16. Paris is …………… the Seine River.
17. Tom is sick. He isn’t ………… work today. He’s ………… home ……………
bed.
18. Paul lives …………… Boston. He’s a student …………… Boston University.
C. Other prepositions
V. Complete these sentences with prepositions (if necessary)
1. It gets very cold …………winter.
2. I had lost my key, but I managed to climb …………… the house through the
window.
3.Welcome …………… Morgan Hotel. We hope you enjoy your stay here.
4. I met Kate …………… my way …………… home.
5. The Thames River flows …………… the Atlantic Ocean.
6. Have you ever been …………… China?
7. Goodbye! I'll see you ………… the morning.
8. Were you ………… Tom's party last night?
9. I'll see you ………… two weeks time.
10. Who is the man standing …………… the window?
11. The doctor will see you …………10:00am.
12. …………the age of ten I wanted to be a firefighter.
13. My wife gave me a wonderful present ………… my birthday.
14. The coffee is ………… the shelf.
15. There was a small table ………… the bed ………… a lamp and a clock
………… it.
16. He jumped …………… the wall and broke his leg.
17. He threw his books …………… the bin.
18. ………… my opinion you should buy the blue shirt.
19. ………… second thought, the green shirt is nicer.
20. He took all the toys …………… the box and left them …………… the floor.
21. I'll be taking my holiday …………Christmas this year.
22. Buy some bread and milk ………… your way home.
23. What will you be doing ………… New Year's Eve?
24. …………the end of a course students usually have a party.
25. The black bear suddenly appeared from …………… the tent.
26. The winter snow was …………… 16 feet deep in places.
27. Mount Rainer towers nearly three miles …………… sea level.
28. We got up ………… dawn today.