Preposition + noun

Common patterns

There are many expressions formed by a preposition + noun, and sometimes a preposition is used
with a particular meaning in a number of expressions, so they are very common.

A book by Stephen King, a film by Steven Spielberg, a song by Elton John.

You can go for a walk, for a drive, for a run, for a swim.
You can go in the morning, in the afternoon, in the evening (but at night).
You can travel by car, by plane, by bus, by coach, by train, by taxi (but on foot).
I heard it on the radio; I saw it on TV; I spoke to her on the phone (but I read it in the newspaper, in
a magazine).
The man in the dark suit (=wearing the dark suit); the woman in the red dress.

Fixed expressions

Sometimes it is difficult to know why a particular preposition is used, and you must learn these as
fixed expressions.

I took his pen by mistake. (=I thought it was my pen)

I did all the work by myself. (=on my own; without help from others)
The shoes are made by hand. (=not by machine)
The workers are on strike. (=they refuse to work because of a problem over pay, hours...)
I met them by chance. (=it wasn’t planned – it was luck)
The children are on holiday.(=they are having a holiday)
He broke the plate by accident. (=he did not want to do it – it was an error/mistake)
He broke the plate on purpose. (=he wanted to do it and intended to do it)

In time or on time?

Sometimes two prepositions can be used with the same noun, but the meaning is different.

Lessons begin at 8.30 and I always arrive on time. (=at 8.30)

Lessons begin at 8.30 and I always get there in time. (=before 8.30; I’m not late)

In the end we went home. (=finally, after a long period)

At the end of the book they get married.

The two men are in business. (=they are businessmen)

The two men are in Germany on business. (=they are there for work and not for a holiday)

I’ll see you in a moment. (=very soon)

I can’t speak to you at the moment. (=right now)
I Complete these sentences with the correct preposition.

1. I saw it.........TV. 11. I went..........the afternoon.

2. They came........car.
3. They are all.........strike.
4. He is here..........business.
5. I did it.........my own.
6. It was written........Goethe.
7. We went......a walk.
8. I read it.........a magazine.
9. He’s.......holiday this week.
10. She took it........mistake.
12. He came.........foot.
13. The clothes are made........hand.
14. She broke it ..........accident.
15. He did it..........purpose.
16. I’ll see you.........a moment.
17. I’m very busy.......the moment.
18. It’s very quiet.........night.
19. We met.......chance.
20. She’s..............least 25 years old.

II Replace the underlined words with a suitable preposition phrase. Look at the example first.

Example: The meeting was planned for 11 a.m. and we got here at 11 a.m. on time

1. I wrote the reports without any help from anyone else.

2. Did you get to the cinema before the film started?
3. Thousands of people are without jobs in my town.
4. She’s making a phone call.
5. I saw the advertisement when I was watching TV last night.
6. He opened her letter because he thought it was addressed to him.
7. It was a very long journey but finally we got there.
8. He gets killed in the last scene of the film.
9. I’m afraid I’m very busy right now.
10. I saw her yesterday but I didn’t plan to see her.

III Respond to these questions with a negative answer and a suitable prepositional phrase.
Look at the example first.

Example: Was it the man wearing the blue shirt?

No, the man in the white shirt.

1. Did she hit him on purpose?

2. Did they go by car?

3. Are they here on holiday?

4. Did you read about the accident in the newspaper?

5. Did the others help him?

6. Do you want to sit down and have a rest?