Grammar: Prepositions

WHAT ARE PREPOSITIONS? What are prepositions? Prepositions are words that specify place, direction, and time. There are three types of prepositions. Time Prepositions - Time prepositions define time. Time prepositions - In - At - On For During - While Place Propositions - Place prepositions clarify the place someone or somebody. Place Prepositions - In - On -At Direction Prepositions - Direction prepositions are used to clarify the direction of someone or something. Examples: under, over, right, left etc. PREPOSITIONS How to use a preposition? The prepositions usually come before the noun. Prepositions can be used with all forms of nouns (e.g. collective nouns, pronouns etc). 3. Prepositions can't come after a verb, but can be used before a gerund or verb in noun form. 4. The rules above do not change and there are no exceptions to the rules.
1. 2.

PREPOSITION OF POSITION Prepositions of place are used to clarify a specific place. Place prepositions are used with all nouns. The preposition usually comes before the noun or the pronoun. The preposition never comes before a verb. Common Place Prepositions:

Aboard - She is aboard the boat. Above - The picture is above the sofa. Across - My house is across the street. Against - The desk is against the wall. Around - My house is around the block. At - Is your house at the end of the street. At the back of - We are going to sit at the back of the theater. At the bottom of - The coins are at the bottom of the lake. At the top of - The books are at the top of the shelves. Between - We sit between the two boys. Behind - The girls sit behind the two boys. Below - The desk is below the window By - The books are by the door. In - I live in the big green and white house.

Inside - I live inside the big green house. On the corner of - We live on the corner of 3rd avenue In the middle of - We live in the middle of the street. Near - I don't live near the supermarket. Next to - I live next to my best friend. To the left of - The blue box is to the left of the green box. To the right of - The orange box is to the right of the yellow box. On - The sun heater is on the top of the building. On the side of - There is a big sign on the side of the house. On top of - There is a man on the top of the roof. On the other side of - Do you see what is going on over there on the other side of the roof? Opposite - The post office is on the opposite side of the street. Outside - The car is outside the garage. Under - The blanket is under the bed in a box.. Underneath - The pen is underneath the box.

PREPOSITION OF TIME Time prepositions are used to define time. Prepositions usually come before a noun or pronoun. Prepositions never come after a verb.

After - I will be there after work. Around - We will be there around 3 PM Before - I will be there before I go to school. Between - I will be there By - I will be there by the time that you leave for work. During - I will be there during your class. For - I will be there for your birthday. Past - I wasn't there for the past 2 months. Since - I didn't see her since I was 10 years old. Until - I will not be home until 7:00 PM. Within - I will be there within 2 hours.

TIME PREPOSITION IN, ON AND AT Time prepositions are used to clarity what time an event happened or will happen. Time prepositions are used nouns and pronouns. Prepositions usually come before nouns or pronouns. Prepositions never come before a verb. At On In

a specific time days and dates

period of time - years, months, seasons

at 2:00

on my birthday

in a few days

at lunchtime

on the first day of in a couple of months the school year

at 4:00 AM

on 11/10/90

in the summer

IMPORTANT: In English we say:

In the morning -because it is considered a period of time In the afternoon In the evening At night -

Note: We say in the morning, in the afternoon, or in the evening BUT we say 'at night' PLACE PREPOSITION IN, ON AND AT What are place prepositions? Place prepositions, are prepositions that are used to describe the place or position of all types of nouns. It is common for the preposition to be placed before the noun. When we refer to Place prepositions we usually refer to "in", "at" and "on".

In - Is usually used to state that someone or something is in a (the boundaries can be physical or virtual place. On - Is usually used to state someone or something is on top of a surface. At - Is usually used to state something or someone is at a specific place.

At

On

In

a specific place a place that is physically on top of a place

a place that is enclosed or within boundaries

at the mall

on the table

in the city

at the table

on the floor

in the box

at work

on the wall

in the park

IMPORTANT: In English we say:

On the island In the city/country side In the mountains - except when you mean that something or someone is physically on the mountain. At the office

PREPOSITIONS FOR, DURING AND WHILE How are prepositions - for - while - during used? The 3 most common English prepositions that are used to represent time are: for - while during. For - The preposition "for" is used to express how long something or someone is doing something. "For" is used to state a period of time and is usually used with a noun/pronoun (or any other form of nouns) .

I have been riding my bicycle for 2 hours. The dog has been barking for a long time. The traffic has been bad for the last three days.

While - The preposition "while" is used to represent the length of time an action has been happening. "While" is used when speaking about 2 actions that are happing at the same time. The length of the action is not important. "While" is used with a subject and a verb.

While I was playing with my dog, my sister was doing her homework. While we are playing cards, the radio was playing. My mother doesn't like the T. V. on while we are eating dinner.

During -The preposition "during" is used to represent the length of time of an action that is while the action is happening. "During" is used with a noun/pronoun (or any other form of nouns).

I will be really busy during the week. The kids were sleeping during the party. The lights went out during the storm.