Time Prepositions

1. Jane is arriving on January 26 at 2 o'clock in the afternoon.

2. It snows here every year in December. We always go outside and play in the snow on Christmas day.
3. Michael is leaving on Friday at noon.
4. Frankie started working for her law firm in 1995.
5. Franklin began working on the project NO PREP yesterday.
6. Normally, on New Year's Eve, it's tradition to kiss the one you love at midnight.
7 Don't be ridiculous; there were no telephones in the seventeenth century! The telephone was invented in the 1870s.
8. The plane leaves NO PREP tomorrow morning at 8:00 AM.
9. The hills here are covered with wildflowers in early spring.
10. We met at the restaurant at 6:30 and stayed until 10:30.

1. She always gets up early in the morning, so she can make it to class on time.
2. I was sick, so I didn't go to work NO PREP last Thursday, but I did go to work on Friday.
3. Mary stopped talking in the middle of her story, and suddenly started to cry. I think we were all crying by the time she
finished telling us what had happened.
4. Late at night, you can here coyotes howling in the distance.
5. Just wait a second, I'll be there in a minute.
6. I need to give my parents a call. I haven't talked to them for over a month.
7. Barbara is going to start her new job NO PREP next September..
8. The professor said on the first day of the course that there would be a big final test at the end of the semester.
9. I have been sitting here for more than an hour. If they don't arrive in the next ten minutes, I'm leaving.
10. We were really worried at first because the banks were closed on Saturdays, so we couldn't exchange money. But in
the end, everything worked out because we were able to exchange money at the hotel.

Location Prepositions
1. We have DSL Internet access at work, but I don't have a high-speed connection at home.
2. The kids are learning about the Civil War in their history class at school.
3. Toby was in the hospital for two weeks after his motorcycle accident on the freeway.
4. Jane and Debbie saw dolphins in the ocean while they were having a picnic at the beach.
5. Fred loves to go camping in the desert, but Kyle prefers to camp in the mountains.
6. The conference was held at a ski resort in Telluride, a small town in southwest Colorado.
7. You can buy stamps at the post office on Delancy Street.
8. The old man who was standing at the corner yelled at the kids who were playing in the street.
9. While they were hiking on Ridgeback Mountain, Laurelle and Frank saw a bear in the woods.
10. They have a small house on a lake in the countryside. When I visit them, I always love to sit on the shore and watch
the kids swimming in the lake

1. You can buy your rail passes at the ticket counter in any train station in the country.
2. The brown bears found on Kodiak Island are the largest in the world.
3. There is no life on the moon, but there are many forms of life on the ocean floor.
4. She bought her wedding dress in an exclusive shop on Fifth Avenue.
5. Nathan was able to exchange money at the exchange counter in the airport.
6. If you want anything to eat, there is a freshly baked chocolate cake on the table in the kitchen and plenty of food in the
refrigerator.
7. While Shirley was in Tacy's department store at the mall, she ran into Evan and Lea in the furniture department.
8. While Dave was at the top of the Eiffel Tower, he could see several tourist boats on the Seine, the river that runs
through Paris.
9. I stood in line for thirty minutes at the ticket window in the movie theater to get tickets for the film.
10. Mike was sitting at his desk in his office at work when Bill called; Bill was in Asia on business.

Prepositions (in, on, at, to)

Rules for Prepositions IN, ON, AT, TO

Basic Rules

A. AT a time
B. ON a day
C. IN a month (season, year, decade, century)

D. AT an address
E. ON a street
F. IN an area (neighborhood, town, borough, state, country, continent, ocean,
the world, the solar system, the universe)

20 Special Rules for Prepositions IN, ON, AT, TO

 1. look AT and listen TO
2. TO with verbs of desire, necessity, expectation
love TO, like TO, hate TO, want TO, need TO, have TO, hope TO, expect TO
3. AT night
IN the morning, IN the afternoon, IN the evening
4. ON transportation
ON the bus, ON the train, ON the subway, ON a plane, ON a jet, ON a ship,
ON a bicycle, ON a motorcycle, ON a surfboard, ON a skateboard
BUT
IN a car, IN a taxi, IN a small boat, IN an elevator, IN a helicopter
5. AT an intersection (where two streets cross)
AT Broadway and 42nd Street, AT Fifth Avenue and 34th Street
6. ON an island, ON a farm, ON a college campus, ON earth, ON a planet
7. expressions that mean sometimes use different prepositions:
from time TO time, ON occasion, once IN a while
8. IN a park, IN a yard, AT a playground
9. ON anything flat
ON a plate, ON the wall, ON the floor, ON a shelf, ON the blackboard,
ON a table, ON a desk, ON the stove, ON your face, a hat ON your head
10. IN a room or anything smaller
IN the closet, IN a drawer, IN a cup, IN a bowl, IN a glass, IN your
mouth, ideas IN your head, a look IN your eye, a ribbon IN your hair
11. TO when moving from point A TO point B
go TO school, drive TO work, take a trip TO Boston, take your kids TO
school, fly TO London, walk TO the library, bring your dog TO the vet
12. ON a/an [adjective] morning, afternoon, evening, night, day
ON a cold afternoon, ON a sunny morning, ON a rainy evening,
ON a Saturday night, ON a spring day, ON a special night
13. ON vacation, ON the weekend, ON a trip, ON a picnic, ON your break,
ON a leave of absence, ON your lunch hour
14. IN the water swimming (or drowning), ON the water boating
15. AT the beach (the whole place), lie ON the beach (=ON the sand), play IN the sand
16. ON anything like a line
ON the coast, stand ON line, ON the border, ON the side, ON a team/committee
17. ON forms of communication
ON TV, ON the radio, ON the phone, ON the fax machine, ON the computer, ON
a disk, ON a CD, ON a hard drive, ON a channel, ON a screen
18. a report or news article ON the economy (ABOUT the economy)
19. ON time for an event or activity: Come to the meeting ON time. Be in class ON time.
20. IN time (or too late) TO do something: Get to the station IN time TO catch a train.

Rule
A preposition is followed by a "noun". It is never followed by a verb.

By "noun" we include:

 noun (dog, money, love)

 proper noun (name) (Bangkok, Mary)
 pronoun (you, him, us)
 noun group (my first job)
 gerund (swimming)

A preposition cannot be followed by a verb. If we want to follow a preposition by a verb, we must use the "-ing" form which is really
a gerund or verb in noun form.

Quick Quiz: In the following sentences, why is "to" followed by a verb? That should be impossible, according to the above rule:

 I would like to go now.

 She used to smoke.

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

 at 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 for 2 years

now)

 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)

 to / marking the beginning and end of a period from Monday to/till Friday
till / until of time

 till / in the sense of how long something is He is on holiday until Friday.

until going to last

 by in the sense of at the latest I will be back by 6 o’clock.

up to a certain time By 11 o'clock, I had read five pages.

Prepositions – Place (Position and Direction)

English Usage Example

 in 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 Usage Example

 at 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 at the cinema, at school, at work

typical (watch a film, study, work)

 on 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

by, next left or right of somebody or something Jane is standing by / next to / beside the
to, beside car.

 under on the ground, lower than (or covered by) the bag is under the table
something else

 below lower than something else but above the fish are below the surface
ground

 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 a path above the lake
directly over it

 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 drive through the tunnel
the sides

 to movement to person or building go to the cinema

movement to a place or country go to London / Ireland

for bed go to bed

 English Usage Example

 into enter a room / a building go into the kitchen / the house

towards movement in the direction of something go 5 steps towards the house

(but not directly to 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 by car, by bus

horseriding)

 at for age she learned Russian at 45

about for topics, meaning what about we were talking about you

above higher than sth. The picture hangs above my bed.

across from one side to the other side You mustn't go across this road here.
There isn't a bridge across the river.

after one follows the other The cat ran after the dog.
After you.
 English Usage Example

against directed towards sth. The bird flew against the window.

along in a line; from one point to another They're walking along the beach.

among in a group I like being among people.

around in a circular way We're sitting around the campfire.

behind at the back of Our house is behind the supermarket.

below lower than sth. Death Valley is 86 metres below sea level.

beside next to Our house is beside the supermarket.

between sth./sb. is on each side Our house is between the supermarket and the school.

by near He lives in the house by the river.

close to near Our house is close to the supermarket.

down from high to low He came down the hill.

from the place where it starts Do you come from Tokyo?

in front of the part that is in the direction it faces Our house is in front of the supermarket.

inside opposite of outside You shouldn't stay inside the castle.

into entering sth. You shouldn't go into the castle.

near close to Our house is near the supermarket.

next to beside Our house is next to the supermarket.

off away from sth. The cat jumped off the roof.

onto moving to a place The cat jumped onto the roof.

opposite on the other side Our house is opposite the supermarket.

out of leaving sth. The cat jumped out of the window.

outside opposite of inside Can you wait outside?

over above sth./sb. The cat jumped over the wall.

 English Usage Example

past going near sth./sb. Go past the post office.

round in a circle We're sitting round the campfire.

through going from one point to the other point You shouldn't walk through the forest.

to towards sth./sb. I like going to Australia.

Can you come to me?

I've never been to Africa.

towards in the direction of sth. We ran towards the castle.

under below sth. The cat is under the table.

up from low to high He went up the hill.