PREPOSITIONS

Prepositions

Prepositions are words which are used to describe a relationship between other words in a sentence. There are approximately 80 to 100 prepositions in English language.

Understanding the uses of common prepositions

1.   Prepositions of time.

We use “at, on, and in” in the following ways:

At; Use “at”

i.             + a time of the day (clock time, meal time). Examples:

v  At 9 o`clock

v  At 7:00

v  At lunch/lunchtime

v  At midnight

v  At that time

v  At the moment

ii.            + Two or three days

v  At the weekend

v  At Christmas

v  At Easter

On: Use “on”

i.             + a day, part of the day or a date

v  On Monday

v  On Christmas Day

v  On New Years` Day

v  On 15^th June

v  On that day

v  On Saturday morning

v  On Sunday afternoon

v  On Tuesday night

In: Use “in”

i.             + A year/month/season

v  In 2002

v  In April

v  In winter

ii.            + A part of the day

v  In the morning

v  In the afternoon

But: at night

 Remember:

We do not use “at, on or in” before next, last, this, every, tomorrow and yesterday. Example:

      I will see him next Saturday (not: on next Saturday)

      Let`s go to the beach this evening

      We went to Faqiih last weekend

      She phoned me yesterday morning

2.   Prepositions of place

“in”

i.             Use “in” when you think of a place as an area.

v  They are sitting in the garden

v  He has built a flat in Mumbai.

ii.            Use “at” when you think of a place as a point

v  Shall I meet you at the station?

v  We waited at the bus stop for ages

v  Turn left at the traffic lights

iii.          Use “at” to talk about events or group activities

v  There were a lot of people at the meeting

v  I met him at the party

v  See you at the match

iv.           Use “at” + building when you are talking about the normal purpose of the building.

v  We were at the cinema last night

v  I bought it at the supermarket

v.             Use ‘at” for a person`s house or flat. But, use “in” when you mean inside the building (or somebody`s house). Examples:

v  I had a cup of tea at Anne`s house

v  It is hot in the cinema

v  The rooms in Anne`s house are very small.

Note

      Use “in the corner” when you talk about a room.

a)    She put the stool in the corner of the room

      Use “at the corner” or “on the corner” when you talk about streets.

a)      There is a public telephone at/on the corner of the street.

      Use “on” and “at” for page numbers as the following examples:

a)      The information is on page 54

b)      Open the book at page 12

Note the following:

i.                    On television ( he is watching the news on TV)

ii.                  On channel 12 (the programme is on channel 6)

iii.                On the radio

iv.                On the phone (I talked to him on the phone)

v.                  On CD –ROM (the dictionary is available on CD-ROM)

vi.                At the top/bottom of (a hill). But: On top of (a hill)

vii.              On the farm

viii.            At the seaside

ix.                In a queue/ line raw

x.                  On the right /left (you must drive on the left)

xi.                In the front /in the back of as car  (but) at the front/at the back of a building

xii.              On the back of an envelope/a letter/ a piece of paper.

“On”

i.             Use “on” when you think of a place as a surface

v  I sat down on the sofa

v  The newspaper is on the table

ii.            Use on for the number of the floor

a)      He lives on the second floor.

iii.          Also, use “on” when you are thinking of a place as a line

v  Aisha is on the Nile river

v  The house is right on the main road, so it is a bit noisy

Remember:

      With cities, towns and villages:

Use “at” when you think of the place as a point on a journey. And Use “in” when you think of a place itself

v  Does the train stop at Tazara?

v  He has got a flat in Tazara.

      Use “arrive + in” with countries, cities and towns. And Use “arrive + at” with other places.

v  We arrived in Dar es Salaam last Monday

v  We arrived at the station very early

“In”

Use ‘in” to talk about a road or street. But when you talk about an exact address (when we give the house number) use ‘at”.

v  I live in Karume Street.

v  I live at 76 Karume Street

3.   Prepositions of travel

      Use by + noun to say how somebody travels (do not use the / a)

a)      Did you come by train or bus

Say:

By bike, by car/road, by tax, by bus, by train/rail, by ship/boat, by sea, by plane/air

      Don’t use “by” when you talk about a specific bike, car etc.

a)      I`ll go on my bike (not: by my bike)

b)      He came in Mr. Verma`s car. (not by Mr Verma`s car)

      Say on foot (= walking) not by foot)

v  Qulthum goes to school on foot

      At the beginning of a journey, say; “in” or “into” cars, taxis, Lorries, and vans. And at the end of a journey, use getting “out of” them.

      When you talk about (motor) bikes, trains, ship, boats, and plane use “on”, “into”, and “off”.

a)      The passengers got into the car

b)      We paid the driver and got out of the taxi

c)      It was difficult for her to get on the bus

d)     He jumped into the train

e)      I have to get off the bys at the next stop.

f)       We will be getting off the train in ten minutes