Prepositions
Prepositions are short words (on, in, to) that usually stand in front of
nouns (sometimes also in front of gerund verbs).
Even advanced learners of English find prepositions difficult, as a 1:1
translation is usually not possible. One preposition in your native language
might have several translations depending on the situation.
There are hardly any rules as to when to use which preposition. The only
way to learn prepositions is looking them up in a dictionary, reading a lot in English (literature) and learning useful phrases off by heart (study
tips).
The following table contains rules for some of the most frequently used
prepositions in English:
Prepositions – Time
English
|
Usage
|
Example
|
|
|
|
|
- months
/ seasons
- time
of day
- year
- after a certain period of time (when?)
|
- in
August / in winter
- in
the morning
- in
2006
- in
an hour
|
|
- for
night
- for
weekend
- a certain point of time (when?)
|
- at
night
- at
the weekend
- at
half past nine
|
|
- from a certain point of time (past till now)
|
|
|
- over a certain period of time (past till
now)
|
|
|
- a certain time in the past
|
|
|
- earlier than a certain point of time
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
- marking the beginning and end of a period of
time
|
- from Monday to/till Friday
|
|
- in the sense of how long something is
going to last
|
- He is on holiday until Friday.
|
|
- in the sense of at the latest
- up to a certain time
|
- I will be back by 6 o’clock.
- By 11 o'clock, I had read five pages.
|
Prepositions – Place (Position
and Direction) Giving directions
English
|
Usage
|
Example
|
|
- room,
building, street, town, country
- book,
paper etc.
- car,
taxi
- picture,
world
|
- in
the kitchen, in London
- in
the book
- in the car, in a taxi
- in the picture, in the world
|
|
- meaning next to, by an object
- for
table
- for
events
- place where you are to do something typical
(watch a film, study, work)
|
- at the door, at the station
- at
the table
- at a concert, at the party
- at the cinema, at school, at work
|
|
- attached
- for a place with a river
- being
on a surface
- for a certain side (left, right)
- for a floor in a house
- for
public transport
- for
television, radio
|
- the
picture on the wall
- London lies on the Thames.
- on
the table
- on
the left
- on
the first floor
- on the bus, on a plane
- on TV, on the radio
|
|
- left or right of somebody or something
|
- Jane is standing by / next to /
beside the car.
|
|
- on the ground, lower than (or covered by)
something else
|
- the bag is under the table
|
|
- lower than something else but above ground
|
- the fish are below the surface
|
|
- covered
by something else
- meaning
more than
- getting to the other side (also across)
- overcoming
an obstacle
|
- put a jacket over your shirt
- over
16 years of age
- walk
over the bridge
- climb
over the wall
|
|
- higher than something else, but not directly
over it
|
|
|
- getting to the other side (also over)
- getting to the other side
|
- walk
across the bridge
- swim
across the lake
|
|
- something with limits on top, bottom and the
sides
|
|
|
- movement
to person or building
- movement to a place or country
- for
bed
|
- go
to the cinema
- go
to London / Ireland
- go
to bed
|
|
- enter a room / a building
|
- go into the kitchen / the house
|
|
- movement in the direction of something (but
not directly to it)
|
- go 5 steps towards the house
|
|
- movement to the top of something
|
|
|
- in the sense of where from
|
|
Other important Prepositions
English
|
Usage
|
Example
|
|
|
|
|
- who/what does it belong to
- what
does it show
|
- a
page of the book
- the picture of a palace
|
|
|
|
|
- walking
or riding on horseback
- entering a public transport vehicle
|
- on
foot, on horseback
- get
on the bus
|
|
|
|
|
- leaving a public transport vehicle
|
|
|
|
|
|
- rise
or fall of something
- travelling (other than walking or
horseriding)
|
- prices
have risen by 10 percent
- by
car, by bus
|
|
|
- she
learned Russian at 45
|
|
- for topics, meaning what about
|
- we were talking about you
|
No hay comentarios:
Publicar un comentario