Prepositions

Prepositions

Study the following slides

What is a Preposition?

Prepositions indicate relationships between other words in a sentence. Many prepositions tell you where something is or when something happened.

Most prepositions have several definitions, so the meaning changes quite a bit in different contexts.

Ending a sentence with a preposition is not a grammatical error.

Prepositions are usually not followed by verbs.

In the following sentences, why is the preposition "to" followed by a verb? That should be impossible, according to the rule that you have just read.

I would like to go now. She used to smoke.

The answer is that in "I would like to go now" and "She used to smoke", the word "to" is not a preposition. It is part of the infinitive ("to go", "to smoke").

Types of Prepositions

Watch and study the video

Prepositions of Direction: To, On (to), In (to)

With some verbs (e.g. put, fall, jump, dive) we can use either in or into with no difference in meaning:

In, into position and direction

We use "in" to talk about where something is in relation to a larger area around it:

Where’s Jane?

She’s in the garden.

I’ve left my keys in the car.

INTO: Movement of something

We use into to talk about the movement of something, usually with a verb that expresses movement (e.g. go, come). It shows where something is or was going:

A:

Where’s Jane?

B:

She’s gone into the house.

Helen came into the room.

"to" is indicating a direction or toward something or a place or a point.

"into" is indicating the inside of something.

INTO: Enthusiasm, Change into

into: enthusiasm, interest

We use to be into to express enthusiasm or strong interest in something:

He’s really into his work.

I’m into classical music and Thai food.

Change into, turn into

We use into after verbs describing change:

We’ve translated the course into six different languages.

She changed into her swimming costume and went for a swim.

They divided the cake into four pieces.

Not: They divided the cake in four pieces.

Multiple Select

The dog jumped ______ the lake.

• on

• to

• in

• into

Multiple Select

Thomas fell _________ the floor.

• to

• in/into

• on/onto

• into

Multiple Select

The plane landed _____ the runway.

• in

• into

• on

• at

Multiple Select

We cried to the man on the ladder, "Hang ___!"

• in

• on

Multiple Select

The kids climbed_____ the monkey bars.

• toward

• in/into

• on/onto

Multiple Select

Are the boys still swimming ____ the pool?

• on

• in

• at

• by

Prepositions of time and place (in, on, at)

Watch the short video, pay attention to the use of prepositions.

Multiple Select

Mozart was born______Salzburg _______ 1756.

• at, in

• in, on

• in, in

• on, on

Multiple Select

It starts _______ Tuesday.

• in

• on

• at

• by

Multiple Select

The course begins _______ February 18th.

• on

• in

• at

Multiple Select

We travelled overnight and arrived _______ Paris _______ 5:00 _______ the morning.

• on, at, in

• at, at, in

• in, on, in

• in, at, in

Multiple Select

My brother lives _______ a small town _______ the southeast of England.

• on, on

• on, at

• on, on

• in, in

Multiple Select

_______ Saturday night I went to bed _______ 11:00

• on, in

• on, at

• in, on

• on, on

Multiple Select

You’ll find the sports results _______ the back page.

• in

• on

• at

Take a piece of paper and try to fill in the gaps with the correct prepositions.

Listen to the exercise. Check your answers.

149 exercise.mp3 - Google Drive

You can open this webpage in a new tab.

Copy link

Open in new tab

Open Ended

1.How many prepositions have you filled in correctly?

Write the number e.g. 20/26

2. Are you more familiar with the use of prepositions "in, at, on" now?

Prepositions in context. Advanced use. Live worksheets.

If you need more practice, click on the link

https://www.liveworksheets.com/cx12611un