What are prepositions?
You must have read about prepositions in your previous classes. Do you remember their uses? Now, let's read the passage below and note the prepositions.
We and Our Environment
Our environment comes from water, air, animals, wastes, plants, and other things that surround us. The environment is a combination of many things. All the things in the environment relate with each other to give us what we need for survival. The environment is important and we should all aim to protect it by avoiding bad practices such as pollution, cutting down of trees and any other human activities that cause the degradation of the environment. Being aware of surroundings helps us take the right steps to protect it. As living things we interact with the environment and not just live in it. Natural disasters such as earthquakes, landslides, etc. affect the environment. The environment needs to be protected by all means and the right measures need to be taken to lessen the damage that natural disasters cause.
Read the following dialogue and notice the highlighted words. In pairs discuss which preposition is expressed by each of the underlined words.
A: Good morning! How are you today?
B: Good Morning! I am fine. How are you?
A: I am excellent today as I saw the sun rising in the morning.
B: Oh! I couldn't rise early but I felt sorry to see open dustbin at the corner of the road while I was coming over here.
A: That's really bad; open dustbins spread diseases in the air and when we inhale the air we feel sick.
B: Besides vehicles on the road cause environmental pollution.
A: The brick fields in the villages also cause pollution by emitting smoke.
B: What can we do about this environmental pollution?
A: We should be friendly with our environment.
B: Yes, we have to be careful to protect it. Thank you!
Now, let's read the following examples of prepositions to learn about various uses of prepositions in our daily conversations.
Prepositions of place
1. in, at, and on are the most common propositions of place. Words we use to say where something or someone is or where an action takes place :
I was in the kitchen when you phoned.
I'll be at home from seven this evening.
The keys are on the kitchen table.
2. Here are some more examples of prepositions of place.
I was outside the building.
I could see people inside it.
Your keys are under the table.
There were clouds above us.
A man in a suit was sitting next to/beside me and a girl was sitting opposite me.
There is a tree in front of the house.
The drummer was behind other musicians.
Look at the following examples:
1. We use in with streets, cities, districts and countries:
She lives in Eskaton/ in Dhaka/ in Bangladesh.
We use in the with regions (the north, etc.):
They live in the south of Spain.
We use at with addresses:
I live at 20, New Eskaton.
2. We use in the with rooms:
My mom is in the kitchen now.
We use in a/an /the/my, etc. with other enclosed places:
She gave me the Letter in an envelop.
My dresses are in the cupboard.
We use on the with surfaces:
There was dust on the floor.
The books are on the table.
We use on the second floor, etc. to talk about part of a building:
My flat is on the third floor.
3. We use at home, at work, at school, at university to talk about being in the place where we live, work, or study:
I was at work/at home yesterday.
Sabit is at school and he will be taking his exams soon.
But we say in hospital, in prison to talk about a patient or a prisoner in those places:
Fatema is very ill and she is in hospital.
1. We use at the to describe being in or using a building:
Some friends met me at the airport.
You can buy this at the super market.
Exercise A
Now let's read the following story where an office worker describes her working place. Complete her description by putting in the correct prepositions.
Where I work
I work Dhaka, which is a capital city of Bangladesh. It is the south of
Dhaka. The place where I work is the centre of the city. To be exact, it is I/New Baily Road. My office isthe 5th floor of a big ancient building. When I am work, I usually stay my office doing my work my desk.
Exercise B
Now, let's read the following description of a party to complete the passage by putting in the correct prepositions from the box below:
in front, under, inside, behind, near, above, outside, opposite,
The house I live in
I live in the New Market area Teachers' Training College. of it there is a government degree college. I live in a flat. There is a lot open space the the building, there is a prayer room. There is a shopping mall our building. Near the flat there is a commercial bank and a medicine store. You can see a big tree just our building and a tea stall it. We can see the sky our flat at night full of stars.
Now, we will learn different uses of prepositions. Read the following examples with your partner and try to find out the differences.
Prepositions of movement
1. Look at the sentences about movement:
He walked out of the house.
He got into his car.
He drove across the road.
He drove under a bridge.
He drove through a tunnel.
He drove along the motorway.
He drove up a hill.
He drove down the hill
He drove around the corner
He drove onto a ferry
He drove off the ferry
He drove towards the city.
2. We use these phrases to talk about transport and travelling:
by car/train/plane/boat/bus/taxi
I go to work by car.
We went home by bus.
on foot
We went to the nearby market on foot. in the/my, etc. car
We went to the station in our car. on my, etc. bike
He goes to work on his bike.
on the train/plane/bus/boat
She travelled to Chittagong on the train.
in a taxi
She went there in a taxi.
Exercise C
Read the following passage silently. A school boy is describing her journey from home every morning. Complete her description by putting in the correct prepositions. You may need to use the same preposition more than once.
My Journey to School
I live in a village named ChowkibariPabna district. It is the river Isamoti. My school is about three kilometres my home. I have to cross the river boat and walk all the way school. Most of my friends also go to school on foot me. Our school standsthe highway to Pabna. Our school building is two storied. I enter the schoolthe main gate. Our class is on the first floor.the holidays, we do not goschool and we either playthe village field or swim the river.
More examples of prepositions
In, with, by, without
1. Some example sentences with in, by, with and without.
• She goes to school inan uniform.
• A man with a beard came into the room.
• By studying hard, you can pass in the exams without failing.
We use in with clothes to describe what somebody is wearing:
• She went out in a saree.
• He went to the school in his new uniform.
We use with to talk about of a person's body or parts of an animal's body:
• She is a little girl with long hair and black eyes.
• A giraffe is an animal with a very long neck.
We use with to talk about part of an object or one thing that is included in something:
My father has got a suitcase with wheels.
The room is full of shelves with books in them.
We use with to talk about using something in order to do an action:
I cleaned my teeth with my new toothbrush.
I cleaned the floor with a piece of cloth.
1 We use by + ... ing to talk about how people do things, and actions that produce particular results:
You can change the temperature by turning this switch on.
2 We use without + ... ing to talk about not doing something. We often use without + ing to say that we are surprised that an action does not happen but we expect it to happen:
She left the house without closing the door. (= and she didn't close the door)
Exercise D
A teacher is giving instructions to a class about a trip to a museum the next day. Complete what the teacher says, using the correct prepositions.
1. Comeyour own lunch boxes.
2. I want you to get into the busmaking lot of noise.
3. We are going to see things in the museum a guide.
4. There will be a quiz 20 questions on them.
5. You will answer the questions finding the information in the museum.
6. answering all the questions correctly, you may win a prize.
Exercise E
Complete the rewritten facts about someone's job. Use in, with, by, or without as needed.
1. My brother has a very interesting job.
My brother is a person
2. When he goes to work, he wears a uniform.
He goes to work
3. He works for a company. It has about 50 employees.
He works for a company
4. He has an office. It has a view of the city.
He has an office
5. Sometimes he works all day and he doesn't stop for lunch.
Sometimes he works all day
6. My brother's job has a good salary.
My brother has a job
Prepositions of Time: at, in, on
We use:
at for a precise time | ||
in for months, years, centuries and long periods | ||
on for days and dates | ||
at | in | on |
(precise time) | (months, years, centuries and long periods) | (days and dates) |
at 3 0'clock | in May | on Sunday |
at 10.30 am | in summer | on Tuesdays |
at noon | in the morning | on 6 March |
at dinner time | in 1990 | on 25 December, 2010 |
at bed time | in the evening | on Eid Day |
at sunrise | in the next century | on Independence Day |
at night | in the Ice Age | on my birthday |
at the moment | in the past/future | on New Year's Eve |
Look at these examples:
• I have a meeting at 9 am.
• The shop closes at midnight.
• Jane went home at lunchtime.
• In England, it often snows in December.
• There would be a lot of progress in the next century.
• Do you work on Mondays?
• Her birthday is on 20 November.
• Where will you be on New Year's Day?
Notice the use of the preposition of time at in the following expressions:
Expression | Example |
at night | The stars shine at night. |
at the weekend | I don't usually work at the weekend. |
at Christmas/Easter | I stay with my family at Christmas. |
at the same time | We finished the test at the same time. |
at present | He's not home at present. |
Notice the use of the prepositions of time in and on in the following expressions:
in | on |
in the morning | on Tuesday morning |
in the mornings | on Saturday morning(s) |
in the afternoon (s) | on Sunday afternoon(s) |
in the evening (s) | on Monday evening(s) |
When we say last, next, every, this we do not use at, in, on.
• Father went to London last June. (not in last June)
• He's coming back next Tuesday. (not on next Tuesday)
• We go to our village every Eid . (not at every Eid)
• We'll call you this evening. (not in this evening)
