PREPOSITIONS

prepositions in english
What is a preposition for ?
V + PREP. + N
You can rely on that girl.
ADJ. + PREP. + N
Chinese is different from English.
N + PREP. + N
A girl with long hair asked you.
PREP. + (THE) + N (adverbials)
We learn English in the evening.
EXCEPTION & ADDITION
1.EXCEPT ( FOR) + N
2. EXCEPT FOR + N ( NOT COMPLETELY TRUE)
3. EXCEPT + PREP.
+ TO V
+ V
+ (THAT) CLAUSE
4. BESIDES + N (AS WELL AS, IN ADDITION TO )
EXCEPT (FOR) ( WITH THE EXCEPTION)
5. APART FROM = EXCEPT ( FOR)
= BESIDES
6. BUT = EXCEPT (FOR) Negative words (no, nobody, nothing ) + but…..
7. BUT FOR + N = IF3
EXCEPT (FOR), BESIDES, APART FROM, BUT FOR
We use except or except for to introduce the only thing (or things) or person (or people) that the main part of the sentence does not include:
• I had no money to give him except (for) the few coins in my pocket.
• The price of the holiday includes all meals except (for) lunch.
• Everyone seemed to have been invited except (for) Mrs Woodford and me.
However, we use except for rather than except to show that a general statement made in the main part of the sentence is not completely true:
• The car was undamaged in the accident, except for a broken headlight.
• The room was completely dark except for light coming under the door.
Except for the weather, the holiday couldn`t have been better.
We use except, not except for, before prepositions, to-infinitives, bare infinitives, and that clauses ,although the word that may be left out .
• There is likely to be rain everywhere today except in Scotland.
• I rarely need to go into the city except to do some shopping.
• There is nothing more the doctor can do except keep an eye on him.
• They look just like the real thing, except (that) they are made of plastic. Compare except (for) and besides in these sentences:
"I don`t enjoy watching any sports except (for) cricket, (= I enjoy only cricket)
Besides cricket, I enjoy watching football and basketball. {= I enjoy three sports)
• I haven`t read anything written by her, except (for) one of her short stories.
• Besides her novels and poems, she published a number of short stories. We use except (for) to mean `with the exception of, but we use besides to mean `as well as` or `in addition to`.
We can use apart from instead of except (for) and besides:
• I don`t enjoy watching any sports apart from cricket. (= except for)
• Apart from cricket, I enjoy watching football and basketball. (= besides, as well as)
We can use but with a similar meaning to except (for), particularly after negative words such as no, nobody, and nothing:
• Immediately after the operation he could see nothing but / except (for) / apart from vague shadows.
• There was no way out but / except / apart from this one.
But for has a different meaning from except for- When we use but for we introduce a negative idea, saying what might have happened if other things had not happened:
• The country would now be self-sufficient in food but for the drought last year. (= if it hadn`t been for the drought…)

About and on
We can use about and on to mean `concerning` or `on the subject of.
We use about, not on after the verbs argue, complain, find out, joke, know, protest, quarrel,
read, teach (someone), tell (someone), worry; ask, enquire/inquire, learn, think , agree, hear, laugh , care, wonder, and after the
nouns argument, chat, fuss, joke, letter, misunderstanding, quarrel;
• I didn`t find out about Sara`s illness until my brother phoned me.
• Misunderstanding about the cause of malaria is common.
• We use on, not about, after the verbs comment, concentrate, focus, insist, reflect (= think):
• I found it difficult to concentrate on my homework with the football on TV.
• They insisted on seeing my passport, even though I was nowhere near the border,
After some other verbs and nouns we can use either about or on. These include the verbs advise, agree, decide, disagree, lecture, speak, speculate, talk, write, and the nouns advice, agreement, book/article/paper, consultation, decision, idea, information, lecture, opinion, question:
• The press is starting to speculate about/on whether the minister can survive this time.
• There is little agreement about/on what caused the building to collapse.
When we refer to formal or academic speech or writing, after the verbs and nouns in B we can use either about or on. However, we prefer about when we refer to more informal speech or writing. Compare:
• She spoke on the recent advances in teaching reading, (this suggests a formal speech such a;
a lecture; or ...spoke about...) and
• Jim and Anita seemed surprised when I spoke about buying their car. (this suggests an informal conversation; not spoke on.)
• We`ve been asked co study a book on the history of Norway, (or ...a book about...) and
• It`s a book about three men and their dog on a boating holiday, (not ...a book on...)
By and with
We can use by and with to talk about how something is done. We use by (followed by a noun or -ing) when we talk about what action we take to do something; we use with (followed by a noun) when we talk about what we use to do something:
• He only avoided the children by braking hard and swerving to the right.
• She succeeded by sheer willpower.
• I didn`t have a bottle opener, so I had to open it with a screwdriver.
• I cold him that he couldn`t hope to catch a big fish with a small rod like that
We use by in certain common phrases:
• I turned the computer off by mistake and lost all my work. Other phrases like this include by accident; by phone; by bus/car, etc.; by air/road/rail/ land/sea; by cheque / credit card; by degrees/stages; by heart; by force; by hand; by post/fax/ e-mail (or E-mail).
However, if there is a determiner before the noun (e.g. a(n), the, this, that, my, her) or if the noun is plural, we use a preposition other than by. For example:
• I ordered it on the phone- • I learnt about it in an email from my boss.
• She turned up in her new car. • I never travel on buses.
PRACTICE
1. The beaches don’t have golden sand except in Nha Trang.
2. I eat everything except (for) lamb.
3. My father speaks French besides English.
4. She could do nothing except cry.
Prepositions of time
At + hour/ moment
At 7 o’clock - at 4 p.m.
At noon, at midday, at midnight
At the end of the month
On + weekdays/ days of month
On Monday, on Saturday evening
On the first of May = On May 1st
On the occasion of…..
In + parts of the day/ months /seasons /years/ centuries
In the morning, in June, in winter. In 1975, in the 21 st
Prepositions of time
By = at about
During
Before
After
Until = till
Since
For
Over
Throughout
At, in, on
I/ If necessary, correct these sentences with at, in or on, or put a ?
1 She`s going home to Australia on Christmas.
2 The exhibition opens in Berlin at the end of May.
3 Northern Sweden is beautiful, but I wouldn`t go at the middle of January.
4 If she gets really feverish at the night, give her two of these tablets.
5 The baby is due to be born on Christmas Eve.
6 By then it was about three in the morning and I felt very tired.
7 He would always arrive around ten in night carrying his suitcase and a bunch of flowers.
8 The survivors were eventually found in the morning of Friday, 21st January.

Complete these sentences with at, in or on and the most likely of these words and phrases.
the week before Christmas midnight lunch the 4th July half an hour a moment
1 I was talking so much ............................... that my food went cold.
2 It shouldn`t take long to repair your watch. Come back ..................... and I`ll have it ready for you.
3 I was very busy at work and I ended up buying all my presents ......................
4 It`s a holiday in the USA ......................
5 She put her head on the pillow, closed her eyes and ..................... was fast asleep.
6 The children were still running around the streets...................... when they should have been in bed.
at lunch
in half an hour
in the week before Christmas
on the 4th July
in a moment
at midnight
Put at, in, on or -if no preposition is needed.
1 A: `What arc you doing ........ Easter?`
B: `We haven`t decided yet.`
2 It`s traditional here to celebrate ........ the first day of spring.
3 A woman sitting next to me ........ dinner spilt her drink all over me.
4 Chan took power in a military coup ........ the beginning of the decade.
5 She held the world record for seven years ........ the 1970s.
6 ........ his arrival in Thailand, Mr Surat fell ill and spent the next five weeks in hospital.
7 I was woken up ........ the middle of the night by a helicopter going overhead.
8 I had to get up........ the night to close the window.
9 We meet ........ every Saturday afternoon to go shopping.

at
on
at
at
in
On
in
in
-
10 He had to leave ........ ....a quarter to six this morning to catch the train.
11 I`m afraid she`s left now, but you`ll be able to see her........ the day after tomorrow.
12 Don`t worry, the exam will be over ........ a couple of hours.
13 These pink roses have a beautiful smell which becomes stronger........ the evening.
14 The programme was shown on television ........ one afternoon last week.
15 He painted the whole house ........ only three days.
16 We all met ........ Easter Day and went for a long walk across the hills.
17 I generally get my salary ........ the fifth of the month.
18 Until I changed my job, I used to lie awake ........ night worrying about work.


at
-
in
in
-
in
on
on
at
During,for,in,over,throughout,by
until
Underline the correct word(s). In some sentences, both words are possible.
1 I wasn`t late once during/in my first year at school.
2 She got very badly sunburnt during/over her holiday in Spain.
3 You mustn`t look directly at the sun during/in the eclipse.
4 During/Over the next two days I made several trips to the library.
5 The castle was built during/over the fourteenth century.
6 Mrs Peterson made a number of major changes during/in her time as principal of the school.
7 They sat and rested during/for a while and then continued on their way.
8 Dr Brown won`t be available during/over the coming months.

9 Because she had to go back to work, she could only stay during/for two weeks.
10 She is going to need a lot of support during/over the next few months.
11 He slept during/in the whole of the second half of the performance.
12 During/For a moment I didn`t know whether he was being serious.
13 I visited most of the main museums and art galleries during/for my stay in Italy.
14 She suffered a number of serious injuries during/in her career as a professional tennis player.
15 He listened to the lecture during/for a few minutes more and then left the room quietly.
16 I seem to get lots of colds, particularly during/for the winter.
17 We should be at home during/over the weekend. Come and see us.

Choose by or until to complete these sentences.
1 a I`ve given myself............... the end of September to finish the book.`
b The publishers have told me I have to finish the book ............... the end of September.
2 a ............. three o`clock I was exhausted, but the party was still going on.
b The party went on ............... after three o`clock.
3 a You have to hand in your projects ...............October.
b Students have ............... October to hand in their projects.
4 a The exhibition is open ............... June 6th, when it moves on to New York.
b ............... June 6th, when the exhibition moves on to New York, some half a million people will have visited it.
5 a You have to bring my car back ............... the end of the month.
b You can borrow my car ............... the end of the month.
6 a I waited ............... 9 o`clock, and then I went home.
b ............... 9 o`clock everybody had gone home.









until
by
By
until
by
until
until
By
by
until
until
By