While teaching ESL at Urban Learning Canada, one of the most common errors students make is with prepositions.
A preposition links nouns, pronouns and phrases to other words in a sentence. The word or phrase that the preposition introduces is called the object of the preposition.
Here is a sample of the ULC grammar material that can help students correct preposition mistakes.
Prepositions with Position
A) In
in a room / in a building in the water in a row / in a line
in a garden / in a park in the ocean
in a town / in a country in a river
• There’s no one in the room / in the building / in the store.
• The children are playing in the garden / in the park.
• When we were in Italy, we spent a few days in Venice.
• Robert lives in a small village in the mountains.
• She keeps her money in her bag / in her purse.
• What do you have in your hand / in your mouth?
• Look at that girl swimming in the water / in the ocean / in the river.
• When I go to the movies, I prefer to sit in the front row.
• Have you read this article in the newspaper?
• Who is the woman in that photograph?
• It was a beautiful day. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky.
B) At
at the bus stop at the top of at the end of the street
at the door at the bottom of
at the window
• Who is that man standing at the bus stop / at the window / at the door?
• Turn left at the traffic light.
• If you leave the hotel, please leave your keys at the front desk.
• Write your name at the top / at the bottom of the page.
• Jack’s house is the white one at the end of the street.
D) On
• Don’t sit on the floor / on the ground / on the grass!
• There’s a butterfly on the wall / on the ceiling / on your nose.
• Have you seen the notice on the bulletin board?
• The book you are looking for is on the top shelf / on the table.
• There’s an interesting article on page 7 of the newspaper.
We also say:
• In Japan people drive on the left. (or….on the left-hand side)
• ULC is on the seventh floor of the building.
We also say that a place is on the coast / on a river / on a road:
• Vancouver is on the west coast of Canada.
• Montreal is on the St. Lawrence River.
Note: We say “in the corner of a room,” but “at the corner (or on the corner) of a street.”
Prepositions can be used to show movement
For example: to, through, across, into, onto
We use to to show movement with the aim of a specific destination. We say go/come/travel to a place or event. (Note: we don’t use to if the place is here or there)
For example:-
I moved to Vancouver in 1998.
He's gone to the grocery store.
Do you want to come to my party?
Next year, I’m going to travel to South America.
I came here 3 months ago. (not I came to here)
We use through to show movement from one side of an enclosed space to the other.
For example:
The train went through the tunnel.
You must walk through the living room to get to the kitchen.
If you look through a telescope, you can see outer space.
We use across to show movement from one side of a surface or line to another.
For example:
She swam across the river.
When we went to North Vancouver, we drove across the Lion’s Gate Bridge.
My best friend lives across the street.
We use into when someone or something enters a room, building etc.
For example:
I opened the door and went into the room.
A bird flew into the room through the window.
I finally got into the English literature class I need to graduate.
The boy jumped off the diving board into the swimming pool.
We use onto when someone or something moves from one point onto a surface.
For Example:
She tripped over a cord and fell onto the floor.
I dropped my ice cream cone onto the sidewalk.
Prepositions with Time
A) At We use at with times:
at 5 o’ clock at 11:45 at midnight at lunchtime
Grammar class begins at 1:00
B) On We use on with dates and days:
on March 12th on Friday(s) on Christmas Day
My Birthday is on July 15th.
We also say:
on Friday morning(s) on Weekends
on Saturday night(s) on Sunday afternoon(s)
I usually read the newspaper on Saturday mornings.
What are you doing on the weekend?
C) In We use in for longer periods of time ( months/years/seasons….)
in April in 1968 in (the) winter
in the 18th century in the 1970s in the Middle Ages
He was born in 1952.
We also say:
in the morning(s)/in the afternoon(s)/in the evening(s)
I’ll see you in the morning (but I’ll see you on Monday morning.)
*Please note: We do not use at, on, in before last and next:
I’ll see you next Friday.
What did you do last weekend?
D) In + a period of time = a time in the future
Grammar class will begin in a few minutes. (= a few minutes from now)
Jack is away. He will be back in a week. (= a week from now)
We are getting married in 6 months. (= 6 months from now)
We also use in to say how long it takes to do something:
I learned to drive in four weeks (= it took me 4 weeks to learn)
I ran the marathon in 3 hours (= it took me 3 hours to finish)
I woke up late and got ready for school in 5 minutes (= it took me 5 minutes to get ready)
