1.

Prepositions of Place: at, in, on

Generally, this is how we use these prepositions:

at for a point
in for an enclosed space
on for a surface

at - point in – enclosed space on - surface

at the stoplights in the bedroom on the table
at the exit in Brisbane on the rug
at the window in my purse on the menu
at the beginning of the book in a supermarket on the wall
at the end of my street in my CD player on the page
at the bank in the box on the ceiling

With prepositions, there are also some uses which are standard for us, but for your students
will be entirely unclear until they hear them many times. For example:

on the left, on the right

on radio, on television
on my way
at Christmas
at present
at the same time

2. Prepositions of Time: at, in, on

"Waiiiiit a minute. Those are the same words! At, in and on! How can they
Q.
be prepositions of place AND of time?"
A. "Ahhh, the beauty of English."
Generally, this is how we use these prepositions:
at - for a precise time
in - for months, years, decades and other long periods of time
on - for days and dates

At – precise time In – long periods On – days and dates

at 2:00 in the winter on Wednesday
at noon in 2008 on your birthday
at lunchtime in the 50's on the last day of October
at sunset in December on the 10th
at 10pm in the Dark Ages on Christmas Day
at the moment in the past/future on 5 July

With the word “weekend”, you may find some people say “at the weekend” and others may
say “on the weekend”. Generally speaking, “on the weekend” is American usage; both are
acceptable simply because they are both used!

A very common mistake for ESL students to make is to say phrases such as:

In Tuesday morning
In Saturday afternoon

They make this mistake because we've taught them to say “in the afternoon” and “in the
morning”.

But because the name of the day comes first, the rule “on Monday” “on Tuesday”, etc. will
apply.

So,

On Tuesday morning
On Saturday afternoon

Other common mistakes are, for example:

Incorrect: on last Tuesday I went home on last Tuesday

Correct: last Tuesday I went home last Tuesday

Incorrect: at every Christmas I call my mum at every Christmas

Correct: every Christmas I call my mum every Christmas

Incorrect: in this morning Let's go to the market in this morning.

Correct: this morning Let's go to the market this morning.

The rule? When we use last, every, this and next, we do not use a preposition.

Simple rules such as this will help you to give clear and accurate examples to your students.

Prepositions of Movement and Direction

3. Prepositions of Movement and Direction: to, toward, towards,
around, through, etc

Some prepositions express movement. For example:

I will go to the bank on my way to work.

The fish slowly swam toward the bait.

We'll have to drive around the lake.

In the summer the train goes right through these mountains.

To make things even more confusing, we sometimes use no prepositions at all when talking
about movement.

I went to home.
Let's go to upstairs.
Brian went to outside.
We'll go to uptown soon.

So how will you be able to make it clear to your students?

Even students of the best English teachers struggle with prepositions, and the best remedy
for this is practice and time. As students are exposed to English, they begin to develop an
ear for what ‘sounds right'.

As their teacher you can help them most by:

  giving them clear written and verbal examples
 listening for common mistakes and correcting them
 consistently and consciously modelling the correct usage of prepositions in your
speech.

Okay, let's finish this unit up…

We use the simple present a lot in our daily speech. This is how we use it:

 For repeated acts of routine or habit

I wash my face every morning.

She works at the local video store.
My boss always gets to work early in the morning.

 For facts or general truths

The Earth is round.
His sister likes camping.
Many Europeans speak English.

Sometimes, the imperative is confused with the simple present tense. Have a look:

Go to sleep at 10pm. (imperative)

I go to sleep at 10pm. (simple present)

Can you tell the difference?

In the first, no pronoun is used (I), whereas in the second you need to use a pronoun (such
as I, You, We, etc.)

The imperative is used to give orders, commands and instructions. If you read a recipe, for
example, it will usually be written in the imperative: "Peel the potatoes. Boil them for 5
minutes. Remove from pan."
FUTURE

WILL
1. We use “will” when we are making a promise or commitment.

I’ll take you out for your birthday.

He said he will do my tax return for me if I’m too busy.
The president always says he’ll cut taxes but it never happens!

2. We use “will” when we are stating a spur-of-the-moment decision about the future.

Oh, the phone’s ringing – I’ll get it!

I’ll walk you to your car.
I’ll help you with that.

3. We use “will” when we are making a prediction about the future.

I think it will rain tomorrow.

My sister will do very well on her exam!
The dog will be much happier in his new home.

GOING TO
We use “going to” when we are stating a plan or intention for the future; something
you know for sure will happen.

I’m going to eat dinner in a few minutes.

He’s going to have a long day.
If it rains, I’m going to stay home.

Hints:
1. The rules above are not absolute. We often spontaneously use “will” and “going to”
interchangeably. Above is a guide to get your students started on knowing how to sound
like a native speaker when they talk about the future.

2. It is natural to use contractions like “I’ll” or “We’ll” and even slang like “I’m gonna”. Your
students hear you use it and will follow your model. That is fine –BUT- first make sure they
are comfortable with the full forms of “I will” and “I am going to”.

Unit 5 | Module 3: The Present Continuous Tense

Now you’re familiar with three of the twelve tenses:

Simple Present - I eat bread every day.

Simple Past - I ate bread yesterday.
Simple Future - I am going to eat bread tomorrow.

Let's move on to the Continuous Tenses.

The present continuous tense is also sometimes referred to as the present progressive
tense. This will probably be the very first tense your students will learn.
To help you remember what the continuous tenses are, just imagine an action that is
continuing and hasn’t ended yet. With the present continuous, this means the action is
happening in the present.
Remember we said it’s good to use key words when introducing a new verb tense?
With present continuous, these key words are NOW or RIGHT NOW.

Look at these examples:

(Right now) I’m watching TV.

(Right now) Larry is eating lunch.
(Right now) my parents are having a vacation in Fiji.

A present continuous action…

 started in the past (maybe a year ago, maybe yesterday, maybe a minute ago)
 is happening now
 will end sometime in the future (maybe in two years, maybe tomorrow, maybe in
30 seconds)

Here are some actions that could have started a few minutes ago and may end just a few
minutes from now:
I am talking on the telephone.
He is listening to music.
She is walking to the store.

Can you think of a few more?

Here are some actions that may have started last week and will end about a week or two
from now:

They are staying at their friends’ home in Germany.

She is writing an essay for her history class.
We are waiting for our car to be fixed.

Can you think of a few more?

Now, can you think of some actions that may have started a year or two ago and will
end at an unknown time in the future?

How about these…

We are saving money for a new house.

I am studying at the University of Southern Queensland.
She is travelling around the world.

Can you see that present continuous is simply something that started in the past and will
end in the future? It’s really simple!

English language learners have a tough time knowing when to use present continuous and
when to use the simple present. It comes quite naturally to native English speakers.

Hint: Sometimes we use the present continuous tense to talk about… the future! Yes, we

do it often! Have you ever said something like this: “Tomorrow I’m going to school.” “Next
weekend we’re staying home.” Woah… present continuous to talk about the future? Yes

Unit 5 | Module 4: The Past Continuous Tense

We just looked at the present continuous tense, which describes an action happening NOW.
So then it naturally follows that the past continuous tense describes an action happening at
some point in the PAST.
Take a look at these examples:

Yesterday at 3pm, I was watching TV.

Last night at 10:00, we were driving home.
Last week at lunch, I think I was eating lunch with my friend.

We sometimes use the past continuous with “while”.

I was watching TV while my sister was feeding the baby.

My friends were partying while I was at home sleeping.
The babies were crawling around while their mums were watching them.

See the pattern? (continuing action) + while + (continuing action)

You try it!

Complete these sentences aloud using the same format:

She was driving while…

I was listening to the radio while…
My son and his friends were eating pizza while…

We also often use the past continuous with “when”.

I was preparing lunch when you called.
She was driving to work when the accident happened.
I was skiing when I broke my leg.

So what’s the difference between using “when” and “while”?

Well, compare the two, look at the patterns and see if you can figure it out.
 What’s the difference between these two?

I was preparing lunch while you were calling your friend.

I was preparing lunch when you called.

While = two continuing actions were happening simultaneously

When = one continuing action was occurring when a short complete action occurred.

I was walking down the street while my friend was roller-blading next to me.

Walking = a continuing action

Rollerblading = a continuing action

I was walking down the street when the rain started.

Walking = a continuing action
Started = a short complete action

Questions can be a little difficult in English. The first thing to remember is that there are
two main kinds, 'yes / no' and 'wh':

The 'yes / no' kind need the answer 'yes' or 'no'.

For example:

 Do you like chocolate?

 Is he from India?
 Have you been to Japan?

A 'wh' one needs more information in the answer. It uses a question word like 'where',
'why', 'how' etc.

 Where do you live?

 What did she do yesterday?
 Where is the station?

They are made in three different ways in English grammar depending on the verb tense:
1: We change the position (or 'invert') the verb and the subject.
This is used for the present simple and the past simple of 'be' and for modal verbs
2: We add an extra word, like 'do / does' or 'did'.
This is used for the past simple and the present simple of all other English verbs
(not 'be').
3: We change the position of the first auxiliary verb and the subject.
This is for all other tenses, for example the present perfect, the present continuous
or the future perfect continuous.
To make the 'wh' kind, just put the question word in front of any 'yes / no' question: Is
he coming ('yes / no') becomes When is he coming? ('wh')

Here is a summary of the tenses and their interrogative forms (click on each tense for
more information):

Yes / No:

Present simple 'be' Are you hungry?

Present simple other verbs Do you like ice cream?
Present continuous Are you coming to the party?
Past simple 'be' Were you at home yesterday?
Past simple other verbs Did you go out last night?
Past continuous Were you watching TV at 8 last night?
Present perfect Have you eaten?
Present perfect continuous Have you been working hard?
Past perfect Had you slept?
Past perfect continuous Had you been running?
Future simple Will you come?
Future continuous Will you be coming?
Future perfect Will you have finished at 6?
Future perfect continuous Will you have been working?
Modals Can you swim?
Modals Must you leave?
Wh:
Present simple 'be' Who are you?
Present simple other verbs Where do you play tennis?
Present continuous When are you coming to the party?
Past simple 'be' Where were you last night?
Past simple other verbs How did you do it?
Past continuous What were you doing when I called you?
Present perfect What have you eaten?
Present perfect continuous Where have you been working hard?
Past perfect What had you eaten?
Past perfect continuous Why had you been working hard?
Future simple Who will you meet?
Future continuous Why will you be sleeping?
Future perfect When will you have finished?
Future perfect continuous What will you have been doing?
Modals Where can we swim?
Modals Why must you leave?