Diploma in English for Professionals

(DEP) – Batch 05 – LEVEL 1

Grammar – Prepositions of place, movement and time

Contents

 Prepositions of time
 Prepositions of place
 Prepositions of movement

Learning Outcomes

On the completion of this section, you will be able to:

i. use prepositions of time correctly

ii. use prepositions of place correctly
iii. use prepositions of movement correctly

Sources:

https://englishwsheets.com/prepositions%20of%20time%20in%20on%20at%20esl%20gram
mar%20exercises%20worksheet.pdf
https://www.allthingsgrammar.com/uploads/2/3/2/9/23290220/atg-worksheet-preptime2.pdf
https://keyscorner.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Prepositions-at-in-on.pdf
https://englishforeveryone.org/PDFs/Prepositions%20of%20Place.pdf
http://www.englishservice.cz/download/Prepositions%20of%20Place%20and%20Movement.
pdf

Adapted and prepared by:

Dr. Sumudu Embogama

Senior Lecturer in English Language Teaching
Department of English Language Teaching (DELT)
University of the Visual and Performing Arts

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WHAT ARE PREPOSITIONS?

A preposition is “a word governing, and usually preceding, a noun or pronoun and expressing
a relation to another word or element in the clause.” (from The Oxford English Dictionary)
The definition from Oxford is perhaps a more complicated way of saying that a preposition is
a word showing the relationship between a noun and another noun, a verb, or an adjective.

Why Are Prepositions Tricky? If you are frustrated with prepositions, you are not alone.
Many consider prepositions the hardest tool of grammar to master because they are so
numerous and do not always have specific rules that cover their usage. For instance, you just
have to remember that we think about, talk about, dream about, but never share about. There
are, however, a few often-used prepositions like in, on, and at—the prepositions of time and
place—whose usage follows a rule that is easy to remember.

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Fill in the blanks below with the correct prepositions of time.

1. My brother has a new job. He works ________ the evening.

2. We’re going to have a picnic ________ Saturday afternoon. Would you like to come?

3. I’ll be finished my work ________ an hour. Then, I can go home.

4. When is the meeting? Is it ________ 2:00?

5. I like to get up really early, ________ sunrise, when the birds start to sing.

6. Tom’s birthday is next week, ________ January 14.

7. My grandfather was born ________ the 1950s.

8. Will we be ________ time, or will we miss our flight?

9. My family and I like to ski ________ winter.

10. Are there any holidays ________ October?

11. Our school cafeteria opens for lunch ________ noon.

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12. What time does your son go to bed ________ night?

13. We moved to this city ________ 2012.

14. Are you going to do anything special ________ your birthday?

15. I’m not going to watch that TV show. It starts ________ midnight!

When we say last, next, every, this we do not also use at, in, on.

• I went to London last June. (not in last June)

• He's coming back next Tuesday. (not on next Tuesday)

• I go home every Easter. (not at every Easter)

• We'll call you this evening. (not on this evening)

PREPOSITIONS OF PLACE

Here are some examples:

• Do you live in Italy?

• I have a meeting in Kandy next week.

• I live on the 6th floor in the flats at 21, High Street in Athurugiriya.

• My train arrived at the main station in Colombo and departed for Kandy after a 5 minute
wait.

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• Pasan is waiting for you at the cinema.

• Someone has spilt wine on this menu.

In general when we talk about travelling in a small vehicle (car, taxi, helicopter...), we use
“in” When we travel in a large vehicle (bus, plane, ship...), we use “on”. Travelling on
animals, and vehicles which we ride similarly to a horse, we use “on”.

To sum:

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Activity:

You and a friend are trying to meet at a local Coffee shop, but there is a problem. Your friend
is an alien who is visiting Earth for the first time. It is your duty to direct him to the specific
location of the Palitha’s Coffee Shop where you want to meet. Since the meeting will be in
about a month, you also need to explain to him what time you want to meet, going from the
precise time, to the day, to the month. Use the following words correctly with their
prepositions.

Address: 110 Fernando Street, Kaduwala

City: Colombo

Province: Western

Country: Sri Lanka

Time: 1:30 p.m.

Date: Tuesday, 17 February

Year: 2022

Remember, your goal is to use in, on, and at

PREPOSITIONS OF PLACE

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PREPOSITIONS OF MOVEMENT
Into, onto and to are used to talk about movement:

 We moved the chairs into my bedroom.

 The actor ran onto the stage.
 They walked to the next town.

The opposites are out of, off and from:

 We moved the chairs out of my bedroom.

 The actor ran off the stage.
 We drove from London to Edinburgh.

Here are other prepositions of movement:

 They ran across the field to the road.

 Jim cycled along the road to the next town.
 I walked up the hill and ran down the other side.
 The bus went past the bus stop without stopping.
 The train goes through three tunnels.

Put the words in the box in the gaps.

Into- onto- to - out of - off

e.g. The march started in the park. From there we marched to the Town Hall.

1. The tiger escaped from its cage and jumped __________the lake. It took a long time to

get it _____the lake and back its cage.

2. Stupidly, Simon drove his car __________the beach and then he couldn’t move it,

because the wheels sank ___________the sand. In the end he needed eight people to

push it ________the beach and ______back the road.

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Now, fill the gaps using the words below.

across –along – at - down - in front of - past - from – under - through - up

The race starts at the Town Hall. The runners go (1) the Town Hall and they run (2) the main

square, to the river. Then they run over New Bridge and they go (3) the road beside the river

for about 200 yards. They go (4) the theatre and (5) Castle Hill. They turn right (6) the castle,

and they go (7) Steep Hill. Then they go (8) the tunnel (9) the river, and they finish at the

station.

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