Dave
16 lug 20214 min
Aggiornato il: 9 feb 2022
Prepositions of place and time
1. You are going to hear a news broadcast. Before you listen, look at the pictures and guess what the news stories are about.
2. Listen and check if you were right. As you listen, put the pictures in the order in which you hear the stories.
1 ___ 2____ 3____ 4____
3. Listen again and answer these questions. Stop the recording when you need to.
Where will the Prime Minister be for the next two days? at a conference in Washington
When will he fly to Mexico?
Where did Moira MacNab’s plane hit bad weather?
When does she say she will be quite well?
How far do the traffic jams stretch?
How long will part of the motorway remain closed?
Where was the security man?
When was the manager released?
4 Look at your answers to Exercise 3.
1 Which prepositions are used in the answers about time?
2 Which prepositions are used in the answers about place?
for someone or something inside a limited area (e.g. a town, a country, a garden):
The Prime Minister is in Washington.
She is due to appear in Edinburgh.
There are some lovely trees in this park.
for someone or something inside a building, room or container:
They heard shouting in the manager’s office.
Do you keep your credit cards in this wallet?
for a point on a fixed line (e.g. a road, the coast):
She’s holidaying on the north coast of Africa.
We stopped at a café on the road to Brighton.
for a point on a surface:
I want to hang this picture on the wall.
with floor and ceiling:
There’s a spider on the ceiling.
for public transport vehicles, such as buses, trains or planes:
They met on a plane.
I can’t read on the bus.
but we use in for cars and taxis:
He came home in a taxi.
when we think about a place in terms of its function or as a meeting place:
He will have talks at the White House.
I keep my tennis racket at the sports club.
I’ll see you at the theatre.
for an event:
He will remain at the conference.
There were a lot of strangers at the party.
There are some places where either across or over can be used:
a footbridge across/over the motorway
a route across/over the mountains
a view across/over the valley
But compare
Their eyes met across the table.
Fred jumped over the gate.
The plane was flying across the Mediterranean.
Above or over is used if one thing is higher than another:
They built an extra room above/over the garage.
Over is used when one thing covers another:
Put this rug over that old chair.
Above is used when the two things are not directly on top of each other:
The hotel is above the beach.
Above is used in documents:
Please don’t write above the line.
under and below is used if one thing is lower than another:
The garage is below/under the workshop.
under is the opposite of over:
There’s a beautiful old chair under that rug.
The beach is below the hotel.
Below is used in documents:
Please don’t write below the line.
Along is used for something which follows a line:
There were cheering crowds along the route of the procession.
We strolled along the river bank at dusk.
Through means passing from one side of something to the other side of it:
The road goes through Birmingham.
I struggled through the crowd to reach the café.
We could see the sea through the trees.
The train went through the tunnel.
By can be used in the same way as beside, meaning ‘next to’:
A security man was standing by/beside the door.
I’d love to live by/beside a lake.
Between is used when we talk about two places, things or people:
the motorway between London and Oxford
The dictionary is between the grammar book and the atlas.
Among is used to identify something as part of a group:
Is there a dictionary somewhere among these books?
Beyond is used for something that is further away from us than something else (we may or may not be able to see it):
Traffic jams were stretching beyond the motorway.
You can’t see the lake, it’s beyond the forest.
Behind is used for something that is partly or completely hidden by an object in front of it:
The robber stood behind the door, hoping he wouldn’t be seen.
for a point of time:
at the start of her tour of Europe
for the time of day:
at six o’clock
at dawn
at lunchtime
for seasonal holidays:
at Christmas
at Easter
in the following expressions:
at the weekend
at first
at last
at present (= now)
at the moment (= now)
at times (= sometimes)
at once (= immediately)
for dates and days:
on Monday
on 3rd December (note that we say ‘on the third of December’)
including special days:
on New Year’s Day
on Christmas Day
on my wedding anniversary
for all or part of a period of time:
in the afternoon,
in winter,
in the twenty-first century,
in the Middle Ages
By means that something happens not later than, and probably before, the time mentioned:
She intends to be in Chile by the end of the year. (= on 31st December at the latest, but probably before that)
Can we finish this work by four o’clock? (= not later than four o’clock)
Until means that something continues up to, but not later than, the time mentioned:
Part of the motorway will remain closed until this
afternoon. (= it will open this afternoon)
Until is often used with a negative, meaning ‘not
before’:
We can’t eat until all the guests arrive. (= we can eat when they are all here)
till
Till is often used instead of until in informal speech:
We can’t eat till all the guests arrive.
In and during are often used with the same meaning:
In/During the summer we often go for long walks.
The manager was released during the night.
especially if it is an interruption:
They walked out of the hall during the politician’s speech. (= while the politician was giving a speech)
He will remain at the conference for two days.
We went to Spain for the summer.
In less than an hour we had heard all about his adventures.
I’ll meet you in ten minutes.