PrepositionsChoosing the Right Preposition to Say What You Mean
We use at when referring to specific times.
- The bus will leave at 2:30 p.m.
We use in when referring to nonspecific times during a day, a month,
a season, or a year.
- She likes to drink coffee in the morning.
- It is always so cold
in February.
- The bluebonnets will bloom in the spring.
- They started dating
in 1995.
We use on when referring to days and dates.
- My grandmother will be here on Tuesday.
- We’re having our
family reunion on the Fourth of July.
Prepositions of Place: at, on, and in
We use at for specific addresses.
- The Johnson family lives at 509 Lawndale in Victoria.
We
use on for names of streets, avenues, etc.
- The supermarket is
on Navarro Street.
We use in for names of land or areas, such as towns, counties, states,
countries, and continents.
- Jackie lives in Port Lavaca.
- Cuero is in Dewitt County.
- Victoria County is in Texas.
- Akina lives in South America.
Prepositions of Place: at, on, and in
| IN |
AT |
ON |
NO Preposition |
| (the) bed* |
class* |
the bed* |
downstairs |
| the bedroom |
home |
the ceiling |
downtown |
| the car |
the library* |
the floor |
inside |
| (the) class* |
the office |
the horse |
outside |
| the library* |
school* |
the plane |
upstairs |
| school* |
work |
the train |
uptown |
* other prepositions can sometimes be used.
Prepositions of Movement: to and towards
We use to when expressing movement toward a place.
- Sue and James are driving to the baseball game.
We can also use toward and towards when expressing movement. These
two words can be used according to your preference. They are just
simply two different spellings of the same word.
- The car was moving toward the water.
- The children were headed
towards the concession stand.
Note: We do not use any prepositions with words such as home, downtown,
uptown, inside, outside, downstairs, and upstairs.
Examples:
- I can hear the baby crying downstairs.
- Janie was ready to go
home.
Prepositions of Time: for and since
We use for to measure time (seconds, minutes, hours, days, months,
years).
- He went under water for 10 minutes.
- Courtney lived in Europe
for 5 years.
- The cruise will last for ten days.
We use since when referring
to a specific date or time.
- Jonathan has had that car
since 1980.
- Sally has been a member
since 5:00 p.m.
Continue to Phrasal Prepositions
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