15.                                 Prepositions

          15.1. Word & Phrase + Preposition

Some words and phrases very often take the same preposition in a sentence. This is a list of common structures:

 

word

prep

afraid

of

apologise

for

arrange

for

bored

with

care

for

different

from

fond

of

good

at

insist

on

intention

of

interested

in

keen

on

look

at

ready

for

succeed

in, at

take part

in

tired

of

worry

about

intend

to

 

We use prepositions in many different ways.

1) Prepositions of place tell us where something is or happens:

on the sofa

under the bed

2) We use prepositions of time to tell us when something happens:

at Christmas

in July

3) Some words are often followed by the same prepositions:

listen to

succeed in

 4) Some verbs take a preposition to make a new verb. These are called phrasal verbs:

put up with

hand out

 

          15.2. Prepositions of Place

There are two types of place preposition. Static prepositions are stationary, they refer to a place. Mobile prepositions imply movement; they suggest moving from one place to another:

He lived in London.

He moved to London.

Whether the preposition is static or mobile usually depends on the meaning of the verb.

These are common prepositions of place and their uses - there are a number of exceptions though:

1) at: the place where something happens

He lives at 13 Acacia Avenue.

He's at the theatre, sitting at the back.

We'll stop at Aylsham en route to London.

2) in: something all around

We sat in silence in the cinema.

We live in Aylsham.

He lives in Spain.

3) into/out of: movement from outside to inside a place or vice versa

We walked out of the kitchen and into the dining room.

I drove out of Buxton and into Aylsham.

4) on: the top surface

The book is on the table.

The boat is on the sea.

5) onto/off: movement to the top surface of an object from another object

The cat jumped off the table and onto the chair.

I climbed off the roof and onto the ladder.

6) Other prepositions of place include: above, across, along, around, behind, below, beside, by, in, in front of, into, near, next to, on, opposite, out of, over, past, round, through, to, towards, under.

           

   15.3. Prepositions of Time

We use these prepositions to talk about time:

{­in} + {­year/month/season/time of day (except night)}

in 1976

in March

{­on} + {­day/date}

on Monday

on the 15th of July

{­at} + {­clock time/night}

at ten o'clock

at midnight