the way to use some prepositions.

1. 1
Prepositions – collected by Ms. Huong
PREPOSITIONS
I. Preposition of time: IN ; ON ; AT
 Compare in, at and on
Ex: They arrived at 5 o’clock
They arrived on Friday
They arrived in September
We use:
+ at for the time of the day Ex: at 11.45
at midnight
+on for days and dates
Ex: on Friday
on 12 September 2020
+ in for longer periods ( for example, months/ years/ seasons)
Ex: in October
In the past
 Expression with AT
At night - I’m afraid of going out at night.
At the weekend/ at weekends – Could I meet you at the weekend?
At Christmas/ At Easter – Do you give your parents presents at Christmas?
At the moment / at present – My mom is reading a book at the moment.
At the same time – My brother and I arrived at the same time.
 We say:
In the morning(s)
afternoon (s) Ex: I’ll see you in the evening.
evening (s)
But: on Friday morning(s)
Ex: I don’t go to school on Sunday mornings
 We don’t use at/ in/ on before last/ next/ this/ every
Ex: I met him last May
I will go there next Sunday.
 In + period of time ( Ex: In a few minutes; in three months, etc…) = a time in the
future.
Ex: The train will be leaving in a few minutes ( = a few minutes from now)
She will be here in a moment.]
We also use in… to say how long it takes to do something.
Ex: I learnt to drive in four weeks (it took me four weeks to learn)
 On time and in time
- On time = punctual, not late. If something happens on time, it happens at the
time which was planned. ( Đúng giờ)
Ex: The 11.30 train left on time. (= it left at 11.30)
- In time ( for something/ to do something) = soon enough ( kịp giờ)
Ex: Will you be at home in time for dinner? (= soon enough for dinner)

2. 2
Prepositions – collected by Ms. Huong
 In the end and at the end
- At the end ( of something) = at the time something ends.
Ex: I’m going away at the end of January
At the end of the concert, there was great pleasure.
- In the end = finally. We use in the end when we say that the final result of a
situation was.
Ex: We had a lot of problems with our car. In the end we sold it and bought
another one.
II. Preposition of place: IN/ ON/ AT
 We use in when something is around, on all sides
Ex: in the container ; in my pocket ; in the garden
- In + town/ country : in Hanoi; in Vietnam
- In + street ( Great Britain): In Shirley Road
 We use on for a surface
Ex: Lying on the table; walking on the pavement
- We use on for a line
Ex: Bath, on the River Avon
A village on this road
- On + floor : On fifth floor
- On + street: (USA): On Fifth Avenue
► We use at for a position, a point in a space
Ex: Someone at the door; sitting at my desk
● We use at for events
Ex: at the meeting; see you at the match!
● at + house / address
Ex: at 65 Shirley Road; at Mike’s house
● at + a place on a journey
Ex: Does this train stop at York?
 In and at with buildings
● We use in when we mean inside a building.
Ex: There are forty seats in the cinema.
It was raining, so we waited in the pubs.
● We use at when we mean an event the normal purpose of the building
Ex: I was at the cinema last night ( watching a film)

3. 3
Prepositions – collected by Ms. Huong
My parents are at the pub ( having a drink)
III. Prepositions of time: BEFORE; DURING; AFTER
Ex: The post office is very busy before Christmas.
I’m always out at work during a day.
We had to take a taxi home after the party.
IV. Preposition of time : TILL, UNTIL, BY
 Till Friday/ until Friday = from now to Friday
Till is more formal than until
Ex: My mother’s staying with us till /until Friday.
 By the weekend = not later than the weekend.
Ex: Can you give me the money by the weekend?
 Prepositions of time: FROM….. TO/ TILL/ UNTIL
● We use From… To/ Till/ Until to talk about the beginning and the end of a
period of time.
Ex: The sale was from December 28th
to January4th
It will be closed from tomorrow until next Tuesday.
V. Prepositions of time: FOR; SINCE, AGO
● We use For with a period of time
● We use Since with a point of time
● We use Ago for past simple measured from the present.
Ex: I’ve only had this watch for six months.
Dick’s going to France for a year.
I’ve only had this watch since March.
I bought this watch six months ago.
VI. Describing: WITH; IN
● In description with means having
● We can use in or have (got)… on to talk about clothes.
Ex: Police are looking for a man with fair hair.
Who’s that woman in the red dress?