Prepositions and prepositional phrases of place

Use:
Use prepositions of place to describe where something is.

The ball is on the box.	The ball is inthe box.	The ball is under the box.
The ball is over the box.	The ball is next to the box.	The ball is between the two boxes.
The ball is near (to)the box.	The ball is in front ofthe box.	The ball is behind the box.

 

 

In is also used in these situations:
Countries, cities, villages	We live in France / in Paris / in Madrid.
the world	It’s the highest building in the world.
mountains and valleys	They have a cottage in the mountains / in a valley.
buildings	She works in a bank.
water	Don’t swim in the sea / the river / the lake.
the middle / centre	He lives in the middle of Paris / in the city centre.
books / films / newspaper	Which film was that actor in? I read about it in the newspaper.
On is also used in these situations:
walls, ceilings, doors, floor:	She hung the picture on the ceiling / the wall / the door.
surfaces	There’s a dirty mark on the page / table
the front / side/ back	There’s a label in on the box / bottle
left / right	The school is on the left.
Floors	Jim’s office is on the second floor.
lists / menus	What’s on the menu? Did you buy everything on the list?
roads	I live on Jackson street. The nearest gas station is on the motorway. The post box is on the way to work.
natural lines and borders	He lives on the coast. London is on the River Thames.
At is also used in these situations:
the top / bottom (of a page)	Sign your name at the top / bottom.
Directions:	Turn left at the traffic lights / roundabout / end of the street.
Position (next to something)	Wait at the traffic lights / corner / tree.
the front / the back	I wrote my name at the front / back of the book.
the beginning / the end	What happened at the beginning / end of the film?
events	I met him at a party / conference / football match
buildings	I’ll meet you at the airport / the station / home
Common mistakes:
1. Some students miss out part of the prepositional phrases.
I live next a small shop. =>	I live next to a small shop.
I parked the car in front the building. =>	I parked the car in front the building.
2. Some students add a second preposition where it is not necessary.
Your bag is behind of the door.=>	Your bag is behind the door.

 

 

Prepositions of Time

Use:
Use prepositions of time before days, months, years and other time words.

AT:

Use before:
Times: We’re leaving at 3 o’clock
Lunchtime / bedtime: He’s arriving at lunchtime.
Night: I can’t sleep at night.
The weekend: See you at the weekend!
Festivals: We went away at Easter.

IN:

the morning / afternoon / evening: See you in the morning!
Months: My birthday’s in June.
Seasons: We always go on holiday in summer.
Years: He was born in 1996.

ON:

Dates: We arrived here on 4th August.
Days of the week: Let’s go to the zoo on Saturday.
Single day events: We always eat out on Christmas Day.

Use ON before a day + morning/ afternoon/ evening/ night. See you on Tuesday night!

Don’t use a preposition before: today, tonight, tomorrow, yesterday.

 

Present continuous

 

Use:
1) Use the present continuous to talk about actions which are happening now.
Ellen is having a bath at the moment.
Right now, Mark is talking to her manager.

Form:
Positive

I	am / ‘m	verb+ing
You	are / ‘re
He / She / It	is / ‘s
We / They	are / ‘re

Negative

I	‘m not	verb+ing
You	aren’t / ‘re not
He / She / It	isn’t / ‘s not
We / They	aren’t / ‘re not

Question

Am	I	verb+ing
Are	you
Is	he / she / it
Are	we / they

Spelling Rules:

If a verb ends in e, delete the e before you add –ing.
come => I’m coming.
have => He’s having lunch.

Common mistakes
1) Some students forget the verb be.
I watching television. => I’m watching television.
She not coming. => She’s not coming.
2) Some students make questions incorrectly.
She is working? => Is she working?
3) Some students make spelling mistakes.
I’m studing law. => I’m studying law.

 

Present Simple

Use:
Sentences in the present simple tense are true all the time.

• I come from Japan.
• I live in Paris.
• I like animals.
• I have three sisters.

Form:
1) Form the present simple this way:
Positive

I	like	animals
you
he	like s
she
it
we	like
they

Negative

I	don’t	like	animals
you
he	doesn’t
she
it
we	don’t
they

Questions

Do	I	like	animals?
you
Does	he
she
it
Do	we
they

Short answers

Yes,	I	do		No,	I	don’t
you		you
he	does		he	doesn’t
she		she
it		it
we	do		we	don’t
they		they

Spelling Rules for 3rd person (he / she / it)

• If a verb ends in consonant + y, change y to i and add es.

I stu dy English. He stu dies English.

• If a verb ends in tch, ss, x, sh or z, add es.

She watch es television.
Susan miss es her family.
He fix es the television.
My dad wash es the car on Sundays.

• Some verbs have irregular spellings:

I go → he / she / it goes
I do → he / she / it does
I have → he / she / it has

Common mistakes
1) Some students forget to add s for he/she/it.
My mother like chocolate. → My mother likes chocolate.

2) Some students make the negative form incorrectly.
Tom no work here. → Tom doesn’t work here.
Tom isn’t work here.
Tom don’t work here.

3) Some students forget to use Do and Does to make questions.
You like this song? → Do you like this song?
Is your father work here? → Does your father work here?

 

Embedded questions

Use:
Whenever you use an introductory phrase before a question, you must change the word order in the question.
Introductions include:
Can you tell me...? Do you know...? I don’t know... I’m not sure... I wonder... I can’t remember...

What’s the time? =>Can you tell me what the time is?
Where did he go? =>I don’t know where he went.

Form:
1) If the question has an auxiliary verb, swap the positions of the auxiliary verb and the subject. You can also do this in sentences with the verb to be.

Example: When can you get here?
Can is the auxiliary verb and you is the subject. Swap their positions when you add an introduction.
Do you know when you can get here?

Other examples:
Where has he gone? => I don’t know where he has gone.
What are they doing? => I don’t know what they’re doing.
What time is it? => Have you any idea what time it is?

You cannot contract the verb if it is the last word in the sentence.
Do you know what time it’s? => Do you know what time it is?

2) If the question is in the present or past simple, remove do / does / did from the question. Change the verb ending so that the verb is in the correct tense.

Example:
Where did he go? => Did you see where he went?
What time do you get up? => Can you tell me what time you get up?
Where does she work? => I wonder where she works.

3) If a question does not have a question word (Where, What, Why etc.) use if or whether before the question.

Example:
Does he live here? => Do you know if he lives here?
Are they coming to the party? => Do you know whether they are coming to the party?

 

Verbs of Preference + gerunds

Use:
We can use several different words and phrases in English to talk about things we like and dislike.

• like love enjoy
• don’t mind
• dislike hate can’t stand

Form:
After these words you can use a noun or a verb in the –ing form.

I like water. I like swimming.
I love sports. I love running.
We enjoy good food. We enjoy eating out.

I don’t mind housework. I don’t mind cooking.

I dislike buses. I dislike waiting.
I hate housework I hate cleaning.
I can’t stand planes. I can’t stand flying.

Spelling rules
Remember the spelling rules when you make the –ing form.

• If a verb ends in e, delete the e before you add –ing.

have => I love having breakfast in bed.

• If a verb ends one vowel and one consonant, double the consonant.

swim => I don’t like swimming.

Exceptions: words that end in w or y.
row => I love rowing.
sew => I don’t like rowing.
play => I like playing football.

Other exceptions:
iron => My mum hates ironing.
open => I don’t mind opening the window for you.