English is very much in demand today. It is studied not only in educational institutions. Many people tend to speak this language. Someone studies on their own, someone goes to courses. Although English is much lighter than Russian, it also has a number of rules and features. It’s not enough just to know the words. You must be able to use them in speech. This article is devoted to prepositions. They serve to connect words. The most common prepositions are to, in, at, on. The rules and features of use are discussed below.
What are prepositions?
First, let's look at what the prepositions are. Which are there? What are they used for? The preposition is the auxiliary part of speech, expressing the syntactic dependence of one independent part of speech on another within a phrase and sentence. They cannot be used separately, on their own, and also be an independent member of the proposal.
These service words, in turn, are divided by meaning. English prepositions of a place are distinguished - at, in, on (the rules are given below). They can also indicate time (at, on, etc.), direction (to, across, etc.), reason (because of, thanks to, etc.), etc. Prepositions in English can be simple (on , at, in, etc.), compound, in another way, group (as a result, because of, etc.) and complex (onto, into).
Features of the use of the preposition in
Without the service parts of speech, it is impossible to make a complete sentence. Let's start with the prepositions of the place in English at, in, on. The grammar indicates that this is one of the most common meanings. Let us consider in more detail the preposition in.
The first function is the place. Need to translate this preposition as "in." It denotes the location of an object inside something (a room, a city, an object, a street, a building, etc.). Here are some examples.
Last summer I was in the country. - Last summer I was in the village.
There are lots of toys in the box. “There are a lot of toys in the box.”
Robert lives in the Great Britain. - Robert lives in the UK.
Rarely do prepositions have only one meaning. It, as a rule, is determined by the position of the preposition in the text and is translated depending on the context. In addition to the location value, in performs the function of time. In this case, in is translated as “in,” “through,” or other Russian equivalent. This can be seen in the following examples.
Mike was born in December. - Mike was born in December.
I will finish my work in fifteen minutes. “I will finish my work in fifteen minutes.”
Children like to play snowballs and make a snowman in winter. - Children love to play snowballs and sculpt a snowman in winter.
Try to give your examples. To fix, do the exercise. Translate into English.
My husband was born in Spain. There are many different trees and flowers in our garden. Lucy and her friends are now out in the yard. In the evening I like to sit at home and read an interesting book. I'll be free in five minutes.
Features of the use of the preposition on
Place values are in, at, on. The rule says that on is used when it comes to positioning an object on any plane, surface. It is required to translate into Russian as “into”. Let's take a closer look at the examples.
There are lots of books on the shelf. “There are a lot of books on the shelf.”
There is a cup of coffee on the table. - On the table is a cup of coffee.
Also on is used when talking about transport (with the exception of the car) or about communications.
She will come home on 7 o'clock train. “She's coming home on a seven-hour train.”
He asked me a question on the phone. - He asked me a question on the phone.
The second value is time. On is used with dates and days.
We will go to the country on Saturday. - We will go to the village on Saturday.
Give your examples of sentences. And also do the exercise. Required to translate sentences into English.
Let's meet at the bus stop. The dog lies on the grass. Our apartment is located on the sixth floor. Put the book on the table, please. A very beautiful picture hangs on the wall.
Features of the use of the preposition at
The English language is characterized by the frequent use of the prepositions in, at, on. The rule which obeys the use of the preposition at in sentences is as follows. This service part of speech should be used when the subject is located in close proximity to the second. For example, at the door (at the door). As you can see from the phrase, you need to translate at with the Russian preposition "y". We also allow the translation using "about", "on".
Can you meet me at the entrance to the theater? “Can you meet me at the entrance to the theater?”
I will be waiting for you at the bridge. “I'll be waiting for you near the bridge.”
However, most often this preposition is used in stable expressions. Here is a list of some of them.
At home - at home.
At work - at work.
At hospital - in a hospital.
At school - at school.
At a museum - in a museum.
At a hotel - in a hotel.
At a mall - in a shopping center.
At the restaurant - in a restaurant.
Try to make sentences with these designs.
The second meaning of the preposition at is time. Namely, use with hours and minutes.
She gets up at seven o'clock. “She wakes up at seven in the morning.”
He goes to bed at ten o'clock. “He goes to bed at ten in the evening.”
Perform the following exercise to secure the material. Translate the sentences into English.
Today I want to stay home. My sister is in the hospital. He is not at home, he is at work now. Our class was yesterday on a field trip to the museum. I will be waiting for you at the entrance to the cinema. Let's meet at the mall. He left the bike near the entrance to the store.
Features of the use of the preposition to
This official speech matters direction. To make sure that this pretext is to be used, the question “where?” Should be asked. In Russian, to should be translated as "k", "in", "on". Here are some examples.
Let's go to the cinema. - Let's go to the cinema.
Tom and Tim went to the park. - Tom and Tim went to the park.
To consolidate the above material, perform the exercise. This requires translating sentences from Russian into English.
Let's go to the museum. We went to the library at our school yesterday. We stayed in a hotel in the city center. At the weekend we will go to the village to visit grandmother.
Now you understand the peculiarities of using the prepositions in, at, on in speech, the rules to which their use obeys, you can easily give your own examples, make sentences, phrases. And also you know when to use particles to, in, on, at in English.