First, they are used with time words:
- on Monday
- in the 20th century
- at night
In, at, on and no preposition with time words:
Prepositions of time - here's a list of the time words that need 'on', 'in', 'at' and some that don't need any preposition. Be careful - many students of English use 'on' with months (it should be 'in'), or put a prepostion before 'next' when we don't need one.at |
|
on |
|
in |
|
no prep |
|
- The plate is on the table.
- Julie is in the garden.
- The picture is on the wall.
Prepositions of place can be difficult - here's some help about using 'at', 'in' and 'on' when you're talking about where things are.
Basics:
If something is contained inside a box or a wide flat area, we use ‘in’:in the newspaper | in a house | |
in a cup | in a drawer | |
in a bottle | in a bag | |
in bed | in a car | |
in London | in England | |
in a book | in a pub | |
in a field | in the sea | |
in my stomach | in a river |
If something is on a line or a horizontal or vertical surface, we use ‘on’:
on the table | on the wall |
on the floor | on the fridge |
on my face | on a plate |
on the page | on the sofa |
on a chair | on a bag |
on the river | on a t-shirt |
on the ceiling | on a bottle |
on a bike | on his foot |
If something is at a point, (it could be a building) we use ‘at’:
at the airport | at the door |
at the table | at the bus stop |
at the cinema | at at the top |
at the bottom | at the pub |
at the traffic lights | at the front |
at the back | at school |
at university | at the window |
at the hospital | at the piano |
Third, they are used after some adjectives:
- She is good at tennis.
- Scotland is famous for whisky
- I'm worried about my new job.
Adjectives and prepositions. Some adjectives need a preposition before their object. It doesn't seem to be logical - I'm afraid we just need to learn them!
Here are some of the most common ones:
- famous for
France is famous for its food.
- proud of
He is very proud of his new car. - interested in
Julie is very interested in sport. - pleased with
John is very pleased with his new suit. - bad at
They are very bad at maths. - good at
Einstein was very good at physics. - married to
My mother has been married to my father for 20 years. - excited about
I'm very excited about my holiday. - different from / to
Coffee is different from tea. - afraid of
I'm afraid of spiders.
- I'm listening to music.
- She is waiting for her friend.
- He borrows money from his sister.
Verbs and Prepositions
Some verbs need a preposition before an object or another verb. The preposition is only grammatical, it doesn't change the meaning of the verb. Here are some of the most common ones:
- arrive at / in somewhere
We arrived at the airport.
We arrived in London. - belong to somebody
This book belongs to me. - borrow something from somebody
I borrow a book from my classmate. - concentrate on something / doing something
I concentrated on studying at the weekend. - depend on something / somebody
It depends on the weather. - explain something to somebody
The teacher explained the exercise to the students. - listen to something / somebody
I listen to music. - pay somebody for something
I pay the waiter for the coffee. - wait for somebody / something
Wait for me! - worry about somebody / something Don’t worry about a thing!
Fifth, they are used after some nouns:
- She has trouble with remembering new vocabulary.
- The bus arrived in the end.
- She arrived just in time for the film.
This source is from http://www.perfect-english-grammar.com/prepositions.html
..........
Common errors with Prepositions
Though the prepositions are small words, they are very important ones, and their correct usage is a test of your mastery of the language. This article explains the correct usage of some prepositions that often cause confusion.
Beside and besides
Students often get confused about the meaning and usage of these two words. Beside means ‘by the side of’ and besides means ‘in addition to’.
- The house was beside the river. (= by the side of the river)
- He stood beside me. (= by my side)
- He plays tennis besides (in addition to) basketball and football.
- Besides (in addition to) being a good speaker, he is also an excellent actor.
Since and for
This is another set of prepositions often confused by foreign students. Since refers to the starting point of an action. It means ‘from a particular point of time in the past’ and it should be used with the present perfect tense of the verb.
- He has been absent since last Monday. (NOT He is absent since last Monday.)
- It has been raining continuously since yesterday morning. (NOT It is raining since yesterday morning.)
- I have been waiting here for two hours.
- We have been living here for three years.
Between and among
We use between to say that somebody or something is between two or more clearly separate objects.
- You have to choose between these two options.
- I stood between John and Peter.
- They marched up the aisle between the pillars.
- He shared his money between his wife, his daughter and his son.
- The British were able to conquer India because the Indian princes quarreled among themselves.
- The United Nations tries to maintain peace among the nations of the world.
By and with
By is used to refer to the doer of an action; with is used to refer to the instrument with which the action is done.
- He was killed by his servant.
- He was killed with an axe.
- The tiger was shot by me with my new gun.
In and At
In is generally used to refer to large places – countries, districts, large cities etc. At is generally used to refer to small and unimportant places like villages, small towns etc.
- We shall meet them at the club this evening.
- My brother lives at Mumbai.
On, in, at and by
While speaking about time at indicates an exact point of time, on a more general point of time and in a period of time.- I shall be there at 4 pm.
- We set out at dawn.
- I was born on May 26.
- The postman brought this letter in the morning.
- I shall visit them in summer.
- It is very hot in the day and quite cold at night.
By is used to show the latest time at which an action will be finished. So it is usually used with the future tenses.
- I shall be leaving by 6 o’ clock.
- I hope to finish the work by the end of this year.
On and upon
On is generally used to talk about things at rest and upon to talk about things in motion.
- He sat on a chair.
- He jumped upon his horse.
In and within (time)
In means at the end of a certain period; within means before the end of a certain period.- The spacecraft will reach the moon in three days. (= at the end of three days)
- The spacecraft will reach the moon within three days. (= before the end of three days)
- The loan should be repaid in a year.
- The loan should be repaid within a year.
________________________________
This source is from http://www.perfectyourenglish.com/grammar/preposition-errors.htm