Prepositions
Mapped.
A preposition is a bearing — it fixes where something sits, where it is heading, or when it happens, relative to something else. Read the compass, and the map of English falls into place.
What a preposition actually does
Prepositions show relationships in time and space, and relationships between ideas — logical relationships. A preposition in a prepositional phrase is always followed by a noun, a pronoun, or another word standing in for one, such as an -ing form.
Always use the object form of a personal pronoun after a preposition — never the subject form.
never "with she"
Many words that work as prepositions can also work as adverbs — but not every one of them can, and the two roles are easy to mix up.
Some adverbs need a preposition added before they can take an object at all: away and far are adverbs on their own, but away from and far from are the prepositional forms.
| Preposition | Followed by |
|---|---|
| on the table | Noun |
| with Carol | Noun |
| with her | Pronoun (object form) |
| With practice, Priscilla learned to ski. | -ing form / gerund |
| With training, the dog learned to obey. | -ing form / gerund |
Choose a category to chart
Every preposition takes a bearing in place, in movement, or in time. Select a category below to explore its diagram, its rules, and fifteen questions to test your bearings.
A fixed position, precisely stated
Prepositions of place describe where things are, after verbs like be, be situated, live, remain, sit, stand, stay, put — and where activities happen, after verbs like meet, take place, happen, hold, dance, eat.
They met outside the cinema on their first date.
Watch out for these problems
Fine distinctions worth knowing
| Situation | Preposition |
|---|---|
| Emphasising a public place or institution — I had a hard day … the office. | at the office |
| Emphasising the physical building — I left my coat … the office. | in the office |
| A place as a surface — I sat down … the sofa. | on the sofa |
| A place as a point on a line — a road, railway, river, coastline | on the highway / river |
| A street corner, outdoors | on / at the corner |
| A corner inside a room | in the corner |
Extended vocabulary of space
A wider set beyond the core diagrams above — useful for advanced reading and writing.
Fifteen bearings — test yourself
A direction things travel in
Prepositions of movement describe the direction that things are moving in — often after verbs like go, walk, run, take, travel, drive, fly.
A blast of cold air swept through the house.
Place and movement, side by side
Some prepositions describe either place or movement — over, above, in, outside. Others pair closely: a movement lands you in a related place.
| Movement | Place, once you've arrived |
|---|---|
| walk to / towards the station | you arrive in / at the station |
| have climbed onto the roof | you are on / on top of the roof |
| have crept into a classroom | you are in / inside the classroom |
| have come out of a shop | you are out of / outside the shop |
| stroll along a river bank | you are beside the river |
| drive through a tunnel | you are inside the tunnel |
| fly over / above the town | you are over / above the town |
Watch out for these problems
Getting around: transport prepositions
| Pattern | Example |
|---|---|
| by + mode of transport | by bus, by bicycle, by car, by plane, by train |
| in / into / out of + cars | He jumped into the car as soon as he saw a snake. |
| on / onto / off + other transport | They got on the bus as it arrived. |
Fifteen bearings — test yourself
A point, or a stretch, of time
Prepositions of time describe when things happen and how long they last.
On, at, and in
| Preposition | Used with | Example |
|---|---|---|
| on | days and dates | on Thursday · on Christmas Day · on January the first |
| at | specific times, some parts of the day, periods imagined as a unity | at midnight · at night · at the weekend |
| in | years, months, seasons, some parts of the day, "at the end of a period from now" | in 2007 · in March · in winter · in the morning · in two years |
By, until/till, through — and after, before
| Preposition | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| by | before an end time | by New Year · by Tuesday |
| until / till | up to an end time | until 6pm |
| through (American English) | up to an end time | through Sunday |
| after | following a time | after the meeting · after Easter |
| before | earlier than a time | before January · before midday |
During / through, and for / since
| Preposition | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| during | within a period of time | during the meeting · during summer |
| through | for a whole period, beginning to end | through the war |
| for | the length of a period (or an appointed time) | for two nights · an appointment for 3:00pm |
| since | from a beginning point (usually + present perfect) | since 1963 · since he arrived |
Extended vocabulary of time
Fifteen bearings — test yourself
Logical prepositions and set collocations
Not every preposition marks a place or a moment. Many mark a logical relationship — part to whole, origin, cause, or a fixed partnership with a particular adjective, noun, or verb.
Part and whole: partitive "of"
When one comes before of, one is the subject of the clause and takes a singular verb — even though the noun after of is plural.
| Example | Note |
|---|---|
| One of our friends has a car. | singular verb, plural noun after "of" |
| Many of them have cars. | plural nouns take plural pronouns |
| Much of the water is polluted. | uncountable noun — singular verb |
| Some of the rice has been burned. | uncountable noun, can be replaced by "it" |
| None of the information was helpful. | uncountable, singular verb |
Origin and material: of, from, out of
| Example | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Madan Krishna is a citizen of Nepal. | nationality / citizenship |
| Sara is a student from Mexico. | her home is in Mexico |
| George is a student of Mexico. | he studies about Mexico |
| Amanda is a doctor from Kathmandu. | her home is in Kathmandu |
| Amanda is a doctor of medicine. | her field / kind of doctor |
| The desk is made of / from / out of wood. | material |
Adjective + preposition
| Pattern | Adjectives | Example |
|---|---|---|
| alone, or + of (cause of feeling) | afraid, ashamed, convinced, critical, envious, frightened, jealous, proud, scared, suspicious, terrified, tired | He was afraid of his enemies. |
| never used alone | aware of, accustomed to, unaware of, unaccustomed to, fond of, used to | I'm terribly fond of ice-cream. |
| alone, or + of (a quality) | brave, careless, clever, generous, kind, nice, polite, sensible, silly, stupid, thoughtful, unreasonable | That was clever of you. |
| alone, or + to | similar, identical, related, married, engaged, dedicated, devoted, loyal, junior, senior | My problems are very similar to yours. |
| alone, or + with (a feeling) | bored, content, displeased, impatient, impressed, pleased, satisfied | I was impressed with his presentation. |
| alone, or + for (relates to a person/thing) | common, difficult, easy, essential, (un)usual, important, (un)necessary, possible | It is difficult for young people to do it alone. |
| impersonal subject + of, or personal subject + to | cruel, (un)friendly, generous, good, kind, mean, nasty, nice, polite, rude, unkind | It was rude of him to leave. · She was rude to him. |
| + about a thing, + with a person | angry, annoyed, delighted, upset, disappointed, fed up, furious, happy | She was still angry about the results. They're fed up with him. |
Noun + preposition
| Preposition | Nouns | Example |
|---|---|---|
| to | alternative, answer, approach, attitude, introduction, invitation, reaction, return, reference, resistance | This was my first introduction to Africa. |
| on | agreement, attack, comment, effect, tax | She had a dreadful effect on me. |
| in | decrease, difficulty, fall, increase, rise | They demanded a large increase in wages. |
Verb + preposition
With verbs used without an object, different prepositions introduce different kinds of information. About indicates the subject matter; at indicates direction.
| Preposition | Verbs | Example |
|---|---|---|
| about — subject matter | care about, dream about, hear about, speak about, think about, complain about, explain about, talk about, write about | Tonight, I'm going to talk about engines. |
| at — direction | glance, look, glare, shout, grin, smile, laugh, stare, gaze, throw | 'Hey!' she shouted at him. |
A selection of idiomatic prepositions
Three ready-to-teach, 60-minute lessons
Each lesson is built entirely around the categories, examples, and common errors already mapped on this page, so what students practise here in class matches exactly what they'll meet above. Tap a lesson to open the full plan, or download it as an editable document.
Mapping the Room
Prepositions of Place · 60 minutesStudent-centred approach
Every new preposition is elicited from students before the teacher confirms it — nothing is presented as a rule first. Students then move immediately into pair work (guided discovery → collaborative information-gap → communicative mingle), with the teacher acting as monitor and error-collector rather than lecturer for roughly 45 of the 60 minutes.
60-minute timeline
Warm-up: "Where's my pen?"
Teacher prepares: a small object (a pen) and a box or book.
Teacher does: silently places the pen in a series of positions relative to the box (on it, under it, behind it…) and mimes "where is it?"
Students do: call out or point to a guess, in English if they can, in L1 if they can't yet — no correction at this stage, purely noticing.
Guided discovery
Teacher does: repeats the object-movement 8–10 times, now asking pairs to write their guess on a mini-whiteboard before confirming. Builds a live board reference grouped by meaning family (touching a surface: on, on top of; enclosed: in, inside; higher, not touching: above, over…), mirroring the categories on this page.
Monitoring: teacher watches whiteboards for the two watch-out errors before they're even named, so the next stage lands with real classroom examples.
Explicit clarification
Teacher does: presents the two confusable pairs directly from this page's "Watch out" box — in front of vs opposite, and the words that can never lose "of" or "to" (on top of, next to). Runs 3–4 concept-check questions: "If two houses face each other across a road, are they in front of each other or opposite each other?"
Transition: "Now let's put this on paper" → controlled practice.
Controlled practice
Students do: complete Worksheet 1, Section B (10-item gap-fill) individually, then compare answers in pairs before the teacher gives the answer key.
Teacher does: circulates, notes recurring mistakes for the feedback stage.
Collaborative activity: "Describe the Room" information gap
Teacher prepares: Worksheet 1's two room grids (Version A and Version B), a class set, plus a book each pair can stand upright as a divider.
Students do: in A/B pairs, without showing their own grid, Student A describes where eight objects are; Student B fills in their blank grid from the description. Swap roles with the second grid. Pairs compare grids at the end to check accuracy.
Teacher monitors: listens for natural use of the target prepositions and intervenes only for breakdowns in communication, not minor errors.
Communicative application: "My Dream Room"
Students do: sketch a simple stick-figure floor plan of an ideal study space (30 seconds is enough), then describe it to a partner using at least six target prepositions. The partner asks one clarifying question using a preposition ("Is the desk beside the window or opposite it?"). Rotate once to a new partner.
Teacher does: collects 3–4 real learner sentences (anonymised) while circulating, for the next stage.
Feedback and error correction
Teacher does: writes the collected sentences on the board without names attached; the class corrects them together, tying each fix back to the two watch-out patterns taught earlier.
Assessment and reflection: exit ticket
Students do: write one sentence describing where their bag or phone is right now, using a preposition not yet said aloud in class today, and hand it in on the way out.
Homework: describe your bedroom in five sentences, using five different prepositions of place, and underline each one.
Materials and resources
| Resource | How it's used |
|---|---|
| Small object + box | Silent demonstration for the warm-up and guided discovery. |
| Mini-whiteboards or scrap paper | Pairs write guesses before whole-class confirmation. |
| Worksheet 1, Section B | Controlled gap-fill practice. |
| Worksheet 1 room grids (A & B) | The information-gap collaborative activity. |
| Book or folder per pair | Divider so partners can't see each other's grid. |
| Exit slips | Final formative check of the lesson's objective. |
Differentiation and support
Additional support: provide a sentence frame card ("The ___ is ___ the ___.") for the information-gap task; pre-teach the eight object nouns before pairs begin; accept single-word or pointing answers during the warm-up.
Greater challenge: extension cards asking students to combine two prepositions in one sentence ("The lamp is on the desk, between the books and the window"), or to write instructions for a robot rearranging furniture.
Assessment and reflection
Formative checks run throughout: whiteboard guesses in guided discovery, peer-checked gap-fill, teacher monitoring during the information gap and mingle, and the written exit ticket as a final individual check against the lesson objective. Recurring errors feed directly into the whole-class feedback stage rather than being corrected in isolation.
Teacher resource checklist
- Small object + box for the warm-up
- Mini-whiteboards / markers or scrap paper
- Worksheet 1 printed — class set
- Room grids A & B cut/copied separately
- A divider (book/folder) per pair
- Board space for the live reference chart
- Exit-ticket slips or sticky notes
- Worksheet 1 answer key on hand
Finding the Way
Prepositions of Movement · 60 minutesStudent-centred approach
The lesson borrows this page's own storytelling method — narrating a journey and pausing before each preposition for students to supply it — before handing control to students for two problem-solving tasks: a map-based information gap and a "human robot" navigation game, both requiring precise, negotiated language rather than teacher-supplied answers.
60-minute timeline
Warm-up: physical Simon Says
Teacher does: gives simple physical instructions using target prepositions ("walk around your chair," "step over the bag," "reach under the desk"). Students act them out at their desks — kinesthetic noticing, no correction yet.
Guided discovery: the journey story
Teacher does: narrates a short journey (a character walking to work or school) while moving a token along a route sketched on the board, pausing before each preposition for students to supply it before confirming and adding it to a labelled route diagram.
Explicit clarification
Teacher does: walks through this page's place–movement correspondence table (climb onto the roof → be on top of it) and the two flagged errors — a movement preposition used for a static position ("I'll meet you into the kitchen") and the wrong preposition of movement ("walked between the forest"). CCQ: "Do we ever arrive into somewhere?"
Controlled practice
Students do: complete Worksheet 2, Section B (10-item gap-fill following a short character's journey) individually, then pair-check before the answer key.
Collaborative map-based problem-solving
Teacher prepares: Worksheet 2's town map handouts — Student A and Student B versions, each with a different secret destination marked from the same starting point.
Students do: Student A gives step-by-step directions to their secret destination; Student B traces the route on their own copy and names where they end up. Swap and repeat with a new destination.
Teacher monitors: checks whether the named destination actually matches — a direct, self-correcting accuracy check.
Communicative application: "Teacher Robot"
Students do: in groups of three, one student is the "robot" (facing away or eyes closed); the other two give precise step-by-step instructions using movement prepositions to guide the robot to a target object without touching anything else. Rotate the robot role.
Feedback and error correction
Teacher does: shares 3–4 real (anonymised) sentences overheard while monitoring; the class corrects them together, tying each fix back to the two watch-out patterns.
Assessment and reflection: exit ticket
Students do: write one sentence giving a direction from the classroom door to their own seat, using at least one movement preposition.
Homework: write directions from home to the nearest shop, using at least six prepositions of movement.
Materials and resources
| Resource | How it's used |
|---|---|
| Small token/figure | Traces the route during the board narration. |
| Worksheet 2, Section B | Controlled gap-fill on a character's journey. |
| Worksheet 2 town-map handouts (A & B) | The map-based information-gap task. |
| Cleared aisle or open space | Physical space for the "Teacher Robot" game. |
| A small target object | The goal the "robot" is guided towards. |
| Exit slips | Final formative check. |
Differentiation and support
Additional support: a word bank plus sentence frame ("Go ___ the ___.") for the map task; allow single-preposition instructions with pointing in "Teacher Robot."
Greater challenge: require a minimum six-step, six-preposition route with no repeats; ask fast finishers to re-describe the same route using different but equally correct prepositions (over vs above).
Assessment and reflection
The map task is self-marking (the wrong destination reveals a language breakdown immediately), which frees the teacher to monitor language rather than manage the task. Combined with the gap-fill, "Teacher Robot," and exit ticket, the lesson checks the objective from four independent angles.
Teacher resource checklist
- Small token/figure for the board story
- Worksheet 2 printed — class set
- Town-map handouts A & B cut/copied separately
- Cleared space for "Teacher Robot"
- A small target object for the game
- Exit-ticket slips
- Worksheet 2 answer key on hand
When Does It Happen?
Prepositions of Time · 60 minutesStudent-centred approach
Students build the on/at/in rule themselves from a real timetable before it is ever named as a rule, then immediately use it to complete a genuine information gap (an exchange student's timetable) and to talk about their own lives — the two most reliable ways to make a time-preposition choice automatic rather than memorised.
60-minute timeline
Warm-up: call-out quiz
Teacher does: reads time expressions aloud (Saturday… the weekend… summer… three o'clock); students call out the matching preposition as a class, or hold up pre-made in/on/at cards.
Guided discovery: the real timetable
Teacher does: projects or shows a personal weekly diary and thinks aloud, building example sentences ("I go swimming ___ Monday… I eat lunch ___ midday…"), eliciting the missing preposition each time. Students complete a live on/at/in rule chart on the board as it emerges (days & dates / clock times, day-parts & the weekend / years, months, seasons).
Explicit clarification
Teacher does: contrasts the trickier pairs from this page — by vs until (before an end time vs up to it); during vs for (within a period vs its length); for vs since (length vs starting point, with the present perfect). CCQ, using the page's own example: "Ariel's worked in London since October — did she work there in September?"
Controlled practice
Students do: complete Worksheet 3, Section B (10-item gap-fill in personal-schedule contexts) individually, then pair-check before the answer key.
Collaborative timetable information gap
Teacher prepares: Worksheet 3's two half-timetables for a fictional exchange student's week — Student A has Monday–Wednesday, Student B has Thursday–Saturday, both with gaps in the other days.
Students do: ask and answer questions ("When does she have Art class?" — "On Thursday, at ten o'clock") to complete both timetables, then jointly write three sentences summarising the week using during, for, and since.
Communicative application: "My Real Week"
Students do: complete a short personal weekly-schedule grid (5 minutes), then describe their own week to a new partner ("I have English on Tuesdays and Thursdays, at nine o'clock. I've been learning English since [year] / for [number] years."). The partner asks one follow-up question using a time preposition.
Feedback and error correction
Teacher does: shares anonymised errors collected while monitoring, focused on the for/since and by/until confusions, and corrects them as a class.
Assessment and reflection: exit ticket
Students do: write one true sentence about themselves using since, and one using for, and hand both in.
Homework: write five sentences about your week, each using a different one of on, at, in, for, and since.
Materials and resources
| Resource | How it's used |
|---|---|
| A personal weekly timetable (shown or printed) | Source material for guided discovery. |
| In/On/At cards or mini-whiteboards | Fast whole-class response in the warm-up. |
| Worksheet 3, Section B | Controlled gap-fill practice. |
| Worksheet 3 timetable handouts (A & B) | The exchange-student information gap. |
| Blank weekly-schedule grid | "My Real Week" personalisation task. |
| Exit slips | Final for/since formative check. |
Differentiation and support
Additional support: sentence frame ("I have ___ class ___ [day], at ___.") and a visible on/at/in reference chart kept up throughout; accept single-clause answers in the timetable gap.
Greater challenge: require during, for, and since all to appear correctly in "My Real Week"; extension card asking students to explain in their own words why since needs a present-perfect verb.
Assessment and reflection
The call-out quiz gives an instant whole-class read on on/at/in before anything is explained; the timetable gap is self-checking (a wrong preposition produces a wrong answer the partner can query); and the exit ticket isolates the for/since distinction specifically, since it's the pairing students find hardest to automate.
Teacher resource checklist
- Personal timetable, shown or printed
- In/On/At cards or mini-whiteboards
- Worksheet 3 printed — class set
- Timetable handouts A & B cut/copied separately
- Blank weekly-schedule grid
- Exit-ticket slips
- Worksheet 3 answer key on hand
Three worksheets, matched to the lessons above
Each worksheet reinforces its lesson with a genuinely different mix of task types — nothing here is just a repeat of the fill-in-the-blank format. Expand a worksheet to preview it, download the editable version, or print it directly.
Prepositions of Place
Pairs with Lesson 1 — Mapping the RoomObjectives: use at least 12 prepositions of place accurately; correctly distinguish in front of from opposite, and never drop "of" from a fixed phrase.
Instructions: work through each section in order. Compare your answers with a partner before checking the key at the end.
Choose the correct preposition from the box for each sentence: on, outside, opposite, beneath, in front of, between, in the middle of, near, beside, behind.
- The cat is sleeping ___ the sofa.
- Please wait ___ the main entrance.
- The library is ___ the bank, on the other side of the street.
- There's a spider ___ the bed!
- The teacher's desk is ___ the whiteboard.
- Put the lamp ___ the two photo frames.
- She stood ___ the empty stage, waiting for silence.
- My house is ___ the school — only two minutes' walk.
- He sat down ___ his best friend.
- Who is standing ___ the tall man in the black coat?
Match each sentence opening (1–6) to the correct ending (a–f).
| Sentence opening | Match | Endings |
|---|---|---|
| 1. The kitten is hiding… | ___ | a) between the bank and the pharmacy. b) in the middle of the table. c) opposite each other across the plaza. d) on top of the shelf. e) under the kitchen table. f) in front of the old fountain. |
| 2. The two office towers stand… | ___ | |
| 3. A row of books sits… | ___ | |
| 4. The park bench is… | ___ | |
| 5. The bakery is… | ___ | |
| 6. She placed the vase… | ___ |
Work in pairs. Do not show your partner your card. Student A describes their room using the sentences below; Student B sketches and labels the objects on a blank room outline. Then swap roles using the second card.
| Student A's room | Student B's room |
|---|---|
| A lamp is on the desk. The chair is beside the desk. A bookshelf is between the window and the door. A rug is in the middle of the floor. A clock is above the door. A plant is near the window. A bin is under the desk. A poster is on the wall, opposite the door. |
A mirror is beside the wardrobe. The bed is in front of the window. A pair of shoes is beneath the bed. A lamp is on the bedside table. A picture is above the bed. A chair is near the door. A box is between the wardrobe and the wall. A rug is in the middle of the room. |
(Draw a simple room outline in the space below and mark each item as your partner describes it.)
D — Error correctionEach sentence has one mistake. Find it and write the correct sentence.
- It is next the supermarket.
- The post box is in front the post office.
- She stood on top the hill.
- He is standing in middle the square.
- The bank is in front of the post office. (they face each other across the road)
Use each prompt to write one full sentence with the preposition given.
- (beyond / mountains / village)
- (close by / café / office)
- (underneath / cushion / sofa)
- (next to / my house / yours)
- (in between / two lamps / bookshelf)
Describe your bedroom in a short paragraph (5–6 sentences), using at least six different prepositions of place. Underline each one.
Teacher answer keyA: 1. on 2. outside 3. opposite 4. beneath/under 5. in front of 6. between 7. in the middle of 8. near 9. beside 10. behind
B: 1–e, 2–c, 3–d, 4–f, 5–a, 6–b
D: 1. next to the supermarket. 2. in front of the post office. 3. on top of the hill. 4. in the middle of the square. 5. The bank is opposite the post office.
C, E, F: open / self- or peer-checked — accept any grammatically correct sentence using the target preposition appropriately.
Prepositions of Movement
Pairs with Lesson 2 — Finding the WayObjectives: give and follow directions using at least eight prepositions of movement; never confuse a movement preposition with a place preposition.
Instructions: work through each section in order. Compare your answers with a partner before checking the key at the end.
Circle the correct answer, a, b, c, or d.
- One man had climbed ___ the roof of his car. a) on b) onto c) into d) over
- A blast of cold air swept ___ the house. a) through b) along c) round d) onto
- I arrived ___ the station five minutes late. a) into b) at c) to d) through
- She walked ___ him along the corridor, leading the way. a) ahead of b) in front c) opposite d) beyond
- Gabi walked ___ the forest to reach the other side. a) between b) through c) along d) round
- It flew ___ the bridge, passing beneath it. a) over b) under c) through d) beyond
- She climbed ___ the ladder, up to the top. a) onto b) into c) through d) around
- The ship sails ___ the island. a) to b) into c) through d) along
- They walked ___ the fountain three times for luck. a) through b) round c) past d) onto
- He stepped ___ the rope and nearly fell. a) off b) into c) through d) along
Fill each blank using a word from the box: out of, down, through, over, along, round, in through. (One word is used twice.)
Every evening, Yvette walks to work. She goes (1)___ her house, (2)___ the garden path, (3)___ the gate, (4)___ the wood, (5)___ the bridge, (6)___ the river, (7)___ the circus tent, and (8)___ a door. Then she climbs onto the ladder and walks carefully along the rope.
C — Communicative / application: town map information gapWork in pairs. Both of you start at the School. Without naming it, give your partner directions to your secret destination using prepositions of movement; your partner traces the route and names where they arrive.
| Street order (School to Market) | Student A's secret destination | Student B's secret destination |
|---|---|---|
| School → Bakery → Bank → Park → Library → Station → Café → Market | Library | Market |
- I'll meet you into the kitchen.
- Gabi walked between the forest.
- I arrived into the station.
- The children were sitting towards the teacher.
- There was a beautiful painting through the corridor.
Use each prompt to write one full sentence with the preposition given.
- (away from / dog / burning building)
- (round / runners / track)
- (past / car / petrol station)
- (into / key / lock)
- (up to / nervous cat / edge of the roof)
Write directions from your home to the nearest shop, using at least six prepositions of movement.
Teacher answer keyA: 1–b, 2–a, 3–b, 4–a, 5–b, 6–b, 7–a, 8–a, 9–b, 10–a
B: 1. out of 2. down 3. through 4. through 5. over 6. along 7. round 8. in through
D: 1. …meet you in the kitchen. 2. …walked through the forest. 3. …arrived at the station. 4. …sitting in front of the teacher. 5. …painting in/along the corridor.
C, E, F: self-checking (a wrong destination reveals the error) / open — accept any grammatically correct sentence using the target preposition appropriately.
Prepositions of Time
Pairs with Lesson 3 — When Does It Happen?Objectives: choose on/at/in correctly; use for and since accurately with the present perfect.
Instructions: work through each section in order. Compare your answers with a partner before checking the key at the end.
Choose the correct preposition from the box: on, at, in, by, until, during, for, since.
- Paul visited Canada ___ 1980.
- We are going to stay in New York ___ three weeks.
- Ariel has worked in London ___ October.
- Jens said he would finish the work ___ midday.
- Paul always waited ___ ten o'clock, then left.
- Great social changes have taken place ___ the past decade.
- My birthday is ___ January the fifth.
- We always eat lunch ___ midday.
- She has lived here ___ 1990.
- Ted will wait ___ ten minutes, then leave.
Sort each time expression into the correct column: Monday, midnight, March, the weekend, 2007, Christmas Day, ten o'clock, winter, January the first, night.
| ON | AT | IN |
|---|---|---|
| | | |
Elena is an exchange student. Student A knows her Monday–Wednesday; Student B knows her Thursday–Saturday. Ask and answer questions ("When does Elena have Art class?") to complete both halves of the timetable, then write three sentences together using during, for, and since.
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Morning | Maths | Science | English | ? | ? | ? |
| Afternoon | Art | Football | Music | ? | ? | ? |
| Evening | Free time | Homework | Family dinner | ? | ? | ? |
(Student B's copy shows Thursday–Saturday filled in — History / Art / Free time; Maths / Drama club / Cinema; Free time / Volunteering / Party — with Monday–Wednesday blank instead.)
D — Error correction- Ted will wait during ten minutes.
- She has worked here for October.
- Paul always waited by ten o'clock, then left.
- We sat on the grass for the concert.
- I'll finish the report until Friday.
Describe your week in five sentences, using on, at, in, for, and since — one preposition per sentence.
F — Extension taskExplain in your own words why since needs a present-perfect verb, and give one original example sentence.
Teacher answer keyA: 1. in 2. for 3. since 4. by 5. until 6. during 7. on 8. at 9. since 10. for
B: On — Monday, Christmas Day, January the first. At — midnight, the weekend, ten o'clock, night. In — March, 2007, winter.
D: 1. wait for ten minutes. 2. worked here since October. 3. waited until ten o'clock. 4. sat on the grass during the concert. 5. finish the report by Friday.
C, E, F: self-checking timetable / open responses — accept any answer that correctly explains "since" marks a starting point that continues to now, paired with a present-perfect verb.
A worksheet for the physical classroom
Thirty questions spanning place, movement, and time — plain, well-spaced, and ready to photocopy, with a full answer key on the final page for quick marking.