Prepositions

Introduction

This page shows you how to use the prepositions on, in, and at in different contexts.

1. Transportation

Preposition	Example Nouns	Example Sentences
in	car, truck	I went to Vancouver in my car.
on	bus, train, ship, plane, bicycle	I went downtown on the bus. We travelled to Toronto on the train.

2. Time

Preposition	Example Nouns	Example Sentences
in	January, February, March 1987, 1988, 1989 two minutes, three days	She arrived in February. I was born in 1988. I'll be home in three days.
on	Wednesday, Thursday weekend	The party is on Thursday. He left on the weekend.
at	7:00, 7:30, 8 o'clock, noon	I'll call you at 7.30.

3. Communications

Preposition	Example Nouns	Example Sentences
on	telephone Internet radio, television	I spoke to him on the telephone yesterday. I read about it on the Internet. I heard the news on the radio.

4. Where prepositions are NOT used

We don't use prepositions with certain words and phrases:

NO Preposition	Words and Phrases	Example Sentences
in, on, at	home this morning this afternoon every week last Tuesday next year	Sally went home. I met my classmates this morning. We will arrive this afternoon. We have an exam every week. Neil did his laundry last Tuesday. Betty will return next year.

  

คำบุพบท ( Preposition)

คำบุพบท ได้แก่ คำที่ใช้แสดงสถานที่ ตำแหน่ง การเคลื่อนไหว ทิศทาง เวลา ลักษณะ และความสัมพันธ์ คำบุพบทในภาษาอังกฤษอาจเป็นคำคำเดียว เช่น at, between, from สองคำ เช่น next to, out of, across from หรือสามคำ เช่น in front of, in back of, on top of เป็นต้น คำบุพบทตามด้วยคำนาม คำสรรพนาม หรือกลุ่มคำนาม/นามวลี (noun phrase)

นอกจากนี้ ในการตอบคำถามเกี่ยวกับสถานที่ ตำแหน่ง การเคลื่อนไหว ทิศทาง เวลา ลักษณะ และความสัมพันธ์ หากเป็นการตอบแบบสั้น ต้องใช้คำบุพบทนำหน้าประโยคคำตอบด้วย เช่น

“When's the meeting?”

“ On Monday.” ( ไม่ใช่ตอบเพียงแค่ Monday.)

คำบุพบทแบ่งออกได้ดังนี้

1. คำบุพบทแสดงสถานที่ (preposition of place) ได้แก่ at, on, in

at ใช้เมื่อกล่าวถึงจุดหรือตำแหน่งของพื้นที่หรือเนื้อที่ที่มีลักษณะเป็นมิติเดียว ซึ่งบ่อยครั้งมัก

เป็นจุดในการเดินทางหรือสถานที่พบปะ เช่น

The coach stops at Phitsanulok and Chiang Mai.

Turn left at the traffic lights.

See you at the bus stop.

We enjoyed the party at your house. 

at ยังอาจใช้เมื่อกล่าวถึงอาคารหรือสถานที่เมื่อเรากำลังนึกถึงสิ่งที่คนทำภายในอาคารหรือสถานที่เหล่านั้น เช่น

Busaba is a student at Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University.

Let's meet at the restaurant.

I'll drop you at the airport.

on ใช้เมื่อกล่าวถึงพื้นผิวที่มีลักษณะสองมิติ เช่น beach, ceiling, computer or TV screen,

grass, the page of a book, wall, roof, road, table, shelf เป็นต้น

I love lying on the beach.

Can you help me get rid of those dirty spots on the ceiling?

What's that mark on the computer screen?

The rabbit's sitting on the grass.

It's on page 112.

I'd like to hang this picture on that wall.

There are a few cats on the roof of my house.

on ยังสามารถใช้เมื่อกล่าวถึงสถานที่ที่ตั้งอยู่บนเส้นหรือแนว ( places on a line) เช่น

on the Nile, on the equator เป็นต้น

The ancient town of Luxor is on the Nile.

Kenya is on the equator, isn't it?

My house is located on Vibhavadi-Rangsit Road.

นอกจากนี้ on ยังใช้เมื่อกล่าวถึงยานพาหนะ เช่น bus, train, plane และ ship ยกเว้น car

I was on the bus when you called me this morning.

Guess who(m) I met on the train?

in ใช้เมื่อกล่าวถึงที่ ที่ว่าง หรือเนื้อที่ที่มีลักษณะสามมิติ เช่น box, city, country, cupboard, drawer, house, library, room, car, pocket, building, village เป็นต้น

What's in the box?

I live in Bangkok, but my daughter lives in London.

How long have you been in Thailand?

Can you put the salt and pepper back in the cupboard, please?

The letters are in the top drawer.

Many students are now studying for their final examination in the library.

Your glasses are in the car.

It was very cold in the theater last night.

2. คำบุพบทแสดงตำแหน่ง (preposition of position/location)

เช่น above ( ข้างบน เหนือ) , across from ( อีกฝั่งหนึ่งของ) , at the top of ( ด้านบนสุดของ) , at the bottom of ( ด้านล่างสุดของ) , at the back of ( ด้านหลัง) , behind/in back of ( ข้างหลัง) , beside ( ข้าง ๆ) between ( ระหว่าง) , by ( ข้าง ๆ ใกล้ ถัดจาก ติดกับ) , in front of ( ข้างหน้า) , in the middle of ( ตรงกลาง) , near ( ใกล้) , next to ( ถัดจาก ติดกับ) , on top of ( บน ด้านบนของ) , opposite ( ตรงข้าม) , underneath ( ข้างใต้ ข้างล่าง) เป็นต้น

The light is above the desk.

She lives in the room across from mine.

I put your name at the top of the list.

Can I borrow the book which is at the bottom of the pile?

My husband likes to sit at the back of the cinema.

My son was hiding behind me while playing hide-and-seek with his friends.

The most comfortable chair is the one beside the window.

The little girl is sitting between her father and mother.

The big mango tree by the river was blown down last week.

There was a woman standing in front of me.

Henry was sitting alone in the middle of the yard.

My house is near Kasetsart University.

The nearest bank is next to that convenience store.

The secretary started piling the books on top of each other.

The fresh market is opposite the hospital.

I found the key I had lost underneath the newspaper.

3. คำบุพบทแสดงการเคลื่อนไหว (preposition of motion)

เช่น away, from…to, into, through, toward(s), out of เป็นต้น

We drove away after saying goodbye to everyone at the party.

The salesperson traveled from city to city.

The rescuers dived into the water to save the little girl's life.

Mike traveled to New York in a 747 and flew through a storm.

To get to Pim's house, we drove toward(s) Sathorn Road.

She turned and rushed out of the room.

4 คำบุพบทแสดงทิศทาง (preposition of direction)

เช่น across, along, up, away from, down, to, from เป็นต้น

Many people live along both sides of the river.

My daughter ran quickly into the house and went up the stairs.

I got very angry with one of my employees, so I just walked away from her to

calm down.

He turned to the right to look at the driver.

The loud noise was coming from that room.

5. คำบุพบทแสดงเวลา (preposition of time)

          1) at ใช้กับเวลาตามนาฬิกาและในสำนวน เช่น at dawn, at noon, at midday, at night, at midnight,

at bedtime, at lunchtime, at dinnertime, at sunrise, at sunset, at present, at the moment, at the same time เป็นต้น

The appointment is at 10:30.

Jane works best at night.

I'll see you at lunchtime.

I'm afraid he's not here at present. Can I take a message?

We finished the test at the same time.

นอกจากนี้ at ยังใช้กับวันหยุดสุดสัปดาห์ ( weekend) และเทศกาล ( festival) ต่างๆ เมื่อต้องการ

กล่าวถึงช่วงเวลานั้นตลอดทั้งช่วง

Did you have fun at the weekend? ( ตลอดช่วงวันหยุดสุดสัปดาห์)

What are you doing at Christmas? ( ตลอดช่วงเทศกาลคริสต์มาส)

           2) in ใช้กับเดือน ปี ทศวรรษ ศตวรรษ ฤดูกาล และสำนวน the first/second/third, etc./last week

In Thailand, the weather's great in December.

I started work at STOU in 1985.

There was an economic crash in the 1990s.

Columbus went to America in the fifteenth century.

In winter, it often snows in England.

My family and I usually have our main holiday in the summer.

The school board meetings are in the first and third weeks of the month.

ขอให้สังเกตว่า เมื่อกล่าวถึงฤดูกาลเป็นการเฉพาะ ( อาจหมายถึงช่วงเวลาใดเวลาหนึ่งในฤดูนั้น) ไม่ใช่กล่าวทั่ว ๆ ไป จะใช้ the นำหน้าด้วย

นอกจากนี้ in ยังใช้ในสำนวนดังเช่น in the morning/afternoon/evening ในสำนวน in the night เมื่อเป็นการกล่าวถึงคืนใดคืนหนึ่งเป็นการเฉพาะ (มักใช้ในกรณีของคืนวันที่ผ่านมา) และในสำนวน in the past, in the future

We went to the Temple of the Emerald Buddha in the afternoon.

I had a horrible dream in the night.

What would you like to do in the future?

          3) on ใช้กับวันต่าง ๆ ของสัปดาห์ วันที่ และในสำนวน เช่น on Monday morning, on Friday evening, on Saturday night, on the weekend, on weekends เป็นต้น

Annie's baby was born on Monday.

His birthday is on March 5.

Are you doing anything on Saturday night?

What do you usually do on the weekend?

On ยังใช้เมื่อกล่าวถึงวันใดวันหนึ่งเป็นการเฉพาะในระหว่างเทศกาลหนึ่ง ๆ

There's a party at Ann's house on Christmas Day.

Do you have any celebration on Easter Sunday?

ข้อควรจำ ไม่ใช้คำบุพบทบอกเวลา in, on, at กับคำว่า today, tomorrow, yesterday และสำนวนบอกเวลาที่ขึ้นต้นด้วยคำบางคำ เช่น last, next, every, this เป็นต้น

Do you have any meetings today?

What did you do last night?

สำนวนที่ใช้กันโดยทั่วไปอีกสองสำนวนคือ in time และ on time จะมีความหมายแตกต่างกันคือ

in time หมายถึง ทันเวลา (ก่อนเวลา ก่อนกำหนด) ส่วน on time จะหมายถึง ตรงเวลาพอดี

          4) before ( ก่อน)

We got there before anyone else.

Have you met David before ?

I had a job interview at an import-export company the day before yesterday .

The year before last , I worked as a volunteer in a school in Pattani Province.

          5) after ( ภายหลัง หลังจาก)

I'll be home after dinner.

It is a quarter after ten o'clock.

Can you come and see me again the day after tomorrow?

After Wednesday we will begin our vacation.

Paul got a job immediately after his graduation.

          6) during ( ระหว่าง ในระหว่าง)

I'll be really busy during the week.

I always wake up during the night .

The lights went out during the big storm.

The bride was so tired that she fainted during the wedding ceremony. 

          7) by ( ภายใน ไม่ภายหลังจาก/ไม่ช้ากว่า = no later than)

You must be in the office by 8:30 a.m.

The building will be completed by May.

Mr. Johnson should receive a reply to his letter by Tuesday.

By the time I finished one chore, my wife had thought up two more.

6. คำบุพบทแสดงลักษณะ (preposition of manner)

เช่น in, with, without เป็นต้น

He spoke in a low voice.

John is the man with gray hair and eyeglasses standing over there.

Our friends drove by without even waving.

7. คำบุพบทแสดงความสัมพันธ์ (preposition of relationship)
เช่น for, from, of, about, with, in เป็นต้น

She was sorry for him when he heard the truth.

Judging from Laura's appearance, I would say that she is not happy.

Sarah could not think of the answer.

Could you please tell us briefly about yourself?

You can leave the package with my assistant.

She is interested in the plan.


Online exercise : http://web2.uvcs.uvic.ca/elc/studyzone/200/grammar/prepo1.htm

http://grammar.about.com/od/sentencestructures/a/Preposition-Practice-In-Into-On-And-At.htm

Answer Page 89-90

2.6  Prepositions

A.  Complete  these  sentences  with  the  right  prepositions.

1.  The  shop  is  closed     on     Sundays .

2.  I  looked  for  my  lost  bag    for    two  hours .  I  could  not  find  it .

3.  The  fair  lasted    for    two  weeks .

4.  The  noisy  neighbours  were  playing  music  all   at     the  night .

5.  I  came  home  late    in     the  evening .

6.  I  am  going  to  London     on      Saturday .

7.  It  snows  very  little  here    in      the  winter .

8.  I  love  going  for  walks     on       a  sunny  day .

9.  I  have  a  meeting      at      9  o’clock .

10. The  world  Cup  will  begin     in      May  this  year .

11. I  play  tennis    for    two  hours  every  day .

12.     In  five  year’s  time ,  I  want  to  publish  my  own  book .

B.  Complete  the  sentences  by  choosing  the  right  prepositions  from  the  brackets .

1.  I  never  drink  coffee      after      breakfast . (in , after)

2.  The  manager  left  the  room      during  the  meeting  to  answer  a  phone  call . (at , during)

3.  Sarah  is  usually  in  a  tearing  hurry     in    the  mornings

Because  she  has  to  leave  home  very  early . (in , on)

4.  My  friend  has  invited  me  to  her  birthday  party   on    

Sunday . (on , at)

5.  Tom  is  going  to  France     in        December  meet  his  fiance’e . (in , at)

6.  He  was  born      on         Christmas  day . (on , in)

7.  I  lived  in  Greece      in        the  1990s . (in,at)

8.  Tanya  learned  to  drive  a  car      in        four  weeks!

 (in , at)

9.  The  children  usually  wake  up      at      8 o’ clock on  Sundays . (on , at)

10.    On      Saturday  night  we  decided  to  go   to  a  late night  film . (at , on)

11. What  did  you  do      on      the  weekend ? (on , in)

12. John  settled  down  to  read  a  book        before       dinner  since  he  had  come home  early . (before , on)

Pronouns

*Pronouns are words that are used in place of nouns. They stand for three persons-the first person, the second person and the third person. They can be used in the subject position or object position.

Subject Pronouns
First person singular (the person speaking)	I	First person plural (the persons speaking)	we
Second person singular (the persons spoken to)	you	Second person plural (the persons spoken to)	you
Third person singular (the person or thing spoken about)	he, she, it	Third person singular (the persons or things spoken about)	they

Object Pronouns
First person singular (the person speaking)	me	First person plural (the persons speaking)	we
Second person singular (the persons spoken to)	you	Second person plural (the persons spoken to)	you
Third person singular (the person or thing spoken about)	him, her, it	Third person plural (the persons or things spoken about)	them

*Possessive pronouns are used to show that something belongs to someone.

Possessive Pronouns
First person	mine, ours
Second person	yours
Third person	His, hers, theirs

1.   Complete the sentences using the right pronoun in the brackets.

1.   The Nile is a river in Africa. It (She, It) is the longest river in the world.

2.   I hurt myself (oneself, myself) while playing tennis yesterday.

3.   Lewis Carroll was a writer. She (He, She) wrote Alice in Wonderland.

4.   The Eiffel Tower is in Paris. It (He, It) is the tallest building in Paris.

5.   At George’s birthday party, his (his, their) friends gifted him (him, them) a book.

6.   Lynn is a shy girl. She (She, It) never talks about herself (herself, oneself).

7.   Is this pen yours (yours, your)?

No, that is not mine (myself, mine).

8.   When ill, you (you, they) must take good care of yourself (themselves, yourself).

9.   Fred and Nick have had a quarrel. But they (he, they) must sort it out between them (them, themselves)

10. The tourists asked the policeman where they (they, he) could find a good restaurant.

11. The Merino sheep is famous for its (their, its) soft wool.

12. Harry asked Sam if he (he, they) could help him (him, them).

13. Gina found her (her, herself) very tired at the end of the day.

14. Walt Disney was a filmmaker he (he, who) created Mickey Mouse.

2.5 Pronouns

Kind of pronouns

*Demonstrative Pronouns are used to point out something or someone. In English, demonstrative pronouns are this, that, these, those.

·   This is my teacher.

·   That is my classroom.

*Distributive pronouns are used to refer to things one at a time rather than collectively. They are each, either and neither. Since they refer to a single person or thing at a time, distributive pronouns are always singular and are followed by singular verbs.

·   Each child was given a present.

·   Either answer is correct.

·   Neither team could win.

Note-before a noun with a determiner (the, my, this) we use each of. This is followed by a plural noun and a singular verb.

Each of the girls was given a present.

When speaking about more than two persons or things the distributive pronouns any, no one or none should be used.

·   I don’t like any of these three designs.

·   No one offered to accompany her to the hospital.

·   None but the brave deserve the fair.

*A relative pronoun is a pronoun that refers to something within a larger sentence. It is called a relative pronoun because it relates to the word that it modifies and is not specific. In English, relative pronouns are : who, whom, which, that, where, when why.

·   The shirt that I am wearing today belongs to my brother.

·   I have a friend who knows five languages.

·   I have on Fir Street which is two from here.

Relative pronouns are used to join two or more sentences.

-     The cheetah is the fastest mammal. It is my favourite animal.

-     The cheetah, which is the fastest mammal, is my favorite animal.
Answer Page 83-88

 A. Complete the sentences using demonstrative pronouns.

1.   This dish isn’t very goods but that one tastes very nice! (this, that)

2.   Look at those necklaces on that shelf. Aren’t they lovely? (that, those)

3.   Do you like these fruits? I bought them just for you. (these, that)

4.   What is the answer to these questions? (this, these) (this, these)

5.   This cake looks delicious! Where did you buy it from? (those, this)

6.   I like that shirt you are wearing. (these, that)

B. Complete the sentences using distributive pronouns.

1.   Either Joseph or Peter can show you the way. (Neither, Ether)

2.   Neither answer is correct. (Neither, None)

3.   Each of you must sing s song. (Each, No one)

4.   None of the solutions is right. Do the sum again. (Each, None)

5.   Several people were invited but none attended.

6.   No one of them can complete the work today. (Neither, No one)

  

C. Complete the sentences using relative pronouns.

1.   I would like to live in a town that is clean and noise-free. (that, who)

2.   I am reading a book whoich I borrowed from the library. (which, whose)

3.   The flowers which are growing in your garden are very pretty. (whom, which)

4.   Who is the man that spoke to you just now? (which, that)

      5.   I have a friend who can perform magic tricks. (whom, who)

6.   Do you remember the name of the actress who won an Oscar this year? (who, who)

7.   This is the girl who had an accident. (whose, who)

8.   Last week I saw a building which was really hot! (who, which)

9.   She likes curries that are really hot! (that, who)

10. The book which you gave me is very interesting! (which, whom)

  D. Combine the sentences using relative pronouns.

1.   Joan is lazy girl. She likes to sleep all the time.

Joan is lazy girl who likes to sleep all the time.

2.   My cousin lives in Singapore. It is thousand of miles away.

My cousin lives in Singapore where is thousand of miles away.

3.   The black car looks great. The car is behind us.

The black car which is behind us looks great.

4.   The bird is flying over the trees. It must be an eagle.

The bird  which is flying over the trees must be an eagle.

5.   My father is in the army. He will come home for the holidays.

My father who is in the army will come home for the holidays.

6.   This is the book. I was telling you about it.

This is the book which is I was telling you about it.

Antecedents

*Antecedent is a word to which a pronoun refers.

Trees purify the atmosphere around them.

In this sentence, them refers to trees at the beginning of the sentence.

*The antecedent and the noun I a sentence must agree in gender and number.

·  Joke rides his bicycle to school.
·  The dog wagged its tail.
·  The students walked out of their classroom.

*If the antecedent is on indefinite pronoun (someone, anybody) then a masculine pronoun is used.

Every must follow his dreams. 

A. Underline the pronoun and circle its antecedent in each sentence.

1.   Sally was struggling with her homework.

2.   Sally asked her brother Mark to help her.

3.   Mark said he was busy.

4.   Mark agreed to help Sally after he completed his work.

5.   Sally could not complete her homework before dinner.

B. Complete the sentence by choosing the correct antecedent from the brackets.

1.   Jane doesn’t drive her (her, their) car to work often.

2.   Every student must submit his (their, his) essay tomorrow.

3.   Each person reaps the fruit of his (his, her) labour.

4.   The leaves look like they (it, they) have been burnt.

       5.   The tourists can leave their (his, their) bags in the cloakroom

Exercise Online : http://www.englisch-hilfen.de/en/exercises_list/pronomen.htm
                              http://www.englishexercises.org/makeagame/viewgame.asp?id=4017

Comparison of Adjectives and Adverbs

* Comparative forms of adjectives and adverbs help us to show the difference between two things.

Paul is taller than his brother.

Here, the word taller describes Paul in comparison with his brother. Most adjectives and adverbs of one syllable are changed to their comparative form by adding  -er + than to the word.

cold – colder than; simple – simple than

* Adjectives and adverbs of two or more than two syllables are changed into their comparative form by adding more than or less than.

Beautiful – more beautiful than

*Superlative form of adjectives and adverbs are used when a subject is compared to two or more things.

The giraffe is the tallest animal on land.

The superlative form of tall is tallest. In this sentence, the giraffe is compares to all other animals on land. The superlative forms have the + -est added to main word.

the coldest place on earth; the simplest way to solve the problem

The superlative forms have the most added to the main word.

beautiful – the most beautiful

Online  exercise : http://www.myenglishgrammar.com/english/exercise-3-adjectives.html

http://www.learnenglish-online.com/grammar/tests/superlativecomparative.html 
Answer Page 81-82
A. Complete the sentences using the comparative form of the adverb or adjective given in the brackets.

1. I am more patient than I was ten years ago. (patient)

2. She looks thinner than she did last year. (thin)

3. One must drive more carefully than usual near schools and hospital. (carefully)

4. I found the book more interesting than the film that was based on it. (interesting)

5. It is warmer during the day than at night. (warm)

6. He is more talkative than his sister. (talkative)

7. They are planning to move into a larger flat. (large) B. Complete the sentences using the superlative form of the adjective given in the brackets. 

1. Jupiter is the largest planet in the solar system. (large)

2. She is the nicest person I have met. (nice)

3. Verkoyansk is the coldest place on earth. (cold)

4. This was the most enjoyable holiday I have had. (enjoyable)

5. Jim was wearing the most terrifying costume of all. (terrifying)

6. He is one of the most talented actors I have seen on stage. (talented)


C. Complete these sentences with the correct form of the adjective given in the brackets-the comparative or the superlative. 
1. This year it’s somehow the warmest in March. (warm) 

2. Singapore is the most humid place I’ve been to. (humid)

3. Who is the fastest swimmer in our class? (fast)

4. Orangutans are supposed to be more intelligent than chimpanzees. (intelligent)

5. Let us go out onto the balcony. It is the most pleasant there. (pleasant)

6. This scarf in made from the finest silk. (fine)