This Week's Prepositions

"At the beginning" or "in the beginning"? Do you know the difference. Click here to find out.

Source: Macmillan blog.

This Week's Prepositions

Into / Onto

Phantom cat jumping onto a chair

• We use into and onto to talk about directions and destinations - where things are going.

Compare:

          She's in  her bedroom getting dressed. (She's inside her room.)
           She went into her bedroom to get dressed. (You actually picture her entering the room.)

          The cat is on the chair.
          The cat jumped onto the chair. (You actually picture the moggy leave the floor.)

• The opposite of into is out of.  Having finished dressing, she walked out of her bedroom.
• The opposite of onto is down from. The cat jumped down from the wall.

• We also use into for change.

          When she kissed the prince, he changed into an ugly frog.
          Can you translate this into Spanish?

• What's the difference between into and in to? And onto and on to? See here.

This Week's Preposition

At the Bus Stop by Beryl Cook.

At

Sometimes, we confuse "at", "in" and "on" when we're taking about a place.

We use "at" when we are talking about position at a point.
 
"It's very hot at the centre of the earth."
"Turn right at the next corner."

Sometimes we use "at" with a larger place if we think of this as a point or a stage on a journey or as a meeting place. Compare:

"The plane stops at London for an hour." (a point on a journey.)
"She lives in London." (Somebody's home.)
"Let's meet at the club."
"Let's meet at Jane's house."

We very often use "at" before the name of a building when we are thinking, not of the building itself, but of the activity that happens there.

"Eat at Dino's; the best food in town!"
"She's not here; she's at the office."
"At" is used before the name of a city to refer to that city's university.

He's a student at Oxford.

"At" is also used before the names of group activities.

at a party; at a meeting; at a concert; at a lecture; at the football match.

Source: Swan, M. 2000. Practical English Usage. Oxford, UK: OUP

Test your kowledge of "at", "in" and "on" here.

This Week's Preposition

Which preposition do we use after the verb, "arrive"?

Look:

The officer arrived at the girl's house mid-morning.

The Dutch arrived in China in 1601.

Vermeer arrived home.

What is the rule? Check here.

This Week's Preposition

OF

She accused me of poisoning her husband.
Are you afraid of spiders?
I often dream of you.