Modul Bahasa Inggris 2

MEETING 11: PREPOSITIONS

A. INSTRUCTIONAL GOALS

This section will mainly discuss theoretically and practically of prepositions, hopefully students
will understand how to:
1.1 Identify prepositions.
1.2 use prepositions in any sentenses

B. MATERIAL DESCRIPTION
Instructional Goal 1.1:
Identifying the kinds of prepositions

Kinds of Prepositions. There are some kinds of preposition as follows: simple prepositions,
compound prepositions, double prepositions, participle prepositions, phrase prepositions.

a. Simple Prepositions. Simple prepositions are words like in, on, at, about, over, under,
off, of, for, to etc.

For examples:

• She sat on the sofa.

• He is going to the market.
• He fell off the ladder.
• There is some water in the bottle.
• She comesfromJakarta.
• They sat around the table.
• The cat was hiding under the bed.

b. Compound prepositions. Compound prepositions are words like without, within,

inside, outside, into, beneath, below, behind, between etc.

• He fell into the river.

• She sat between her kids.
• He sat beside her.
• There is nothing inside the jar.
• The teacher stood behind the desk.

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• The boy ran across the road.

c. Double prepositions. Double prepositions are words like outside of, out of, from
behind, from beneath etc.

• Suddenly he emerged from behind the curtain.

• He walked out of the compound.

d. Participle prepositions. Participle prepositions are words like concerning,

notwithstanding, pending, considering etc.

• There was little chance of success, notwithstanding they decided to go ahead.

• You did the job well, considering your age and inexperience.

e. Phrase prepositions. Phrase prepositions are phrases like because of, by means of,
with regard to, on behalf of, instead of, on account of, in opposition to, for the sake of
etc.

• I am standing here on behalf of my friends and colleagues.

• The match was cancelled because of the rain.
• He succeeded by means of perseverance.

Instructional Goal 1.2:

The Use of prepositions

The following diagram will give you a general idea of how prepositions work. Often,
however, the diagram will not help you to understand certain expressions containing prepositions.

ABOVE, OVER
ON
TO FROM

OUT IN
THROUGH

INTO OUT OF

BY

BELOW, UNDER
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From: This preposition generally means the opposite of to (see diagram)

He came from Miami last night. (opposite of: He went to Miami)

a. Common usage of from (from a time to a time/ from a place to a place). He lived in
Germany from 1972 to 1978. We drove from Atlanta to New York in one day.

b. Common expressions with from: from time to time (occasionally). We visit the art
museum from time to time.

By : This preposition generally means to go pass a place or to be situated near a place.

We walked by the library on the way home. Your books are by the window

a. Common usage of by:

• to indicate the agent in passive sentences. Romeo and Juliet was written by
Willian Shakespeare.
• by + specific item (before). We usually eat supper by six o’clock in the evening.
• By bus/plane/train/ship/car/bike (indicates mode of travel). We travel to Boston
by train.

b. Common Expression with by:

• by then (before a time in the past or future). I will graduate from the university
in 1983. By then, I hope to have found a job.
• by way of (via). We are driving to Atlanta by way of Baton Rouge.
• by the way (incidentally). By the way, I’ve got two tickets for Saturday’s game.
Would you like to go with me?
• by accident/by mistake (not intentionally, opposite of on purpose). Nobody will
receive a check on Friday because the wrong cards were put into the computer by
accident.

IN : This preposition generally means inside of a place or enclosure. It is the opposite of

out. Dr. Jones is in his office.

Common usage of in:

• in a room/building/drawer/closet (inside). Your socks are in the drawer.
• in + month/year. His birthday is in January. Peter will begin class in 1981.

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• in time (not late, early enough). We arrived at the airport in time to eat before
the plane left.
• in the street. The children were warned not to play in the street.
• in the morning/afternoon/evening. I have a dental appointment in the morning,
but I will be free in the afternoon.
• in the past/beginning/future/end. Everyone seemed unfriendly in the beginning,
but in the end everyone made friends.
• In a row/in the event that/in case (if). We are going to sit in the tenth row of the
auditorium.

ON : This preposition generally means a position above, but in contact with an object.
a. Common usage of on:
• on a day/day. I will call you on Thursday. His birthday is on January 28.
• on a/the bus/plane/train/ship. It’s too late to see Jane; she’s already on the
plane. I came to school this morning on the bus.
• on a street. George liveon 16th Avenue.
• on the floor of building. Henri lives on the fifteenth floor of that building.

b. Common Expressions with on:

• on time (punctual, used for a scheduled event or appointment, more specific than
in time. Despite the bad weather, our plane left on time.
• on the corner (of two streets). Norman Hall is on the corner of 13th Street and 5th
Avenue.
• On the way/on the right/on the side walk/on the left. Paul sits on the left side of
the room and Dave sits on the right.
• On television/on the telephone. Janet will be here soon; she is on the telephone.
• On the other hand/on the whole. On the whole, the rescue mission was well
executed.
• On sale/on foot(walking). I came on foot

AT: This preposition generally is used to indicate a general location. It is not as specific as in.
Janet is at the bank.

a. Common usage of at:

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• at + an address. George lives at 712 16th Avenue

• at + a specific time. The class begins at 3:10.

b. Common expressions with at:

• at home/school/work. From nine to five, Charles is at work and his roommate is
at school.
• at night. We never go out at night because we live too far from town.
• at least (at the minimum). We will have to spend at least two weeks doing the
experiments.
• at once (immediately). Please come home at once.
• at present/the moment (now). She is studying at the moment.
• at times (occasionally). At times, it is difficult to understand him because he
speaks too fast.
• at first (initially). Jane was nervous at first, but later she felt more relaxed.

DURING: This preposition is usually followed by a noun indicating time. It indicates duration
of time. During our vacation, we visited many relatives across the country. During the summer,
we do not have to study.

C. EXERCISES/ASSIGNMENTS.
1. Fill the blanks by choosing the appropriate prepositions in, at, or on.
a) Don’t sit ………………the grass. It’s wet.
b) What have you got ………………you bag
c) Look! There’s a man ………………roof. What is he doing?
d) There are a lot of fish ………………this river.
e) Our house is number 45, the number is ……………… the door
f) Is the cinema near here? ‘Yes, turn left ……………… the traffic light’
g) I usually do my shopping ……………… the city centre.
h) My sister lives ………………Brussels
i) There’s a small park………………the top of the hill
j) I think I heard the door bell. There’s somebody………………the door
k) Munich is a large city……………… the south of Germany
l) There are a few shops ………………the end of the street
m) It’s difficult to carry a lot of things ………………a bicycle
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n) I looked at the list of names. My name was ……………… the bottom of the list.
o) There is a mirror ………………the wall ………………the living room.
2. Write to, at, or in if necessary. Sometimes there is no preposition.
a) What time do you usually get ………………work?
b) What time did you arrive ………………party?
c) When did you arrive ………………London?
d) What time do you usually get ………………home
e) What time does the train get ………………Paris?
3. Write the correct preposition in the following sentences. There may be several possible answers
for some blanks.
(1) ………………the summer, we went (2) ……………….the beach every day. We stayed (3) ………………
a lovely motel right (4) ………………the beach. (5) ………………the morning we would get up (6)
………………9;30, have breakfast, and then spend four hours (7) ………………the pool (8) ………………all
the other guests. (9) ………………1:00 we would have lunch (10) ……………… our room. (11)
………………lunch we would eat something light like sandwiches and fruit. (12) ………………the
afternoon we would return (13) ……………… the pool area and sit (14) ……………… the sun (15)
………………a while. (16)……………… night we would take long walks (17) ………………the beach or visit
some friends who lived (18) ………………520 Volusia Avenue (19) ……………… Daytona Beach.
Many people from (20) ……………… (21) ………………town stayed (22) ………………that motel. Like
us, they had been coming (23) ……………… that same motel (24) 1975. Most (25) ………………them
were (26) ………………Ohio. (27) ………………time (28) ………………time we would eat out (29)
……………… a nice restaurant, where we didn’t have to wait long (30) ………………the waitress to serve
us. (31) ………………July it is usually very crowded, but this year (32) least, it was not as crowded as
(33) ………………the past. Once (34) ………………a while we went (35) ……………… the movies (36)
……………… the theater (37) ………………the corner (38) ……………… La Olas Boulevard and Castillo
Avenue. We arrived there (39) ………………no time (40) ……………… all (41) ……………… car. We sat
(42) the middle (43) ………………the theater, (44) ……………… the twelfth row. The movie started (45)
……………… 7:00 sharp, so we got there just (46) time to buy some popcorn and find our seat (47)
……………… it started. (48) ………………first, I thought I would not enjoy it, but (49) ……………… the
end, it turned (50) ……………… to be a very interesting movie. (51) ………………the whole, it was an
enjoyable evening. We decided to get a Coke (52) ……………… (53) ………………the machine, but
unfortunately it was (54) ………………(55) ………………order. So (56) ………………place (57)
………………the Coke, we decided to get some ice cream (58) the Dairy Isle which was located (59)
………………the corner (60) ………………Harper Ave. and Washington St.

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D BIBLIOGRAPHY
1. Azar, Betty, Understanding and Using English Grammar (third edition), New York,
Pearson Education, White Plains, 1998
2. Frank, Marcella, Modern English : a practical reference guide, New Jersey, Prentice
Hall, 1972
3. L.G. Alexander, Longman English Grammar Practice, USA, Longman Inc. New York,
1990
4. Philips, Deborah, Longman Preparation Course for the TOEFL Test, Volume A-Skill and
Strategies, Second Edition, Wesley Pub. Co. New York, 1996

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