LESSON

LINK

Prepositions
Oxford Living Grammar explains how grammar works and when to use it. The
exercises use real-life situations to practise grammar in context. This unit

29
consolidates your students’ knowledge of prepositions of place (at, in, on,
above, behind, under) and prepositions of time (at, in, on, from, to, until).
Prepositions
Prepositions
Prepositions of place of place
(at, in, on, above, in, on, above, behind, under)
(at, under)
behind,
1 Look at this conversation: 5 We also use above, behind and under to say where
Darling, where are you? ~ I’m at Heathrow. Why? ~ things are:
You’ve left your passport in the living room. ~ Oh no. Hi Dave,
~ I’m afraid so. It’s on the table. I’m very comfortable in my new room. I’ve put a nice
painting above the desk. Fifi, my cat, is sleeping
2 Place under the bed and all
We use at, in and on to say where people/things are. my empty suitcases are behind
the sofa!
We use at to talk about a point where something Love, Debbie
happens.
We use in with enclosed spaces and countries.
We use on with surfaces, or with lines like a river or road.

3 Here are some more examples of at, in and on:

at the bus stop at the train station at the office
at the doctor’s at the supermarket at a party
at Sue’s (house) at the door at the front/back
in the library in the park in London in Spain
in the pool in the photo in a book in the car
Grammar in action
1 We often use at, in and on to talk about travel:
I’m on the train. Can you meet me at the station?
How long are you going to stay in Australia?
Shall we get off the train at Cardiff?

on the chair on the shelf on the train

2 We normally use at to talk about where people are:
I’m at the office, Hugh. I’ll be home about seven.
on the road on the beach on the first floor
Sara’s at the dentist’s, but she’ll be back later.
on the left/right on page seven on the menu
Is there someone at the door?
on the internet
3 We often use at, in, on, above, behind and under to
4 Sometimes we don’t use the: describe where we have put things at home:
My bag’s at home! I think I’ve left it under the bed. Or
at home at school at college at work
it might be on the desk, or behind the piano, or in my
in bed in town in hospital
wardrobe!

A Talking about travel

Luke, Angie and Dave are on holiday in Goa. Luke and Angie are taking a local bus.
Add the correct prepositions to their conversation.
ANGIE It’s a lovely day, isn’t it?
LUKE Of course. You’re in 0
(at/in) India now, not England.
ANGIE That’s true. Are we going to get off the bus 1
(at/in) Sammi’s café?
LUKE OK. We could ring Dave, and have a picnic 2
(on/in) the beach this
afternoon.
ANGIE Good idea. (She takes out her mobile phone.) Dave? Hi! Luke and I are 3

(at/on) the bus. Shall we meet later for a beach picnic? Excellent! I’ll give you a ring.

PHOTOCOPIABLE © Oxford University Press 2013 Taken from Oxford Living Grammar Elementary
 LESSON
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Luke A picnic in November! This is different to life 4

(at/in) Glasgow, isn’t it?
ANGie Luke? Why is the bus stopping here?
Luke Because there’s a monkey 5
(at/on) the road. Have you got your camera?
ANGie No. i left it 6
(in/on) the car, i’m afraid. i’ll get it later.
Luke Don’t worry. We’ll see more monkeys while we’re here.

B Talking about where people are

Joe gets home and asks Mandy where their flatmates are. Use at and the pictures to
complete the conversation.
Joe it’s very quiet, Mandy. Where is everybody?
MANDy Well, ethan’s at the greengrocer’s . He’s getting some tomatoes, i
0

think. Millie’s . She’s working late this week. Dylan’s father

1

is arriving from America, so he’s 2

. And Megan is having
a problem with one of her teeth, so she’s 3
. Now Jake is
4
, because he wants get the sports results, and Jasmine is
5
. Does that answer your question?

C Talking about where things are Help yourself means

FOCUS
WORD
‘take what you want.’
Phil is staying in Diana’s house. Read her letter to him, and use the picture of her
kitchen to add the correct prepositions.

at in on above behind under

Dear Phil,
I hope you enjoy your week in Norfolk.
Please use the food in 0
my kitchen.
There’s a bag of potatoes 1
the table.
They’re from my garden. There’s a loaf of
brown bread 2
a small cupboard
3
the fridge. I made it myself two
days ago. I hope you like it. There’s also a
tin of biscuits 4
the table, and some
fruit 5
the biscuits. Help yourself!
And you’ll find some vegetables under the
window 6
the back of the kitchen.
They’re not from my garden. They’re from a
local farm. Finally, if you look through the
window, you’ll see some apple trees 7

the garden. The apples are delicious!

Best wishes,
Diana

Prepositions | 115

PHOTOCOPIABLE © Oxford University Press 2013 Taken from Oxford Living Grammar Elementary

10 RP LivGram Elem SB U28-30 5P.indd 115 19/3/10 09:47:25

 LESSON
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29 Prepositions
Prepositions
Prepositions of time

6 Time
of time
(at, in, on, from, (at, in, on, from, to, until)
to, until)
The museum is open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
We use at, in, on, from and to/until to talk about time. I waited for you from 4 p.m. until 5 p.m!

In spoken and informal English, we often use

TIP
7 We use at for ‘clock’ times and meals:
The film starts at eight thirty. till or ’til instead of until:
Sleep well. I’ll see you at breakfast. She played that CD from midday till midnight!

8 We also use at in these expressions:

at night at the weekend at the moment
at Christmas at Easter
I always lock the door at night.
9 We use in for parts of the day, months, seasons and years:
in the afternoon in June
in the summer in 2001
Have you ever been to Boston in the autumn.
10 And we use on for days and dates:
on Wednesday on the thirteenth of August
Shall we go shopping on Saturday afternoon?
Grammar in action
4 We can use at, in and on to talk about time. Here, we
are making a plan to meet a friend:
I’ll see you at the weekend. Shall we meet in the
afternoon on Saturday? ~ I can be in town at 2 p.m.
See you then!
5 We can use from and to/until to talk
about a period of time, such as the
opening times of a shop:
The library is closed from 1 p.m.
until 2 p.m.
The supermarket is open from
10 a.m. till 4 p.m. on a Sunday.

11 When we use this, next, and every, we don’t use at, in, 6 We can use from and to/until to tell someone how
or on: long we do an activity for. We might talk about our
I wake up two or three times at every night. daily routine, or our holiday plans:
We’ll go to the match on next Saturday. I work from 9 to 5, but I’m always out at lunch from
12.30 to 1.00.
12 We use from or from…to/until to talk about periods
of time:
Call me later, Sam. I’ll be at home from six.
(= from six and for the rest of the evening.)

D Arranging to meet at lunchtime

Carol wants to meet a business colleague for lunch. Cross out eight wrong words after
the example in her message.

Hi Alex,
Can we meet today? I’m flying to Mumbai on Friday, and I’d like to talk to you about the trip. Who did you
meet when you went there on in May last year? My trip to Mumbai is quite short. I’ll be back on Thursday
in next week. I’m trying to fix some meetings at in the moment, but I need your help! Anyway, I’m in a
meeting on this morning until from ten till eleven, but we could meet on at lunch, if you like. I’m going to
visit our Bristol office in this afternoon, so could we have an early lunch at in twelve o’ clock perhaps? If
that’s not possible, maybe we could meet on in the evening? I hope to hear from you soon.
Best,
Caroline

116 | Prepositions

PHOTOCOPIABLE © Oxford University Press 2013 Taken from Oxford Living Grammar Elementary

LivGram Elem SB.indb 116 11/12/08 15:38:13

 LESSON
LINK

E We use prepositions to talk about where people and things are; and to talk about
E We usetime,
travel, prepositions to days.
dates, and talk about
Leo iswhere people
writing to his and things
sister from are; and to talk
a campsite about
in Italy. First,
travel,
look attime, dates, and
this picture days.
of the Leo is writing
campsite and theto his sister
photo. Thenfrom
addathe
campsite
correctin Italy. First,
prepositions.
look at this picture of the campsite and the photo. Then add the correct prepositions.

Hi Sara!
Hi Sara! at 0 (under/at/above)
We’re looking forward to seeing you next Sunday
the campsite. We’re having a good time. Sam and I runat
We’re looking forward to seeing you next Sunday (under/at/above)
0
1
(until/at/in) the
the campsite. We’re
mornings. Anna swims having a good 2 time. Sam and I run
(in/on/under) the pool, and Eve(until/at/in)
1
the for
gets croissants
mornings.
our breakfastAnna swims 3 (on/at/to)(in/on/under)
2
the pool,
a baker’s in town. Thenand fromEve getsten
about croissants
o’ clock for
our breakfast
4
3
(on/at/to) a baker’s in town. Then
(from/till/at) lunch, we do what we want. There’s a wood from about ten o’ clock
5
(above/
4
(from/till/at) lunch, we do what we want. There’s a
from/behind) the campsite, so sometimes I go for a walk. We normally have lunch wood 5
(above/
from/behind)
6 the campsite,
(at/to/on) so sometimes
one o’ clock, and thenI go
wefor goa walk. We7normally
(in/at/on)have lunch
the car to the
6
(at/to/on) one o’
seaside. Sometimes we have a picnicclock, and then we 8go
(above/on/in) the beach, or weto
7
(in/at/on) the car the
drive
seaside. Sometimes we have a
to one of the towns or cities nearby. picnic 9 (above/on/in) the beach, or we drive
8
(At/On/From) the moment, I’m emailing
to
youone of the
from towns orcafé
an internet cities nearby.10 (under/on/in)9
(At/On/From)
Perpignan.the moment, 11 I’m emailing
(On/In/
you from an internet café 10
(under/on/in)
At) night, we cook a meal. I’ve attached a photo of our kitchen! Perpignan. 12 (On/In/
11
(On/In/
At) the
At) night, we cook
photo a meal.
you can I’ve attached
see there’s a smallafridge
photo of our kitchen!13
12
(under/behind/above) (On/In/the
At) theand
table, photo
thereyou
arecan see
lots of there’s
pots anda small
pansfridge 14
13
(under/behind/above)
(under/on/above) the cooker!the The
table, and there are lots of pots and pans 14
(under/on/above)
weather is beautiful now, but the campsite manager says there was snow a month ago the cooker! The
weather is15beautiful now, but
(in/on/at) Easter! the campsite manager says there was snow a month ago
15
(in/on/at) Easter!
See you soon, Leo
See you soon, Leo

F A family meal
F A family meal
Peggy and her husband Bill are having dinner with their children and their guest from
Peggy and Santiago.
Colombia, her husband ChooseBill arethehaving
correctdinner
wordswithfromtheir children and their guest from
the brackets.
Colombia, Santiago. Choose the correct words from the brackets.
BILL We’re in 0
(in/on/at/above) the dining room, everyone! Dinner is
BILL We’re in
1 0
(in/on/at/above)
(in/on/at/above) the dining
the table! Where room,are theeveryone!
twins? Dinner is
PEGGY Tom’s
1
(in/on/at/above)
2 the table! Where are
(behind/at/in/on) town, Bill, and Katie’s the twins?working 3

PEGGY Tom’s (behind/at/in/on) town, Bill, and Katie’s

(above/until/at/on) eight every day this week to make some extra money. 3
2
working
(above/until/at/on)
SANTIAGO Mia’s 4 eight every dayhome,
(at/in/behind/on) this weekbut Itothink
make some extra money.
she’s 5
(on/in/
Mia’s
SANTIAGO at/above) 4
(at/in/behind/on) home, but I think she’s
her bedroom. 5
(on/in/
AMY at/above)
Where’s my her bedroom.
knife, Mummy?
AMY
PEGGY Where’s
It’s on the myfloor
knife, Mummy? 6
(above/in/to/under) your chair, darling. Give it to
PEGGY It’s
me. I’ll wash it for you. 6 (above/in/to/under) your chair, darling. Give it to
on the floor
BILL me. you
Did I’ll wash it forticket
get your you. 7
(on/under/at/to) the travel agent’s today?
BILL Did you get your ticket
SANTIAGO No, Bill. I got there at a quarter to six,
7
(on/under/at/to)
and it was closed. the It’s
travel agent’s today?
open 8

No, Bill. I got there

SANTIAGO (to/at/in/from) nineatthirty
a quarter
to fivetothirty.
six, andI’llitgowas closed.
again It’s open
tomorrow, or I’ll buy it 8
(to/at/in/from)
9 nine thirty tothe
(under/in/on/at) fiveinternet.
thirty. I’llI go
hopeagain tomorrow,
to fly home or I’ll buy 10 it
(in/
9
on/till/at) the (under/in/on/at)
twentieth of June. the internet. I hope to fly home 10
(in/
PEGGY on/till/at)
But the twentieth
you’ll come back againof June. 11
(on/at/this/until) September, won’t
PEGGY But
you,you’ll come back again
Santiago? 11
(on/at/this/until) September, won’t
you, Santiago?
SANTIAGO That’s right. I’m going to study economics 12
(on/at/in/to) university.
SANTIAGO That’s right. I’m going to study economics 12
(on/at/in/to) university.
OVER
OVER TO
TO YOU
yOU Now go to page 126.
OVER TO yOU Now go to page 126.
Prepositions
Imagine you’re working in an office in London. Write a short email to a colleague. Explain that you want to see
him/her, but you can’t meet today, because you are the only person in your office. Say where your colleagues are,
Prepositions | 117
e.g. Julie is in Spain at our Madrid office. Then try to fix a meeting for tomorrow, e.g. I’m in a meeting from nine to
Prepositions | 117
eleven, but could we meet at 11.30? You may find exercises A and E useful.

PHOTOCOPIABLE
LivGram Elem SB.indb 117 © Oxford University Press 2013 Taken from Oxford Living Grammar Elementary
11/12/08 15:38:14
LivGram Elem SB.indb 117 11/12/08 15:38:14
 friendly people go with colleagues for coffee, lunch etc.
meeting That’s very nice.
woman And I suppose you see quite a lot of famous
people. The headquarters building of the BBC is
fairly close to Oxford Circus.
man Yes, but I’m more interested in the shops.
They’re quite expensive, but can get any new
LESSON
CD or DvD immediately! LINK
woman So are there any problems here?
man
Prepositions: Answer Key
Yes. The underground is really busy in the
morning, but if you drive to work, it’s pretty
hard to find a parking space! Sometimes I arrive
very early at work, but it’s still fairly busy.
woman Well, thanks very much for your time.

29 Prepositions
y good, I think.
A 1 at 3 in 5 on
2 on 4 on 6 in
mer car, I know, but
early. B 1 at the office 4 at the newsagent’s
on. We need to finish 2 at the airport 5 in bed
3 at the dentist’s
terday, Charlie. It’s
C 1 under 4 on 7 in
2 in 5 in
e. It’s fairly/very
3 above 6 at
question is: do we want D Hi Alex,
Can we meet today? I’m flying to Mumbai on Friday, and I’d
ad. He’s quite/really like to talk to you about the trip. Who did you meet when
you went there on in May last year? My trip to Mumbai
ou and George to work is quite short. I’ll be back on Thursday in next week. I’m
nk you could be fairly/ trying to fix some meetings at in the moment, but I need
ou think? your help! Anyway, I’m in a meeting on this morning until
from ten till eleven, but we could meet on at lunch, if you
9 pretty like. I’m going to visit our Bristol office in this afternoon, so
10 really
ntable nouns 27 Adverbs of manner
could we have an early lunch at in twelve o’ clock perhaps?
If that’s not possible, maybe we could meet on in the
going to the • I canI swim
1 evening? hope well.
to hear from you soon.
d we need two loaves • I can play the piano well.
7 fairly and
les or oranges, quite E 1 • inI cook quite well.
6 at 11 At
some chicken
8 veryforreally 2 • inI write essays quite
7 inwell. 12 In
pasta! 9I think
✓ that’s 3 8 13 under
• I don’t speak Spanish very well.
at on
• I can’t sing or dance very well.
4 till 9 At 14 above
2 5 • behind 10 very
My brother works 15 at
in hard for his company.
ives F 1 • onMy friend Mike5eatsinnoisily. 9 on
2 • inMy uncle talks 6veryunder
quietly. 10 on
e. I’m writing this 3 • until
My teacher speaks
7 atvery clearly. 11 this
et it! Gina, one of
ext week. It’s her first 4 at 8 from 12 at
one number? Hers is 28 Adverbs of degree
een a pair of brown See exercise E for an example.
ure I left them in your
29OVER TO YOU
Prepositions
Hi Tony,
Could we meet soon? I can’t meet today. I’m the only person
in the office. Dave is in hospital, and BrendaAnswer
is at home,
key | 145
because her son is ill. Pete is in New York at a conference.
d of mine is visiting me Sally is at college. She studies business management one
my sister’s car and day every week. So could we meet tomorrow? I’m free in the
think it will be nice. afternoon. Shall we meet at three o’ clock? I hope to hear
e flying to my parents’ from you soon. 11/12/08 15:38:19

ear. My brother’s new

30 Conjunctions
ear your news soon!
tugal. The sun feels
PHOTOCOPIABLE
There’s a friendly
e. We had a nice meal
Dear Ms Brown,
I would like to apply for the post of assistant for your Summer
School. I’m twenty two years old, and I live in Spain. I’m looking
for an interesting and useful summer job before I start work for
a travel company in September. I will finish university in June
© Oxford University Press 2013 Taken from Oxford Living Grammar Elementary
this year. I am studying languages (French, English and Italian)
because I want to work in different countries during my career.
I have a driving licence, and I can use computers. I haven’t done