Prepositions - ToEIC Grammar

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PREPOSITIONS 1. Prepositions of time Prepositions of time (giới từ chỉ thời gian) indicate time. We use: AT - for the time: 

at eight o’clock



at 7 p.m

- with expressions: 

at Christmas/ Easter



at noon/ midday/ night/ midnight



at breakfast/ lunch/ dinner



at the weekend



at the moment



at present

ON - with days of the week: 

on Monday/ Sunday

- for part of a specific day: 

on Friday evening



on Monday morning

- with dates: 

th

on 9 August

- with expressions: 

on a hot/ cold day



on Christmas Eve



on New Year’s Day



on my birthday

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www.globaledu.com.vn - with centuries: 

in the twentieth century



in the sixteenth century

- with years: 

in 1998



in 2002

- with seasons: 

in spring



in the summer

- with months: 

in March



in September

- with expressions: 

in the morning



in the afternoon



in the evening

BY, UNTIL The preposition by (vào lúc) means “by”, “not later than” 

You must be back by midnight.

The preposition until means “until” (cho đến khi). 

You can keep my car until Monday.

By and until are not used in the same way. With by, we refer to something that will take place (at the latest: muộn nhất) by some time in the future. With until, we refer to the duration that an action or state will have. Compare the examples below: 

I’ll be at the office by eight. (I will get to the office by eight at the latest: Tôi sẽ đến văn phòng muộn nhất là lúc 8 giờ.)

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I’ll be at the office until eight. (I will be at the office until eight. Then I will leave.: Tôi sẽ ở văn phòng đến 8 giờ, sau đó tôi sẽ đi.)

DURING The preposition during means “during” and is always followed by a noun. 

You must be quiet during the lesson.

During is used in the same way as while. While is not a preposition and is followed by a clause (mệnh đề). Compare the following examples: during + noun 

Mary fell asleep during the film.

while + clause 

Mary fell asleep while she was watching the film.

2. Prepositions of place - Prepositions of place (Giới từ chỉ địa điểm) indicate a place. Some of these are: at

Mike is at the office.

on

I left a note on the kitchen table.

over

Let’s hang the painting over the sofa.

above

There’s a sign above the entrance.

in

My purse was in my bag five minutes ago!

inside

Let’s see what’s inside that box.

outside

He’s been standing outside the bank for hours.

under

There’s a mouse under the sofa!

below

I usually wear my skirts below the knee.

near

Is there a bank near here?

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next to

The cinema is next to the post office.

beside

They have a beautiful house beside the river.

by

We sat by the fire to get warm.

in front of

She parked her car in front of our house.

behind

The shop assistant was standing behind the counter.

opposite

Let’s put the bed opposite the window.

among

I found this magazine among some old books.

between

Liam is sitting between Jill and Tom.

- We use specific prepositions with some expressions. at

on

in

at home

on the left/ right

in bed

at school

on the first/ second floor

in hospital

at work

on page 25

in prison

at the top/ bottom (of)

on an island

in London/ Greece in the middle (of) in the sky

- Please note the following: 

in Willow Street BUT at 25, Willow Street



on a chair BUT in an armchair.



on a bus/ train/ plane/ ship/ bike/ horse BUT in a car/ taxi

3. Prepositions of movement Prepositions of movement indicate movement and are usually used with verbs that indicate movement, such as come, go, walk, move, fly, etc.

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up

Let’s go up that mountain

down

She ran down the stairs.

onto

The cat jumped onto the bed

into

He got into his car and left.

out of

Get out of my room now.

from

I come home from work at six.

to

Do you usually walk to school?

towards

I saw her walking towards me.

over

The dog jumped over the wall.

round

Go round the corner.

along

Let’s go for a walk along the river.

across

He swam across the river.

off

The little boy fell off his bike.

through

We drove through the tunnel.

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4. Dependent prepositions Verb dependent prepositions Some verbs are followed by specific prepositions. Some of them are: agree with

believe in

disagree about st

listen to

talk about

apologize for

belong to

dream about

look at

tell sb about

apply for

borrow from

escape from

pay for

thank sb for

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argue with sb

consist of

explain to

reply to

think about

argue about st

crash into

hear from/ about

search for

wait for

arrive in/ at

depend on

laugh at

shout at

write to

ask for/ about

disagree with sb

lie about

rake care of

worry about



I wish you’d stop shouting at me!



She apologized for being late.

Adjective dependent prepositions Some adjectives are followed by specific prepositions. Some of these are: addicted to

dependent on

full of

nervous about

scared of

afraid of

different from

good at

proud of

similar to

angry with sb

dressed in

guilty of

ready for

sorry about/ for

angry about sth

enthusiastic about

interested in

responsible for

sure of/ about

bad at

excited about

jealous of

sad about

surprised at/ by

bored with

fed up with

keen on

the same as

tired of

connected to

fond of

made of

satisfied with

worried about

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crazy about 

I’m not very good at Maths.



Mark is crazy about football



I’ve always been interested in History.

Nouns and prepositions: Some nouns are followed by specific prepositions. Some of these are: advice on/ about Sponsored by:

description of

interest in

reason for

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answer to

difficulty in/ with

invitation to

responsibility for

cause of

discussion on/about

lack of

result of

cost of

example of

need for

solution to

demand for

information about/on

photo/picture of



She gave them a detailed description of the robbers.



They have not found a solution to the problem yet.

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