VERBS OF MOTION 1

Go, come, get (= arrive), walk, return, run, fly, travel, etc.

1. DESTINATION: Direction towards.

- They are going to Hawaii.

+ TO + place

+ HOME (NO PREPOSITION!)

- She usually gets home at 6 p.m.
- What time will you come home this evening?

VERB ‘ARRIVE’

+ IN + geographical place: continent, country, region, city, town, etc.

- They arrived in Hawaii last night.
+ AT + rest of places
- They arrived at the hotel last night.
+ HOME (NO PREPOSITION!)
- They will arrive home next week.

2. ORIGIN: Where the motion starts.

- They have just returned from Hawaii.

+ FROM + place
 VERBS OF MOTION 2
1. DESTINATION: From outside to inside. 2. ORIGIN: From inside to outside.

- The workers are going into the factory. - The workers are going out of the factory.

+ INTO + room, building or area + OUT OF + room, building or area

(To specify we enter) (To specify we leave)

ENTERING & LEAVING TRANSPORT

1. From outside to inside 2. From inside to outside

- The passengers are getting on the train. - The passenger is getting out of the car.
- The passengers are getting on. - The passenger is getting out.

GET ON + bus, train, plane, boat GET OFF + bus, train, plane, boat
GET IN + car, taxi GET OUT (OF) + car, taxi
 HOW TO EXPRESS LOCATION
VERBS OF NO MOTION: Be, stay, live, study, etc.

In the UK In Andalusia In New York

In the kitchen In the sea In the drawer

In the park In the countryside In the sky

We use IN +

- Geographical names In Greece, in England, in San Francisco

- Enclosed space (i.e. a room) In my bedroom

- Inside a volume In the sea, in the box, in the lake

- Defined area (i.e. with boundaries) In the park, in the garden, in the square, in the street

- Inside an area In the sky, in the forest, in the woods, in the countryside

Expressions: in bed, in a book, in a magazine, in a letter, in an email

 On the wall On the screen On her face

On the pavement On the road On a boat

On TV On a chair On the sofa

We use ON +

- Surface On the shelf, on the table, on the first page, on the second floor

- Line On the road, on the coast, on Oxford street

- Transport On a plane, on a train, on a boat in a car, in a taxi

- Media On TV, on the radio, on the Internet in the newspaper

- Seat On a chair, on the sofa in an armchair

Expressions: on the phone, on my computer, on fire, on holiday, on duty

 At school At the supermarket At the door

At the cinema At a wedding At the bus stop

At Mary's At the dentist's At the fishmonger's

We use AT +

- Building At home, at school, at university, at the supermarket

- Entrance At the door

- Event At a party, at a concert, at a conference

- Specific location At the traffic lights, at the bus-stop, at 521 Oxford street

- Someone's house At my sister's, at John's

- Workplace At the doctor's, at the hairdresser's

Expression: at work
 HOW TO EXPRESS PURPOSE

TO + verb He went out to buy the newspaper.

FOR + noun He wet out to for the newspaper.

 TRAVELLING

By plane By boat By train

By car By motorbike

We use BY + transport

ARRIVE ON + bike / motorbike / foot / horse

ARRIVE IN + car / taxi

Expression: on foot
 HOW TO EXPRESS TIME

In the eighties In the summer In the afternoon

On 17 March On Friday On your birthday

At 8 o'clock At breakfast time At midnight

We use IN +

- Century In the 21st century

- Decade In the eighties / in the 1980s / in the '80s (DO NOT WRITE: in the 80's)

- Year In 2016

- Month In July

- Month and year In July 2016

- Season In (the) spring

- Part of the day In the morning

at night ≠ during the day

We use ON +

- Full date On 17 March 2024

- Day and month On 17 March

- Day On my birthday, on Sunday, on Christmas Day

We use AT +

- The time At 8 am

- Specific moment At breakfast time, at midday

- Period At the weekend, at Christmas, at Easter

Expressions: at present, at the moment, at the same time

We use AT ABOUT / AROUND + the time At about / around 7 o'clock

 OTHER PREPOSITIONS

Work + BY + author
- A painting by Picasso.

ABOUT + topic
- A book about Ancient Greece.

ABOUT = APPROXIMATELY
- I have run about 10 kilometres today.
WITH + tool
- Cut the paper with this pair of scissors.

WITH + company ≠ WITHOUT

- Mark is going for a walk with Tom.
- John went to cinema without me.

WITH + something = to have something ≠ WITHOUT

- A coffee with sugar. A coffee without sugar.
- A man with a beard. A man without a beard.
 OPPOSITE (enfrente de)

- The doctor is opposite his patient.

IN FRONT OF (delante de) BEHIND (detrás de / tras)

- The teacher is in front of the students. - The blackboard is behind the teacher.

NEXT TO / BY / BESIDE (junto a)

- The hotel is next to / by / beside the sea.

NEAR (cerca de) FAR FROM (lejos de)

- Spain is near Morocco. - The Earth is far away from the Sun.

AGAINST (contra)

- The bike is against the wall.

 ALONG (por, a lo largo de)

- Would you like to walk along the Great Wall of China?

ACROSS (al otro lado de / en el otro lado de)

- This picture of The Beatles across Abbey Road is the cover of

their last album.

THROUGH (por, a través de)

- The train goes through the tunnel.

ON THE LEFT (a la izquierda) ON THE RIGHT (a la derecha)

- Turn on the left, please! - Turn on the on the right, please

IN THE MIDDLE OF (en medio de)

- There is an island in the middle of the ocean.

AT THE BEGINNING OF (al principio de) AT THE END OF (al final de)

- At the beginning of the race. - At the end of the race.

BETWEEN … AND … (entre … y … / entre dos …)

- This woman is between two men.

AMONG (entre)

- Who is the police inspector among these officers?

AROUND (por / alrededor de)

- The Earth goes around the Sun.

OVER (encima de / por encima de / sobre) UNDER (debajo de / por debajo de / bajo)

- The boy is jumping over the fence. - The dolphin is under the water.
 ABOVE (encima de / por encima de) BELOW (debajo de / por debajo de)

- The plane is flying above the clouds. - The Dead Sea is 429 metres below the sea level.

UP (arriba, hacia arriba) DOWN (abajo, hacia bajo)

- The runner is going up the hill. - The cyclist is going down the mountain.

INSIDE (dentro de) OUTSIDE (fuera de)

- There is a bulb inside the cube. - There is a bulb outside the box.

PAST (pasando por delante de)

- The women are walking past the mosque.