[Music]
hello this is Emma from English back
with another lesson on the English
YouTube channel now in English we say
the school is on Bay Street not the
school is at Bay Street they live at
10:00 Park Road not she lives in 10 Park
Road the museum is in the city not the
museum is on the city I live at 300 King
Street in an apartment on the fourth
floor these little words can cause lots
of headaches if English is not your
first language
they’re called prepositions and there
are lots of them in English in on at by
with for over under of two they all help
to give information about the time
location or direction in your English
sentences in on at and by in this lesson
we’ll take a closer look at these small
but very common very useful English
words and we’ll concentrate on how you
can use them to give information about
the place or location of something now
the bad news is that there’s no clear
way of knowing which preposition you
need to use in fact different
prepositions can be used with the same
words but this can change the meaning of
your sentence am I at the car at the
location of the car am I in the car or
am I on the car all of these sentences
are okay but the meaning is different in
each question most of the time
you can’t just guess the correct
preposition it’s not really a good
strategy to improve your English unless
you’re a really lucky person the worst
way to try and learn prepositions is to
translate them from your native language
this can cause lots of problems
prepositions must be learned in chunks
of words or called collocations groups
of words that are often used together
like in the morning at night it depends
on something he’s keen on football
learning this way will help you to make
fewer mistakes with prepositions instead
pay attention to how native speakers use
these prepositions how are they used in
the newspaper articles that you read or
stories what words are they used with
and pay close attention to the general
rules that I’ll teach you in this lesson
so that you can make the right choices
when choosing prepositions of place
let’s get started with in now the best
way to think about the preposition in is
being within something inside the edges
of something so let’s start really
simply with containers or spaces that
are enclosed I’ve got the key in my
pocket there’s some milk in the fridge
she left it in the top drawer there’s
nothing left in my cup now it’s easy to
think about all of these examples as
being inside something because the edges
are really clear you can see inside them
there’s a clear inside and an outside
right take out earlier example I’m in
the car the car has clear edges
I’m definitely inside the edge
of the car we can use in with buildings
or rooms and places that can surround a
person or an object on all sides can you
take a seat in the waiting room please
I’ve left my bag in your office why
don’t we have a picnic in the park but
there are lots of times when you need to
use this preposition when the edges are
less clear so for example with areas or
regions or cities and towns I’m filming
this video in Spain I grew up in
Melbourne holidaying in France is easy
if you speak French regalia is a small
village in the mountains we’re going for
a drive in the country lots of people
were swimming in the lake now all of
these mounds have borders or edges even
if they’re not really obvious or clear
we can physically be located inside the
edges of this space now when talking
about groups of people you can often use
in she works in the finance team
surrounded by people he got selected to
play in the national team but there’s an
exception for important high-level
groups where members are often elected
he’s on the board or they’re on the
committee or on the council we can also
use in with liquids and other substances
to show what they contain careful
there’s a lot of chilli in that sauce
there’s too much sugar in soft drinks do
you have milk in your coffee now the
preposition on is used to talk about the
position of something on surfaces or
things that can be thought
of as surfaces like walls or tables my
phone is on the table you can see a
painting on the wall behind me we live
on the fourth floor of the building can
you write it on that piece of paper he
spilt ice cream on his new jumper now
keep thinking about this idea of flat
surfaces because it includes roads and
streets and rivers the supermarket is on
the corner of Martin Street nice is on
the south coast of France now the idea
of flat surfaces also includes water so
rivers oceans lakes what’s that on the
water floating on the water will take
you out on the lake in our boat we’ll be
on the lake in our boat ok now let’s
talk about the preposition at it’s used
to talk about specific places or points
in space Sarah’s still at school I’ll
meet you at the bus stop turn left at
the traffic light now it’s also used
with public places and shops for example
I studied design at college or school or
university let’s meet at the station we
have to stop at the supermarket on the
way home there was a crazy guy at the
library today we also use it with
addresses they live at 14 Eagle Road
I’ll meet you at the corner of Beach
Street and Park Road I had a coffee at
Helens house at her house
careful not to confuse the preposition
with another whiff I had a cup of coffee
with Helen
that means Helen the person not Helens
house we can use at with events we met
at a party he’s speaking at a conference
later this week so in all of these
examples the preposition at is used to
talk about specific places or points in
space okay I went through quite a few
examples there but let’s just stop and
review the rules for a minute at is one
dimensional think of a map when you’re
looking at a map you’re referring to a
specific place or position in space on
is more two-dimensional you have a flat
surface and you’re refering to the
position of something or someone in
relation to that surface so you’re
recognizing the space around you a
little more when you’re using that
preposition now in is the sort of
three-dimensional preposition so when
you use it you need to think about the
position of something in relation to
what surrounds it now of course there
are gray areas and many exceptions that
will make you scratch your head and
wonder what when you hear that
expression gray areas it means that
something is unclear it’s not black and
it’s not white it’s somewhere in the
middle but we don’t know exactly where
it’s unclear that’s a very common
expression now there are many gray areas
for prepositions when you’re talking
about the place or the location of
something it’s on the corner or it’s at
the corner these two examples mean oh my
the same thing the museum is on the
south side of the city so this
expression on the south side are on the
right side or on the left side it always
uses the preposition on your seat is on
the left side now I said before that
niece is on the south coast of France
but niece is also in the South of France
now there is a difference here when
we’re referring to the flat surface and
the region or the area so it’s that
spatial difference on the south coast or
in the South of France it’s a little
hard to get your head around right but
France is a space that has edges it’s
enclosed so we use in I’ll see you at
Melanie’s house so that’s the place
right but I’ll meet you in the kitchen
it’s an enclosed room or enclosed space
I’ll meet you at the corner of Beach
Street and Park Road I saw it in the
corner of the room so that’s an enclosed
space right how about this one write it
on the paper in your notebook at the top
of the page or in the corner we say I’m
in the car and I’m on the bus or the
train so there are also times when you
can use two different prepositions and
the meaning is actually really similar
especially between at and on Sarah’s
still in school or Sarah is still at
school
now these sentences mean almost exactly
the same thing in school suggests that
Sarah is inside the school buildings
she’s a student she’s learning there
at suggests that she’s at the location
of the school but she could be inside a
building or outside and she’s not
necessarily a student either she could
be a parent visiting the school for
example I think they’re at the beach or
I think they’re on the beach at the
beach is the place on the beach means
the sand but you can’t use in if you say
in you need to use the water you can be
in the water she’s in the sea she’s in
the lake she’s in the water one more two
lettered preposition to add to this
lesson about place is by I’m waiting by
the car put your bag by the door and sit
down here by is used to mean next to
something or beside or near these are
all prepositions that give us detail
about the location of something they
live near the school they live next to
the school they live by the school so
there are definitely a few confusing
things about prepositions right to
successfully learn to use prepositions
really well learn them with the words
around them don’t try and learn them on
their own the general rules that we
talked about during this lesson will
help you to make better choices most of
the time well I hope this lesson has
helped to make a few things clearer for
you if you’ve got any questions at all
just pop them in the comments under this
video if you love this channel and you
enjoy my lessons then please make sure
that you subscribe to my channel
right here or here and check out some of
the other lessons that I’ve made in
these playlists right here
see you next week and thanks for
watching
English bye for now
hello this is Emma from English back
with another lesson on the English
YouTube channel now in English we say
the school is on Bay Street not the
school is at Bay Street they live at
10:00 Park Road not she lives in 10 Park
Road the museum is in the city not the
museum is on the city I live at 300 King
Street in an apartment on the fourth
floor these little words can cause lots
of headaches if English is not your
first language
they’re called prepositions and there
are lots of them in English in on at by
with for over under of two they all help
to give information about the time
location or direction in your English
sentences in on at and by in this lesson
we’ll take a closer look at these small
but very common very useful English
words and we’ll concentrate on how you
can use them to give information about
the place or location of something now
the bad news is that there’s no clear
way of knowing which preposition you
need to use in fact different
prepositions can be used with the same
words but this can change the meaning of
your sentence am I at the car at the
location of the car am I in the car or
am I on the car all of these sentences
are okay but the meaning is different in
each question most of the time
you can’t just guess the correct
preposition it’s not really a good
strategy to improve your English unless
you’re a really lucky person the worst
way to try and learn prepositions is to
translate them from your native language
this can cause lots of problems
prepositions must be learned in chunks
of words or called collocations groups
of words that are often used together
like in the morning at night it depends
on something he’s keen on football
learning this way will help you to make
fewer mistakes with prepositions instead
pay attention to how native speakers use
these prepositions how are they used in
the newspaper articles that you read or
stories what words are they used with
and pay close attention to the general
rules that I’ll teach you in this lesson
so that you can make the right choices
when choosing prepositions of place
let’s get started with in now the best
way to think about the preposition in is
being within something inside the edges
of something so let’s start really
simply with containers or spaces that
are enclosed I’ve got the key in my
pocket there’s some milk in the fridge
she left it in the top drawer there’s
nothing left in my cup now it’s easy to
think about all of these examples as
being inside something because the edges
are really clear you can see inside them
there’s a clear inside and an outside
right take out earlier example I’m in
the car the car has clear edges
I’m definitely inside the edge
of the car we can use in with buildings
or rooms and places that can surround a
person or an object on all sides can you
take a seat in the waiting room please
I’ve left my bag in your office why
don’t we have a picnic in the park but
there are lots of times when you need to
use this preposition when the edges are
less clear so for example with areas or
regions or cities and towns I’m filming
this video in Spain I grew up in
Melbourne holidaying in France is easy
if you speak French regalia is a small
village in the mountains we’re going for
a drive in the country lots of people
were swimming in the lake now all of
these mounds have borders or edges even
if they’re not really obvious or clear
we can physically be located inside the
edges of this space now when talking
about groups of people you can often use
in she works in the finance team
surrounded by people he got selected to
play in the national team but there’s an
exception for important high-level
groups where members are often elected
he’s on the board or they’re on the
committee or on the council we can also
use in with liquids and other substances
to show what they contain careful
there’s a lot of chilli in that sauce
there’s too much sugar in soft drinks do
you have milk in your coffee now the
preposition on is used to talk about the
position of something on surfaces or
things that can be thought
of as surfaces like walls or tables my
phone is on the table you can see a
painting on the wall behind me we live
on the fourth floor of the building can
you write it on that piece of paper he
spilt ice cream on his new jumper now
keep thinking about this idea of flat
surfaces because it includes roads and
streets and rivers the supermarket is on
the corner of Martin Street nice is on
the south coast of France now the idea
of flat surfaces also includes water so
rivers oceans lakes what’s that on the
water floating on the water will take
you out on the lake in our boat we’ll be
on the lake in our boat ok now let’s
talk about the preposition at it’s used
to talk about specific places or points
in space Sarah’s still at school I’ll
meet you at the bus stop turn left at
the traffic light now it’s also used
with public places and shops for example
I studied design at college or school or
university let’s meet at the station we
have to stop at the supermarket on the
way home there was a crazy guy at the
library today we also use it with
addresses they live at 14 Eagle Road
I’ll meet you at the corner of Beach
Street and Park Road I had a coffee at
Helens house at her house
careful not to confuse the preposition
with another whiff I had a cup of coffee
with Helen
that means Helen the person not Helens
house we can use at with events we met
at a party he’s speaking at a conference
later this week so in all of these
examples the preposition at is used to
talk about specific places or points in
space okay I went through quite a few
examples there but let’s just stop and
review the rules for a minute at is one
dimensional think of a map when you’re
looking at a map you’re referring to a
specific place or position in space on
is more two-dimensional you have a flat
surface and you’re refering to the
position of something or someone in
relation to that surface so you’re
recognizing the space around you a
little more when you’re using that
preposition now in is the sort of
three-dimensional preposition so when
you use it you need to think about the
position of something in relation to
what surrounds it now of course there
are gray areas and many exceptions that
will make you scratch your head and
wonder what when you hear that
expression gray areas it means that
something is unclear it’s not black and
it’s not white it’s somewhere in the
middle but we don’t know exactly where
it’s unclear that’s a very common
expression now there are many gray areas
for prepositions when you’re talking
about the place or the location of
something it’s on the corner or it’s at
the corner these two examples mean oh my
the same thing the museum is on the
south side of the city so this
expression on the south side are on the
right side or on the left side it always
uses the preposition on your seat is on
the left side now I said before that
niece is on the south coast of France
but niece is also in the South of France
now there is a difference here when
we’re referring to the flat surface and
the region or the area so it’s that
spatial difference on the south coast or
in the South of France it’s a little
hard to get your head around right but
France is a space that has edges it’s
enclosed so we use in I’ll see you at
Melanie’s house so that’s the place
right but I’ll meet you in the kitchen
it’s an enclosed room or enclosed space
I’ll meet you at the corner of Beach
Street and Park Road I saw it in the
corner of the room so that’s an enclosed
space right how about this one write it
on the paper in your notebook at the top
of the page or in the corner we say I’m
in the car and I’m on the bus or the
train so there are also times when you
can use two different prepositions and
the meaning is actually really similar
especially between at and on Sarah’s
still in school or Sarah is still at
school
now these sentences mean almost exactly
the same thing in school suggests that
Sarah is inside the school buildings
she’s a student she’s learning there
at suggests that she’s at the location
of the school but she could be inside a
building or outside and she’s not
necessarily a student either she could
be a parent visiting the school for
example I think they’re at the beach or
I think they’re on the beach at the
beach is the place on the beach means
the sand but you can’t use in if you say
in you need to use the water you can be
in the water she’s in the sea she’s in
the lake she’s in the water one more two
lettered preposition to add to this
lesson about place is by I’m waiting by
the car put your bag by the door and sit
down here by is used to mean next to
something or beside or near these are
all prepositions that give us detail
about the location of something they
live near the school they live next to
the school they live by the school so
there are definitely a few confusing
things about prepositions right to
successfully learn to use prepositions
really well learn them with the words
around them don’t try and learn them on
their own the general rules that we
talked about during this lesson will
help you to make better choices most of
the time well I hope this lesson has
helped to make a few things clearer for
you if you’ve got any questions at all
just pop them in the comments under this
video if you love this channel and you
enjoy my lessons then please make sure
that you subscribe to my channel
right here or here and check out some of
the other lessons that I’ve made in
these playlists right here
see you next week and thanks for
watching
English bye for now
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