Wednesday, February 6th

A. Prepositions of place - AT, ON, IN

The preposition AT is used in the following descriptions of place/position:

With specific places/points in space:

• She kept the horse at a nearby farm.
• I had a cup of coffee at Helen’s (house/flat).
• Angie’s still at home.
• I’ll meet you at reception.
• There’s a man at the door.
• I saw her standing at the bus stop.
• Turn right at the traffic lights.
• The index is at the back of the book.
• Write your name at the top of each page.

With public places and shops:

• Jane’s at the dentist/hairdresser.
• I studied German at college/school/university.
• Shall I meet you at the station?
• We bought some bread at the supermarket.

With addresses:

• They live at 70, Duncombe Place.

With events:

• I met her at last year’s conference. She wasn’t at Simon’s party.

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The preposition ON is used in the following descriptions of place/position:

With surfaces, or things that can be thought of as surfaces:

• The letter is on my desk.
• There was a beautiful painting on the wall.
• The toy department is on the first floor.
• Write the number down on a piece of paper.
• You’ve got a dirty mark on your jumper.
• He had a large spot on his nose.
• She placed her hand on my shoulder.

With roads/streets, or other things that can be thought of as a line, e.g.: rivers:

• The bank is on the corner of King’s Street.
• Koblenz is on the Rhine.
• Bournemouth is on the south coast.
• It is on your right hand side.

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The preposition IN is used in the following descriptions of place/position:

With geographical regions:

• Driving in France is very straightforward.
• Orgiva is a very small village in the mountains.

With cities, towns and larger areas:

• Do you like living in Nottingham?
• They were having a picnic in the park.
• She works somewhere in the toy department.

With buildings/rooms and places that can be thought of as surrounding a person or object on all sides:

• Can you take a seat in the waiting room please?
• I’ve left my bag in the office.
• There’s a wedding in the church this afternoon.
• Lots of people were swimming in the lake

With containers:

• There’s fresh milk in the fridge.
• I think I’ve got a tissue in my pocket.
• The money is in the top drawer of my desk.

With liquids and other substances, to show what they contain:

• Do you take milk in your coffee?
• I can taste garlic in this sauce.
• There’s a lot of fat in cheese and butter.

B. Other Prepositions of Place

near   /   by    /   next to   /  beside
near, by:
We live near the bank
The cat is sleeping by the fireplace.
next to :
We live next to the bank.
beside (= next to)
beside: very close to the side of someone or something:
The dog sat beside Suzan.

opposite (to) = across (from)                                                                                                     verb + opposite + noun (or pronoun)
Our daughter was sitting opposite to us (across from us) on the train.
The park is opposite the school.
Opposite is never used with 'of'.

below  /   under   /  above   /  over
below
The fish swims below the surface of the water.
under:
The baby is under the blanket.
above:
There are clouds above the town.
over:
She is wearing a shawl over her shoulders.
below  ‚  above  (non touching)                          under  ‚  over

between   /   among
between
between 2 things or people
A young child between his parents.
among
among is used with several things or people
Can you see this house hidden among the trees? (there are more than two trees)

in front of   /   behind
in front of
He is sitting in front of the computer
The letter box is in front of the newsagent's.
behind
He is hiding behind the fence.

C. Is the Sniff Test Effective?

Read the following article related to our lesson last week about Global Waste and answer the following questions: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-20971347

1. Summarize the article in 4 sentences or less
2. What are the three methods/standards used by consumers to evaluate if food is still good.  Which is most commonly used and which one does the author say is the best method?
3. What is the main flaws of the sniff test?
4. If we all used the same standard/method, do you believe that we would reduce global waste? Why or why not?
5. Look at the list of the top 5 things people waste and compared them to your household.  Similar or different? How?