Prepositions of Place AT IN BY INTO OUT OF Common English Mistakes
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Hi everybody, and welcome back to EnglishClass101.com’s
Youtube channel.
My name is Alisha, and today I’m going to
talk about prepositions of location
and movement.
So let’s get started!
Okay, so the first preposition of location
I want to talk about is “at.”
We use “at” to talk about exact specific
locations, so some examples of this are “at
the supermarket,” “at the table,” “at
her desk,” this means a person or an object
is at that specific place.
So, for example, I’m at work right now.
I’m at the office.
These are specific points where people or
objects can be located, so please use “at”
to talk about a specific location.
Okay, so let’s go on to the next preposition
of location for now, “in.”
We use “in” when we want to talk about
enclosed locations, so locations which are
surrounded or when we’re surrounded by something
else, something else is all around this, or
we are enclosed within something.
So some examples of this are “in the pool,”
we are enclosed or surrounded by the pool.
“In the closet,” completely enclosed by
the closet.
“In your bag,” your items are enclosed
by your bag.
And “in the water,” so when swimming in
the ocean, for example, we say in the water;
I’m in the water, for example.
Now, I’m in the office, I’m in a room, I’m
in my home city, for example.
So these are different ways we can use the
word “in” when we are enclosed or surrounded
by something.
Please also remember that “in” is used
for countries and cities.
I live in Bangkok, I live in Europe, for example.
So please remember to use “in” for countries
and cities as well as for locations that are
enclosed or when you’re surrounded by something
else.
Okay, so let’s talk about the next preposition
of location, the next preposition is “by.”
We use “by” when we want to express something
is near something else, near or close to something
else.
So, for example, by the park, or by the coffee
shop, by your computer, by the table, these
mean near something else.
We don’t know exactly is it maybe next to,
in front of, behind, we don’t know, but it
means simply near something else.
So, for example, I’m by the whiteboard right
now, I’m by a chair, I’m by a table, these
are ways we can use “by” to express near or
close to.
Okay, so the next preposition I want to talk
about is a preposition of movement, actually,
the next two are prepositions of movement.
The first one is “into.”
So “into” is something we use to express movement
from an open location to a more closed location.
So, for example, into the bank, walk into
the bank, or into the refrigerator, put food
into the refrigerator, or into the suspects
home, the police moved into the suspects home.
In each case, “into” shows moving from an
open location to a more closed location.
So because “in” is here you can imagine we
are moving to an enclosed location, we could
say jump into the pool, for example, or go
into the closet, put something into your bag,
or go into the water.
So in this way, we can kind of think of “in”
and “to” being closely related, but “to” shows
us the movement, the relationship that there’s
some movement happening there.
Okay, so let’s talk about the opposite then,
of “into,” which is “out of.”
So because we use “into” to talk about movement
from a more open place to an enclosed space;
“out of” is used to talk about movement from
an enclosed space to a more open space.
So, for example, out of the house, or out
of the washing machine, taking clothes out
of the washing machine; out of your purse,
take something out of your purse.
So moving yourself, moving a person, or moving
an object from something that is enclosed
to a space that is more open, we use “out
of” in this case.
Okay, so now we know about five new prepositions
of location and movement, let’s try some example
sentences.
Okay, the first one, she’s sitting _____ the
table.
The table, so here we have the table, I talked
earlier about this, at the table with “at,”
yeah.
However, we can use “by” the table as well.
At the table and by the table have slightly
different meanings, though both are correct.
At the table means she is sitting in a chair
directly in front of the table, she’s sitting
at the table.
By the table, however, could mean she’s next
to the table or she’s just near the table.
“By” is a little bit less clear, “at” is very
clear here.
To be very clear, say she’s sitting at the
table; to be less clear, maybe she’s somewhere
near the table, used “by.”
Okay, so the next example sentence is our
company’s headquarters is _____ LA.
LA meaning Los Angeles here, so we have a
city name, yeah?
A city name, Los Angeles, we know that we
should use city names with “in,” so the answer
here is “in,” in LA.
Okay, the next one, he lives _____ the supermarket.
So the supermarket is a place, and here we
have the verb “lives,” he lives, we know it’s
not “in,” because people do not live in supermarkets,
probably not “at,” he lives at the supermarket
also doesn’t make any sense, people do not
live at supermarkets.
However, we can use “by.”
So he lives by the supermarket, to mean he
lives near the supermarket.
Okay, so next one, when we walked _____ the
bank, it was raining.
Okay, so here we have the verb “walked” and
we have the bank, so there’s a motion happening,
yeah?
Walking, and then the bank, the preposition
we should use here is probably “into,” though
“out of” could also be possible.
When we walked into the bank, it was raining.
When we walked out of the bank, it was raining.
Both sentences are okay, in this case, it
just depends on the action you want to communicate.
Okay, next one, I need to run _____ the supermarket
for milk.
Okay, so here, there’s an objective “for milk,”
this person wants to buy milk, so they need
to run _____ the supermarket.
So let’s use “into,” moving from outside the
supermarket to inside the supermarket, a more
enclosed space, “into,” into the supermarket.
Okay, next one is I have to be _____ the office
until 6pm.
So here we have the specific location, the
office.
So “office” is an enclosed space, yes?
Which means we can use “in,” I have to be
in the office until 6pm.
But with work and office spaces, we can also
use “at,” it’s an exact location.
I have to be in the office, or I have to be
at the office until 6pm, both are correct
here.
Okay, next, I forgot to take my phone _____
your bag.
Okay, so take this take motion here is a really
good hint, there’s an action happening.
So there’s a very good chance we are moving
something from an enclosed location to a more
open location.
So, I forgot to take my phone out of your
bag, out of your bag is the correct answer
here.
Finally, I want to get _____ town.
So town is, yes, it’s a location, like, in
my town or at my town; however, a big hint
here is “get,” we use “get” to reflect movement
sometimes, and this phrase is a good one to
remember, get out of town.
Get out of town.
So get out of town means leave town, go to
a different place outside of town, so I want
to get out of town is the correct answer here.
Okay, so those are a few prepositions of location
and movement.
I hope that this was useful for you, if you
have any questions, please be sure to leave
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