Prepositions: Prepositions of place

Michael wants to show Lina a picture from his Iceland trip. But he can’t find his phone. Where has Michael put his phone? In his backpack? On his backpack?

In front of the backpack? Behind the backpack? Next to the backpack? Under the backpack? - These small words belong to a class of words that explain how people, places and things relate to each other. They are prepositions.

Prepositions are most often one word, but sometimes they might be several. There are many prepositions but these are the most common: of in to for with at on about by from as into like through between out after over without before against during Here are some examples: The phone is under the backpack. The chair is beside the table. Lina is in the car. Dad sits on the chair.

I walk to school. She walks from the cinema. Michael walks towards the school. Lina gets out of the car. The first four sentences talk about where something or someone is positioned.

But these sentences talk about the direction something is going. The prepositions of position and direction belong to the same group of prepositions. They are: Prepositions of place But what happens if we switch round some of these prepositions? The phone is in the backpack. The chair is on the table Lina is beside the car.

Dad is under the chair. Now the sentences have different meanings. Funny how such small words can be that important. Most of the time it’s not that hard if you know what the words mean. But there are some special cases that might be tricky. - Look!

Here is me, in Iceland. - In Iceland? You mean on Iceland. Iceland is an island, which you were on. - Who is correct? Lina or Michael? In English, this is what you say when you speak about countries, cities, regions, and lakes: Lina is in England Lina is in London.

Kim is in the Caribbean. Tommy is swimming in lake Geneva. And this is what you say about mountains and small islands. Selma stands on Mount Everest Philip is on Ibiza But what if the island is also a region, or a country? Then you say: In So, since Michael is talking about the country Iceland, it’s...

in Michael is in Iceland For some islands, especially small ones, you can use either preposition. In Ibiza On Ibiza But... Michael said it right. Michael was in Iceland. - Did it take long to go to Iceland? - Kind of, we were on the plane for three and a half hours. - You were on the plane? Haha, didn’t you fall off then? - It’s actually correct to say so.

Michael is on the plane. Selma is on the train. Tommy is on the boat. - Yes, in English it is correct to say on a plane, on a train and on a boat. Yet.. you do say that you’re in a car.

Lina is sitting in the car. And you also say: Dad sits on the chair. Dad is in the armchair. Prepositions you just have to learn by listening and practicing. After a while, you can hear if they sound right.

Here are some more examples in English: Lina is in school. She is at university. Dad is at work. Most languages have exceptions that just don’t follow rules. You just have to learn them.