A2 · Elementary Level

English Prepositions

Place · Time · Direction · Movement · Fixed Expressions
Five exercises on one page · Lesson + Quiz · Listen & Type · Scrambled Sentences · Shadowing · Listen, Read & Understand
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① Quick Lesson — English Prepositions

Quick Lesson — English Prepositions

Place · Time · Direction & Movement · Prepositions with Verbs · Common Expressions

Prepositions of Place

Describing Where Things Are

Prepositions of place tell us the location of a person or thing. The most common ones at A2 level are in, on, at, under, above, between, next to, and behind.

Preposition	Use	Example
in	Inside an enclosed space	The cat is in the box.
on	On a surface	Your glasses are on the table.
at	A specific point or place	She is waiting at the corner.
under	Below something	The keys are under the cushion.
between	In the middle of two things	The pharmacy is between the bank and the café.
next to	Immediately beside	He sat next to his friend during the meeting.

Prepositions of Time

Describing When Things Happen

Use at for clock times and specific moments, on for days and dates, and in for months, years, seasons, and longer periods.

Preposition	Use	Example
at	Clock times, specific moments	Class starts at eight thirty.
on	Days and dates	We have a test on Thursday.
in	Months, years, seasons, parts of the day	She was born in October.
before	Earlier than a point in time	Finish your homework before dinner.
after	Later than a point in time	We can talk after the presentation.
during	Within a period or event	Please stay quiet during the film.

Prepositions of Direction & Movement

Describing How Things Move

These prepositions describe motion toward, away from, through, or along a place. They answer the question: Where is something going?

Preposition	Example
to	She drove to the airport in the morning.
from	He took a bus from the central station.
into	The children ran into the swimming pool.
out of	She walked out of the building without saying a word.
through	The road goes through the middle of the forest.
past	Walk past the post office and turn left.
along	They jogged along the river every Saturday.

Prepositions with Verbs & Adjectives

Fixed Verb + Preposition Combinations

Many English verbs and adjectives are always followed by a specific preposition. These combinations must be learned as fixed expressions — the preposition does not always follow a logical rule.

Expression	Example
listen to	She loves to listen to jazz on Sunday mornings.
wait for	How long have you been waiting for the doctor?
talk about	We need to talk about the plans for next month.
good at	My younger sister is very good at drawing.
interested in	He is interested in learning a third language.
afraid of	The little boy is afraid of loud thunderstorms.
depend on	Your grade will depend on how well you prepare.

Common Prepositional Expressions

Everyday Phrases with Prepositions

These high-frequency expressions with prepositions appear in everyday speaking and writing. Learn them as whole phrases rather than word by word.

Expression	Meaning	Example
by car / by bus / by train	Method of transport	She travels to work by subway every day.
on time	Not late	Please arrive on time for the interview.
in a hurry	Doing something quickly	He left the office in a hurry this afternoon.
at the end of	Final point of something	We review vocabulary at the end of every class.
on the left / on the right	Directions	The entrance is on the left side of the building.
in charge of	Responsible for	Who is in charge of organizing the event?

📝 Quick Quiz — English Prepositions

20 questions · Multiple choice · Auto-graded

Score: 0 / 20

15:00

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② Listen & Type

Listening Exercise | Prepositions

Listen & Type — English Prepositions

15 preposition sentences • Level A2

Sentence 1 of 15 0 / 15 correct

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Word-by-word hint

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③ Scrambled Sentences

English Prepositions — Scrambled Sentences

🔀 Put the sentences in order | Prepositions in Context | Level A2

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PronounVerb ★Article AdjectivePreposition ★Noun AdverbConjunction

④ Shadowing

🎤 Shadowing — English Prepositions

Listen · Repeat · Practice — 30 preposition sentences with usage notes

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30 preposition sentences — A2 English

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Shadowing is a practice exercise — press Finish & Send to record your participation.

⑤ Listen, Read & Understand

Listen, Read & Understand — English Prepositions

Read the story · listen along · answer the quiz · send your results

Sofia lives in a small apartment on the fourth floor of a building near the CUU Language Center. Every weekday morning she wakes up at six forty-five. She gets dressed quickly, puts her notebook in her backpack, and places her keys on the kitchen counter so she does not forget them.

She leaves her apartment at seven fifteen and walks to the bus stop at the end of her street. The bus ride takes about twenty minutes. Sofia sits next to the window and listens to a vocabulary podcast during the journey. She always arrives on time.

The language center is between a bookstore and a coffee shop. Sofia walks through the front entrance, goes up the stairs, and enters the classroom. She hangs her jacket on the back of her chair and puts her phone under her desk.

The lesson begins at eight o'clock. Today the teacher talks about prepositions. "Prepositions are small words," he says, "but they are very important. In, on, and at are used for both place and time. Direction prepositions like to, into, and through tell us where something is going." Sofia writes every example in her notebook.

After the lesson, Sofia buys a coffee at the café next door. She sits at a table by the window and reviews her notes. She is very interested in grammar and feels confident about her progress.

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Language Notes — Prepositions in the Story:

🔵 "in a small apartment / in her backpack / in her notebook" → "In" = inside an enclosed space. Used for containers, rooms, and buildings.

🟢 "on the fourth floor / on the kitchen counter / on the back of her chair" → "On" = touching a surface. Used for floors, flat surfaces, and objects resting on something.

🔴 "at six forty-five / at seven fifteen / at eight o'clock / at the bus stop" → "At" = a specific time or specific point/place. Very common with clock times and named locations.

🟡 "to the bus stop / through the front entrance / up the stairs / into the classroom" → Direction prepositions show movement. "To" = toward a destination. "Through" = movement inside something. "Up" = vertical movement upward.

🔵 "between a bookstore and a coffee shop / next to the window" → Place prepositions showing relative position of two things.

🟢 "interested in grammar / confident about her progress / talks about prepositions" → Fixed adjective + preposition and verb + preposition combinations. These must be memorized.

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📝 Comprehension & Language Quiz — English Prepositions

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