Category: Things we find difficult

Here is another video for your lockdown learning.

Below the exercises is the Google Doc transcript from today’s 5-minute grammar lesson. Extra teacher talk from the video not included!

Here are your online exercises:

https://www.learnenglishfeelgood.com/prepositions-of-time1.html

https://www.tolearnenglish.com/exercises/exercise-english-2/exercise-english-18280.php

https://www.usingenglish.com/quizzes/13.html

https://www.usingenglish.com/quizzes/230.html

https://www.learnenglishfeelgood.com/prepositions-of-time1.html

https://agendaweb.org/grammar/prepositions-of-time-exercises.html

https://www.english-4u.de/en/grammar-exercises/prepositions-time4.htm

MarkESOL 5 minute grammar lesson. 

TIME EXPRESSIONS:  FROM … TO, SINCE, FOR, UNTIL, BEFORE, AFTER, WHILE, DURING.

Today we’re going to be covering:

1.   FROM … TO
2. UNTIL
3. FOR
4. SINCE
5. BEFORE, AFTER
6. WHILE and DURING
7.  When to use THIS, LAST, NEXT, and EVERY.

8. WATCH this twice if it’s too quick. 

Full video transcript on ESOLMARK.COM

Today we’re going to look at more of these ANNOYING little words that you might know but sometimes get confused or mixed up.

Let’s start with the easy ones.

1. FROM … TO

We’re talking about a fixed period of time here. With a start time or date and a finish time/date. It doesn’t have to be in the past but often we’re answering questions about our lives. 

“How long did you live with your grandma?”

“FROM 1998 TO 2007.”

It can be used in the present simple if we’re talking about a routine:

“I hate my job! The hours are terrible! I have to work FROM 8 at night TO 7 in the morning. It’s exhausting!”

Or in the future, if we a talking about a plan:

“Wait a minute, Mark! You want to come and stay in my house in Madrid FROM the 23rd of June TO the 8th of August? Are you kidding me?”

“Yeah? Is that a problem? I thought you were out of the country UNTIL the beginning of August? Your flat will be empty!”

FROM and TO = start and end times/dates

2. UNTIL/TILL

UNTIL = a stop/end date/time – a preposition

“Don’t start watching the football UNTIL I get there. I want us to watch it together.”

“Really? You want me to wait? To pause the game TILL you arrive?” 

TILL = less formal but with the same meaning. 

To death do use part

3. FOR

FOR = a period of time. “So it’s okay for me to stay at your flat from June to August then? FOR 43 days?”

“Absolutely not, Mark! You can stay FOR a week at the most!”

4. SINCE

SINCE = from a time/date in the past until now.

“It’s been raining SINCE 9 a.m. this morning. SINCE I’ve been living in Salford it feels like it’s been raining every day!”

5. BEFORE, AFTER

You know this!

BEFORE is BEFORE

AFTER is AFTER.

No, come on, Mark, you’re a professional. Explain…

Ummmm … Errrr … Hmmm…

BEFORE = (preposition) prior to the start of a thing

AFTER = (preposition) upon the conclusion of a … thing.

Sometimes the explanation is more difficult than the original words!

6. WHILE and DURING

Same meaning for these two words, but we use 

WHILE + a verb

They are used to talk about 2 things happening at the same time.

“WHILE you’re staying in my flat can you please keep it clean?” (WHILE+YOU+verb STAY & YOU+verb CLEAN)

“That’s okay, I love cleaning. I’ll listen to music WHILE I’m scrubbing the floor.”

(I LISTEN+WHILE+I SCRUB)

DURING + a noun.

“I’m looking forward to living in Madrid DURING the summer.” (I+LIVE+DURING+the summer (noun)

“Okay, students, you can start the exam. Remember no cheating DURING the exam.”

7. When to use THIS, LAST, NEXT, and EVERY. 

“Hey, Mark, do you want to meet up THIS Thursday or NEXT Thursday?”

“On Thursday. Next Thursday.”

“Errrmm. I’m confused. Please explain!”

Okay, let’s do this backwards.

LAST Thursday. The previous one. Done. Easy.

EVERY Thursday  = all Thursdays.

Easy peasy.

NEXT Thursday = (usually) refers to the Thursday of the following (NEXT) week. 

THIS Thursday = Thursday THIS week. Less than 7 days in the future.

If it’s this week we might also say ON Thursday. 

(ON is the preposition of time we use for days).

BUT!!! If you’re making plans for a job interview or you’re going on a date – check – get the exact time, place, and date.

Remember: English is confusing and the people that speak it are often as confused as you are! Good luck!

See ya later!

Cheers, mate!

MarkESOL xxx

Here is another video for your lockdown learning.

Below the exercises is the Google Doc transcript from today’s 5-minute grammar lesson. Extra teacher talk from the video not included!

Prepositions of time – when to use IN, ON and AT. Again, small words = big problems.

But no more. Spend 5 minutes watching this and never make a mistake again! Maybe…

Here are your online exercises:

1. https://www.learnenglishfeelgood.com/prepositions-of-time3.html
2. https://www.usingenglish.com/quizzes/230.html
3. https://www.tolearnenglish.com/exercises/exercise-english-2/exercise-english-10086.php
4. https://www.ecenglish.com/learnenglish/lessons/prepositions-time-quiz/
5. http://www.5minuteenglish.com/mar18.htm
6. https://www.examenglish.com/grammar/b1_prepositions_of_time.htm
7. https://test-english.com/grammar-points/a1/at-in-on-prepositions-time/

Today’s video Google Doc transcript

MarkESOL 5 minute grammar lesson. 

PREPOSITIONS OF TIME – USING AT, IN, ON for DIFFERENT PERIODS OF TIME.

Today we’re going to be covering:

1.   Prepositions of time basics
2. When to use IN.
3. When to use ON.
4. When to use AT.
5. Sentence structure.
6. When to use THE
7.  What to do when you’re not sure = ABOUT, AROUND, SOME TIME

Another easy one today. Here it is – the simple rules

1. If you are talking about a large amount of time – use IN.

If you are talking about a day – not part of a day – use ON.

If you are talking about a specific point in time – use AT.

That’s it. Done. Let’s all go home. 

We’re going to make it EASY. After watching this video you will never get IN, AT, ON confused again. Hopefully.

Sometimes it’s the little words that are the most confusing, so let’s take a few minutes to go through it.

2. When to use IN. 

When we’re talking about prepositions of place we say, “I’m in a field. I’m in Manchester. I’m living in England.” You’re in a place. In the middle of it.

It’s the same with time. If we’re in the middle of some period of time we say in:

I’m going on holiday in July. 

A day in July, but not a specific day. It could be July 1st, it could be 15th July, it could be the end of July.

I either don’t know, or it’s not important. Then it’s the same if we’re talking about the past:

I moved to London IN 2018.

It was one day IN 2018 – it’s really not important when. 

All periods of time we use IN:

Centuries: 100 years – we’re living IN the 21st century.

Shakespeare was born IN the 16th century. He was born ON April 26th 1564.

Decades: 10 years – I used to love going to raves IN the 90s. (1990s)

Any period of time: years, a year, a month, weeks, seasons, the future, the past, or even parts of the day.

He usually goes for a jog IN the morning, then works IN the afternoon and sometimes IN the evening.

We use IN if we’re talking about every night, every morning or every afternoon. We use ON if it’s a specific evening or night.

I want to visit Australia IN the future.

I can’t get up IN the morning, I’m too tired!

3. ON – Use this for days.

I play football ON Sunday.

Some people say,

 “I play football on Sundays.”

Both are right. Both mean you play football every Sunday. 

If it’s just one time you’d say:

‘I’m playing football on Sunday morning.” 

Present simple for habit; present continuous for future plan.

Use ON for any specific day. On your wedding anniversary, on New Year’s Eve, on July 4th. We use ON for part of a SPECIFIC day as well.

What are you doing ON Friday night?

4. When do we use AT?

We use AT for a specific time and for holidays when we don’t say the day.

“I’ll meet you AT quarter past eight.”

“Oh, that’s too late! I have to go to work AT 8 o’clock!”

We also use AT for named times of the day:

Midnight (12:00 am)

Midday (12.00 pm)

Dawn (sun rise)

Dusk (sun set)

Or at work or college you might have fixed times:

I’ll get a drink AT break. (AT break time)

I saw him AT lunch time.

We also use AT for the days when we have longer holidays: Christmas, New Year, Easter, Eid, Divali.

I usually go to my parent’s house ON Easter Sunday, but next year I’m going to Scotland AT Easter.

Another interesting use is we say AT the weekend.

‘My flatmate stays at her girlfriend’s place at the weekend. I hate being alone AT the weekend.’

In America they say ON the weekend. This is wrong. I don’t need to explain this! No!

6. When to use THE

The holidays (Easter, Summer, Christmas)

The 1980s (a decade)

The 1600s (a century)

The future/the past (I want to develop an App in the future.)

The weekend

The moment

The morning, the afternoon, the evening – but NOT usually – night or night time. 

‘I work IN THE morning, I watch Netflix IN THE evening and I sleep AT night.’

At night = general – all night

IN THE night = when you are talking about time of the night time. When you are awake usually. 

You can use either so don’t worry too much about this!

‘I wake up in the night, so I feel rough in the morning.’

‘Do you? I sleep like a baby at night.’

7. What to do when you’re not sure = ABOUT, AROUND, SOME TIME

When someone asks you a question and they want a specific time or date and you don’t know you use one of these phrases:

About – for time

Around – for time, dates, months, years

Some time – dates, months, years

DON’T USE IN, ON or AT WHEN YOU USE THESE LESS SPECIFIC TIME WORDS.

‘Hi Mark, sorry I’m late. When did you get here?’

‘Oh, no worries. I only got here ABOUT ten minutes ago. I got the bus ABOUT midday.’

‘How long have you been living in Longsight?’

‘Errmmm, AROUND two and a half years. I think I moved in SOME TIME in the autumn. Yeah, kids were knocking on the door trick or treating. It was AROUND Halloween time I seem to remember.’

That’s all we’ve got time for!

IN (BIGGER TIME PERIODS)	Centuries, Decades, Years, Months, Weeks, Seasons, past, future, holidays, parts of the day
ON(DAYS & PART OF DAYS)	Monday etcHolidays & specific days The weekendFriday afternoon
AT(TIME, PARTS OF THE DAY AND SPECIAL DAYS)	Time,Named parts of the day: midday,Holiday times – not days: at Easter, at Christmas

Bye-bye!

MarkESOL xxx

Here is another video for your lockdown learning.

Below the exercises is the Google Doc transcript from today’s 5-minute grammar lesson. Extra teacher talk from the video not included!

Prepositions of place – IN, ON and AT. Small words = big problems.

But no more. Spend 5 minutes watching this and never make a mistake again! Maybe…

Here are your online exercises:

1. https://test-english.com/grammar-points/a1/at-in-on-prepositions-of-place/
2. https://www.grammarbank.com/prepositions-exercise.html
3. https://esl.writingexercises.co.uk/prepositions1.php
4. https://agendaweb.org/grammar/prepositions-exercises.html

Today’s video Google Doc transcript

MarkESOL 5 minute grammar lesson. 

PREPOSITIONS OF PLACE – USING AT, IN, ON for DIFFERENT PLACES.

Today we’re going to be covering:

1.   Prepositions of place basics
2. Talking to Mark on the phone
3. When to use IN.
4. When to use ON.
5. When to use AT.
6. In hospital / at the hospital
7.  On the bus? In a car?
8. WATCH THIS TWICE IF IT’S TOO FAST. I’VE ONLY GOT 5 MINUTES!!!
9. The first thing to say is: I’m not going to try to explain BETWEEN and NEXT TO by typing and speaking.

I would have to do it like this:

Where is the potato?

Carrot POTATO spinach

Yes, potato is BETWEEN carrot and spinach.

Where is the potato now?

Brocolli POTATO

Yes, potato is next to broccoli – or potato is ON THE RIGHT OF broccoli. 

No, no, no, no. Today we’re going to look at REAL LIFE prepositions that we use for places.

We’re going to make it EASY.

EASY PEASY PUDDING AND PIE as I like to say. 

After watching this video you will never get IN, AT, ON confused again. Hopefully.

10. Imagine you are talking to me on the phone. You are lost. You are worried. You need me to give you a lift. Then your phone rings. I’m calling you, “Hi, mate. I’m waiting at the cafe.  I thought we were going for a coffee and some cake! Hurry up! Where are you?”

You need to tell me where you are so I can come and find you.

Are you ON a mountain?

Are you IN a mountain?

Are you AT a mountain?

These PREPOSITIONS OF PLACE are very little words but VERY IMPORTANT if I am going to come and find you!

In this case, they mean EXACTLY THE SAME as when we use BASIC prepositions of place.

‘Hi, Mark. I’m on the mountain.’ I AM ON TOP OF THE MOUNTAIN.

‘Hi, Mark. I’m in the mountain.’ I AM INSIDE THE MOUNTAIN. In a cave?

‘Hi, Mark. I’m at the mountain.’ I AM STANDING AT OR RIGHT NEXT TO THE MOUNTAIN.

EASY PEASY LEMON SQUEEZY!

In general, we use IN for BIG places, ON for smaller and AT when we want to be very specific.

11. IN = we use this when you are IN somewhere BIG or really INSIDE somewhere:

1. INSIDE – My wallet is in my bag. My phone is in my pocket. Oh! No! It isn’t! I left my phone in the classroom.
2. You’re inside a room – ‘I’m in the bedroom.’ You’re in a lift.
3. A building – ‘I’m in a hotel.’ ‘I’m in the Trafford Centre.’ This gets confusing because we also say AT. (more in a minute!) In this case, you’re INSIDE these buildings. ‘Sorry, I can’t speak, I’m in class!’
4. A big space. In a field. In a park. In space? ‘I’m in a rocket. Look up in the sky. I’m in space! I’m near the moon. I’m going to Mars.’
5. A city, town or neighbourhood. ‘I’m in New York.’ I’m in Shiraz. I’m in Cheetham Hill. Is it a big place? Is it a small place? Where IN the world are you? Are you in the countryside or are you in a big city?
6. Transport where you are INSIDE: He’s in a taxi. She’s in her car. They’re in a plane / a helicopter / a boat 
7. BUT NOT A BUS!!!!!

4. ON = on as a basic proposition means ABOVE + TOUCHING. The cat is on the table. The elephant is on the car. Or ON TOP of the car. An elephant can’t get IN a car, unless it’s a very big car. 

But Mark, we don’t care about ELEPHANTS! Come on, hurry up!

1. Ok, elephants. ‘I’m riding ON an elephant.’ It’s a type of transport you get ON. You’re on top of this big animal. You’re ON a camel. On a horse. You don’t want to be INSIDE a horse. It has to be on.
2. All things you ride. So you ride a donkey. You ride a bike. You don’t drive a motorbike – you ride it. Put one leg over and get ON. On a skateboard, on a scooter.
3. ON A BUS! You want rules but just remember this one. THIS IS THE CRAZY ONE! The bosses of the English language say it’s ON  because you step ONTO a bus,  or because 100 years ago a bus didn’t have a roof. So you were on top of it. 
4. You also step onto a PLANE, a TRAIN, a BOAT. So you can say, ‘I’m on the tram.’ Or you can say, ‘I’m in the tram.’ You get ON it. You sit IN it. Both are fine. A car you get in. Don’t say, ‘I’m on my car.’ People will think you are sitting on the roof. Weird. Dangerous!
5. Roads. You can be on a road. ‘I’m on Langworthy Road. The cafe is on the right.’

5. AT = an exact position or a place.

1. An exact position. Where are you on the road? I’m AT the traffic lights. Where are you in the supermarket? I’m AT the checkouts. I’m AT the back of the cafe. I’m AT the bar. I’m AT the playground in the park.
2. At home. At work. At college. Here you’re saying you’re AT a place. It doesn’t matter if you’re in the bedroom, in the garden or standing ON the roof. The where you are is AT HOME. It’s the same at work, you can be inside or outside the building but you are AT WORK. At the beach.
3. At for a specific location. At 38 Dickenson Road, at the Eiffel Tower. I am sitting at my desk. At = right next to it. At the bus stop not ON the bus stop or IN the bus stop.
4.  Hospital. Now this one is a little confusing. You are IN hospital when you’re IN a bed. You’re at the hospital when you are visiting or working there. They mean very different things!

Bye-bye!

MarkESOL xxx