When I was in Spain, it was terribly cold.
A thousand homes in the east of Scotland suffered power cuts.
a city, town, or village
I’ve been teaching at a college in London.
a building when you are talking about people or things inside it
They were sitting having dinner in the restaurant.
You also use ‘in’ with containers of any kind when talking about things
inside them.
She kept the cards in a little box.
Compare the use of ‘at’ and ‘in’ in these examples.
I had a hard day at the office. (‘at’ emphasises the office as a public
place or institution)
I left my coat behind in the office. (‘in’ emphasises the office as a
building)
There’s a good film at the cinema. (‘at’ emphasises the cinema as a public
place)
It was very cold in the cinema. (‘in’ emphasises the cinema as a building.)
When talking about addresses, you use ‘at’ when you give the house number,
and ‘in’ when you just give the name of the street.
They used to live at 5, Weston Road.
She got a job in Oxford Street.
Note that American English uses ‘on’: ‘He lived on Penn Street.’
You use ‘at’ when you are talking about someone’s house.
I’ll see you at Fred's house.
You use ‘on’ when you are talking about a place as a surface. You can also
use ‘on top of’.
I sat down on the sofa.
She put her keys on top of the television.
You also use ‘on’ when you are thinking of a place as a point on a line,
such as a road, a railway line. a river, or a coastline.
Scrabster is on the north coast.
Oxford is on the A34 between Birmingham and London.
Practice
1. Put the correct preposition into each gap.
Education
When my grandmother was at school, she had to learn everything (a) ________
heart, and even years later she could recite countless poems (b) _______
memory. She was discouraged (c) _______ thinking (d) _______ herself, and
concentrated simply (e) _______ learning facts. The teachers were very
strict (f) _______ pupils in those days. My grandfather confided (g)
_______ me that he was expelled (h) _______ school (i) _______ playing
truant just once.
It is always worthwhile for governments to invest (j) _______ education.
Nobody should be deprived (k) _______ a good education, and everybody
should benefit (l) _______ it. Nothing can compensate (m) _______ a bad
start in life. Pupils (n) _______ public schools still account (o) _______
many of the students at Oxford and Cambridge University. Until quite
recently these universities seemed to be prejudiced (p) _______ pupils from
state schools. Many people objected very strongly (q) _______ this and at
last things are changing.
I had no intention (r) _______ staying (s) _______ at university after I
had finished my first degree. I finally succumbed (t) _______ parental
pressure, but only (u) _______ protest, and carried out research (v)
_______ the life of Baudelaire.
2. Put the correct preposition into each gap (if necessary).
1. Are you coming to classes _____ Monday?
2. Can’t you hurry up? The train leaves _____ 9 o’clock.
3. There weren’t many people _____ the party.
4. David has been a teacher _____ 10 years.
5. They got married some time _____ .
6. Do you know the names of the letter _____ English?
7. I don’t live far _____ my office. In fact, it’s quite _____ .
8. What time do you usually come _____ home?
9. He lives _____ the country.
10. I think she’s gone _____ holiday _____ the South.
11. I’m going to stay _____ my parents _____ July.
12. It’s so difficult to wake him up _____ the morning.
13. The girls are _____ the bus stop.
14. They are going _____ school.
15. The children are playing _____ the garden.
16. Did you see the film _____ television yesterday?
17. I try to go _____ bed before midnight.
18. Young people are fond _____ sports.
19. Charles is very good _____ languages.
20. It might be John but I thought he was _____ work.
21. - How do you get _____ work?
- I go there _____ bus.
22. Look _____ that picture.
23. Why don’t you take _____ your coat. It’s warm today.
24. She’s French, she comes _____ the South of France.
Unit 3 Review of tenses (active/passive voice)
Practice
1. Matching verb forms
Match a sentence from A with a sentence from B, according to the tense
used. Say which tense it is. (Some sentences are in the negative or
question form.)
Example
He works in a bank.
She doesn’t smoke.
They are both Present Simple active.
A
1. I don’t believe you.
2. Have you been waiting long?
3. He hasn’t arrived yet.
4. It wasn’t mended properly.
5. How are you feeling today?
6. My office is being decorated at the moment.
7. We got lost.
8. What were you doing last night?
9. This book has been translated into several languages.
10. The post is delivered twice a day.
B
a. It’s raining.
b. Did you have a good time?
c. How are these machines made?
d. They were working for something.
e. He was killed in a car crash.
f. What is being done about inflation?
g. I’ve been thinking about moving house.
h. Have you seen Henry?
i. A cure for cancer hasn’t been found yet.
j. Where do you work?
2. Active or passive?
Put the verb in brackets in the correct tense, and decided if it is active
or passive.
Ex.: My car __was stolen__ (steal) last night.
Joseph Ford, the politician who (a) __________ (kidnap) last week as he was
driving to his office, (b) __________ (release) unharmed. He (c) __________
(examine) by a doctor last night, and (d) __________ (say) to be in good
health. Mr Ford (e) __________ (find) walking along a small country lane
early yesterday evening. A farmer (f) __________ (see) him, recognised who
it was, and (g) __________ (contact) the police. When his wife (h)
__________ (tell) the news, she said, ‘I am delighted and relieved that my
husband (i) __________ (find).’ Acting on information received, the police
made several arrests, and a man (j) __________ (question) in connection
with the kidnapping.
3. Passive construction
Put the following sentences into the passive, using a personal pronoun as
the subject.
Ex.: Someone told her the news.
She was told the news.
a. Someone will give you your tickets at the airport.
b. People asked me a lot of questions about my background.
c. Someone usually shows airline passengers how to use a life jacket at the
beginning of the flight.
d. If somebody offers you a cheap camera, don’t buy it. It’s probably
stolen.
e. Doctors have given him six months to live.
f. Someone will tell you what you have to do when you arrive.
g. My parents advised me to spend some time abroad before looking for work.
h. Pleased to meet you. People have told me a lot about you.
i. At interviews, people ask you quite searching questions.
j. In a few years’ time, my company will send me to our New York office.
4. Tense review (1)
Put the verb in brackets in an appropriate tense. When there is no verb (
__ __ __ ), insert an auxiliary verb.
My wife and I (a) ________ (live) in our present house in the country for
five years. We (b) ________ (move) here after our second child (c) ________
(be) born. We (d) ________ (live) in town for ten years , and (e) ________
(decide) that as soon as we (f) ________ (can) afford it, we (g) ________
(move) away from the smoke and the noise of the city centre, which we
finally (h) __ __ __ in 1985. We (i) ________ never (regret) it. We (j)
________ (be) reminded of the wisdom of our decision every morning when we
(k) ________ (draw) the curtains to see the open fields stretching before
us. When the children (l) ________ (have) breakfast, they (m) ________
(rush) outside to play, which they (n) __ __ __ whatever the weather.
Whilst they (o) ________ (play) outside, we somehow manage to start the
day.
Actually, we (a) ________ (think) of moving. My wife (b) ________ (accept)
a new job, which she (c) ________ (start) next month. As soon as she (d) __
__ __ , she (e) ________ (have) a journey of fifty miles there and back,
and I (f) ________ (not think) that she (g) ________ (realise) just how
tiring this (h) ________ (be). I (i) ________ (go) away on business for a
few days next week, and while I (j) ________ (be) away, my sister (k)
________ (come) to stay, which she (l) __ __ __ quite often. Once I (m)
________ (be) back, I (n) ________ (decide) that I (o) ________ (get) in
touch with some estate agents. I (p) ________ (not feel) happy until we (q)
________ (find) a house closer to my wife’s job. I wonder what the children
(r) ________ (say) when they (s) ________ (hear) that we (t) ________
(move). This is the first time they (u) ________ (live) in the country, and
they (v) ________ (hate) to move back to town.
5. Tense review (2)
Put the verb in brackets in an appropriate tense.
Junk story that beat the experts
The strangest story I (a) _____ ever _____ (report) began one Spring
morning in Hong Kong. I was born and brought up in Hong Kong and I (b)
_______ just _______ (start) working as a radio reporter there.
In March 1981, ninety-five fishing junks (c)_______ (spot) sailing over
the horizon. Immediately they (d) _______ (surround) by police launches who
thought they were trying (e) _______ (sneak) into Hong Kong against the
law.
One of Hong Kong’s greatest problems is trying to keep out thousands of
people who think life there (f) _______ (be) better than in China, and try
