The Communicative Grammar of English Workbook - Edward Woods, Rudy Coppieters 2002

7.9. Overlap between types of prepositions
Unit seven. Adverbs, adverbials and prepositions

Sections 179-183

The preposition ’at’ is preferred to the preposition ’in’

• for smaller towns or villages when they are seen as places on the map: live at Chatham.

• for buildings when they are thought of as institutions: be at school.

The preposition ’at’ is preferred to the prepositon ’to’ with verbs such as aim, throw, point, shout, etc. when the following noun phrase indicates a target: shout at the intruder.

The preposition ’on’ is preferred to the preposition ’in’ when a surface is meant, rather than an area or a volume: to sit on the grass.

Task **

Fill the gaps with one of the following prepositions: at, in, into, on, to.

1. Cornelius Vanderbilt was born ... Staten Island in 1794.

2. Would you please stop yelling ... me like that?

3. Jack the Ripper killed at least seven prostitutes ... the East End.

4. Do you still have an account ... Barclays Bank?

5. Local youths were playing football ... the freshly mown grass.

6. After taking a degree ... Oxford, Thomas Hughes trained as a barrister.

7. The orangutan still lives in the wild ... Borneo.

8. The PM and the Home Secretary are meeting ... No.10, Downing Street.

9. One tourist threw a bath-towel ... the girl who was scrambling up the embankment.

10. Thousands of troops are pouring ... eastern Congo again.

11. The ferry had to dock … Plymouth for urgent repair work.

12. Several bodies were found ... the collapsed building.