5 Common Preposition Mistakes Every Beginner Makes (And How to Correct Them)

-

 

Prepositions are some of the most difficult words in English. They aren't difficult because they are long or hard to understand. The difficulty comes in understanding the rules for using them. Throw in the always-confusing phrasal verbs, and it only gets worse.
While these tiny words seem like they aren't usually a big deal to get wrong, using prepositions incorrectly can change the whole meaning of a sentence. Using the wrong preposition may not make your sentence impossible to understand, but that can definitely happen in some cases. And while it's important not to worry too much about the small stuff, it's always important to try for the clearest communication possible. And that's what we're working towards, together!
So here's a list of some common preposition mistakes I often hear from beginners. Master these to take your English to the next level!
 

1.  Verbs that require To

 If you've ever talked about your hobbies in a conversation group, you've heard the phrase "Listen to music". But in a group of beginners, you may have heard our first common mistake "listen music." 
This is a very common mistake with beginners. Listen is a verb that always requires the preposition "to" because it always involves another object. Whether you're listening to music, listening to a podcast, listening to another person speaking, or listening to your heart, make sure you don't forget that crucial preposition. 
Some other verbs that also require to (when another object is involved) are:
  • Listen 
    • I like listening to music
  • Speak/Talk
    • You need to speak to the manager. 
    • She wants to talk to you.
  • Look forward - Phrase that expresses excitement about a future event. 
    • I'm looking forward to our next meeting.
  • Reply/Respond
    • Please reply to my email as soon as possible.
    • Thank you for responding to our survey.
  • Invite
    • I invited her to my party
  • Used - When expressing a habit in the past.
    • I used to read two books a week when I was in university.
  • Used/Accustomed - Expresses a familiarity with or acceptance of a situation outside of your control.
    • You'll get used to the noise from the traffic. 
    • We've become accustomed to the convenience of the internet. 
  • Go (with exceptions)
    • I go to the dentist once a year to get a check-up.

 

2. Adding To When Not Required

We just talked about people forgetting to so maybe it's just a good idea to use it more so you can't forget it? While this impulse is understandable, it's not the best way to improve your communication. 
In fact, there are irregular scenarios where you should not use to when you otherwise would. 
 The most common example is go to home.  We use go to in almost every other case. Go to work, go to school, go to the doctor, go to the market, and many others! Home is an unusual exception to this rule. We don't go to home. We simply go home. 
Why? Unfortunately languages have exceptions without much logic behind them. This is one of those exceptions and an important one to remember. 
 
*NOTE* This rule does not apply to other ways of talking about your home. To is required when talking about other people's homes or when using a word other than home.
 I'm going to my friend's house. I went back to my place. We will go to his childhood home.
 
What if you don't know where you're going exactly? You may want to use words like somewhere, anywhere, everywhere or elsewhere. (Learn how to tell the difference between these words here). These words are also an exception to the go to rule.
  • We're planning on going somewhere warm for our holiday.
  •  I want to go everywhere interesting in the city.
  •  I'm sorry but there's no room here. You must go elsewhere.
  •  If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go?

3. Put + Prepositions

We've spent a lot of time talking about to. Let's show the other prepositions some love!
Let's look at the verb Put. Put is a very unique verb because it always requires you to tell us where exactly you're going to put an object. Therefore, you must always include a preposition when using put.
  • Put the table in the corner. Put the chairs next to the table. Then, put the posters (up) on the wall. 
Put is one of the most complex examples because it can be followed by a wide variety of prepositions.
If you want more information on verbs that take other prepositions, check out this article.
 

4. Prepositions & Transportation

Enough talk about verbs. Let's move onto some nouns and look at which prepositions to use when talking about transportation. Some prepositions used when talking about transportation can seem nonsensical at first. What do you mean I'm on a train? I'm not standing on the roof! But once you learn the logic, using these prepositions will becomes so easy, you don't even have to think about them!
Take a look at some of the different prepositions we use for transportation and how to use them.
  • BY
    • We use by to talk about the type of transportation we used to get somewhere.
      • I came by train,
      • She came by bike,
      • It's 10 minutes away by foot
  • ON
    • We use on when talking about large vehicles where you can walk around during your journey. Therefore, on is usually used when talking about public transportation.
      • Don't eat on the bus
      • I've just gotten on the plane.
      • I spent my afternoon on a boat at the lake.
    • We use on when talking about things you can actually stand or sit on.
      • I was on my bike when a car nearly hit me.
      • When I was younger, I went to school on a skateboard every day
  • IN
    • We use in when talking about smaller modes of transport where you must sit to use them and are somewhat enclosed.
      • Get in the car! We're going to be late!
      • I love floating down the river in my kayak.
      • We hopped in a taxi to chase down the thief.

5. Prepositions & Time

Another common stumbling block for beginners is deciding which preposition to use when talking about time. Is it on, in, or at a day? What about an hour? A month? Unfortunately, there not much to do besides memorize the rules until they become familiar or second-nature. Here's a quick guide on how to use different prepositions when talking about time.
  • AT
    •  We use at when talking about nighttime
      • I sleep at night.
      •  I always do my best work at night.
     
    • We use at when talking about a specific time that mentions the hour with or without a minute value
      • We are meeting at 12:30 pm for lunch. You should join us!
      • My classes start at 8 am.
         
    • REMEMBER - Spoken English rarely uses the 24 hour clock. Make sure your hour isn't higher than 12 and use AM for morning and PM for afternoon
       
  • IN
    • We use in when talking about months
      • Halloween is in October.
      • I have an appointment to see the doctor in January.
    • REMEMBER - Months are proper nouns and, therefore, capitalized in English.
       
    • We use in when talking about times of day
      • I wake up in the morning.
      • I work in the afternoon. 
         
    • We use in when talking about the time between the present and a future time
      • Hurry! The train leaves in 6 minutes! We don't want to miss it.
      • The concert is in two weeks. 
         
  • ON
    • We use on when talking about specific days
      • The charity bake sale is on Tuesday. I hope you haven't forgotten.
      • Christmas is on December 25th. 
 

 And that's it for today's lesson! I hope you learned something new about using prepositions! Have you made these mistakes before? Hopefully you won't make them again after this lesson. But if you do, that's okay too! Learning is a process and as long as you're putting in the effort, you're on your way to levelling up your English!

 

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Questions? Comments? Let me know!

Popular posts from this blog

Countable and Uncountable Nouns

-
  In English, we have two broad categories of nouns that we call countable and uncountable nouns. But what do these categories mean? Luckily, it's (for the most part) exactly what it sounds like.  Usually, if you can imagine yourself actually counting something, it's countable . If you can't imagine counting the noun, it's uncountable . Don't worry, we'll get into some more concrete examples in a bit!   But why should I care if I can count an item or not? Well, in English, these two categories use different grammar rules. So knowing the countability of a noun is step one to talking about it clearly.   So let's take a closer look at each of these categories to turn you into a countable and uncountable noun pro! Countable Nouns Usually, if you can imagine yourself actually counting something, it's countable. Physical things like apples, dogs, people, pages etc. can all be counted easily. Even some more abstract ideas, like ideas themselves, can be count...
Read more

10 Unusual Uncountable Nouns

-
  For a full refresher on uncountable and countable nouns, check out  this article!   But don’t worry, before we jump into today’s lesson, we’ll do a quick summary of uncountable nouns! Uncountable Nouns Uncountable nouns are nouns that we find impossible to count, such as: Liquids  (Water, tea, blood etc.) Gases  (Air, smoke, helium, etc.) Kinds of Weather  (Fog, rain, sunshine etc.) Emotions  (Excitement, sadness, anger etc.) Abstract ideas  (Advice, determination, stress, etc.)   They also apply to things that are difficult to count, like: Grains/ Mass nouns   These are often things you could (theoretically) count, but that information is likely to be irrelevant and the number so large,  that we tend to refer to them as uncountable. It's not important how many grains of rice are in your dinner, as long as you're full at the end. Mass/Category Nouns Alternatively, category nouns are considered uncountable because they represe...
Read more

Top Tips, Tricks & Tools for Improving your English Level

-
Do you feel like your English level is stagnating? Are you new to learning English and you’re not sure where to start? No matter where you are on your journey, learning how to build an English learning routine will accelerate your progress and help you reach your goals faster. Stay consistent & Set SMART Goals In general, consistency and setting goals are key to making progress on any type of project. It can be easy to feel intimidated when we only look at the things we don't know. But like most things, it's easier to take learning English step by step. That’s why it’s important to make Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound (SMART)   goals. Those goals might look like challenging yourself to watch 1 video on YouTube in English a day and 1 English movie a month. Or reading 1 article in English a week and changing the language to English on your gaming consoles. Or producing the language by speaking and writing in English at least once a week as wel...
Read more