English knowledge

PREPOSITIONS OF TIME

We'll talk in this course about prepositions of time: At, In and On.

• At

We use at with times: when we talk about a precise time of the day (three O'clock..) or a part of the day (night..). Examples:

- We are leaving at midnight.
- You should get up at 9 O'clock.
- I will come at the end of this week.

• In

We use in when we talk about long time, or a date (month, year, season..). Examples:

- I was born in 1977.
- I was born in July.
- I was born in summer.

• On

We use on when we talk about a day of the week or a special calendar day. Examples:

- My father's birthday is on the 20th of June.
- I don't work on Mondays.

FOR AND SINCE

There are other prepositions of time like For and Since: check For and Since course for more details about themHere we will talk about two prepositions usually used in the english language to talk about time: For/Since.

For

For is used to talk about a period of time, it precise the length of the period. Examples:  For two hours... For twenty years... For five minutes...

 

Since

Since is used to precise the beginning of the period, it's followed by a point of time. Examples:  Since 1988 Since last year Since I was a little boy.

The two prepositions are usually used with the perfect tenses.

Examples:

• I have known my boyfriend for three years.
• I have known him since my graduation year.
• You have been a brilliant student sinceyour childhood.
• We have been studying for four yearS
• 
  
• INFINITIVE AND GERUND

• Infinitive is formed by this form: To + Verb , it can be a subject or a direct object …….etc

  Examples:

  • To play football is your hobby. (Here it’s a subject)

  • You need to learn english! It’s an important language. (Here it’s an object)

  Gerund:
  Gerund is a noun ending always by ING, it can be a subject, a (in)direct object….etc

  Examples:

  -Learning english is my hobby. (Here it’s a subject)
  -I love learning english from this website. (Here it’s a direct object)

  The question you would ask is whether we use infinitive or gerund, the answer is in the next lesson. Find out when we use infinitive and when we use gerund, in the course titled: Gerund or Infinitivewe will talk, in this lesson, about infinitive and gerund, and when we use either infinitive or gerund.

  if you don't have an idea about infinitive and gerund, take a look at the lesson: infinitive & gerund

  We use infinitive when it's preceded by on of these verbs:

  • agree
  • aim
  • appear
  • arrange
  • ask
  • attempt
  • be able
  • beg
  • begin
  • care
  • choose
  • condescend
  • consent
  • continue
  • dare
  • decide
  • deserve
  • detest
  • dislike
  • expect
  • fail
  • forget
  • get
  • happen
  • have
  • hesitate
  • hope
  • hurry
  • intend
  • leap
  • leave
  • like
  • long
  • love
  • mean
  • neglect
  • offer
  • ought
  • plan
  • prefer
  • prepare
  • proceed
  • promise
  • propose
  • refuse
  • remember
  • say
  • shoot
  • start
  • stop
  • strive
  • swear
  • threaten
  • try
  • use
  • wait
  • want
  • wish

  There are other verbs, but if you learn this list by heart you will make a great step in your learning of english.

  As for the gerund, see second part of this course in Infinitive or Gerundif you don't have an idea about infinitive and gerund, take a look at the lesson: infinitive and gerund

  We use gerund when it's preceded by on of these verbs:

  • admit
  • advise
  • appreciate
  • avoid
  • can't help
  • complete
  • consider
  • delay
  • deny
  • detest
  • dislike
  • enjoy
  • escape
  • excuse
  • finish
  • forbid
  • get through
  • have
  • imagine
  • mind
  • miss
  • permit
  • postpone
  • practice
  • quit
  • recall
  • report
  • resent
  • resist
  • resume
  • risk
  • spend & waste + time
  • suggest
  • tolerate

  this list is not exhaustive, there are other verbs but if you learn them by heart you will master the use of gerund in english: a great step in your learning of english !