CORRECT USAGE

Prepositions
A preposition is a part of
speech that shows a
relationship between two
things.
Purpose

• It may tell you when

something is in
relation to another
event.
Prepositio
Explanations Example
n of time

• days • Many shops don't

• weekend open on Sundays.
on • What did you do on the
weekend?

• months / seasons / year • I visited

• morning / evening / Italy in July, in spring, in
afternoon 1994
in • period of time • In the evenings, I like to
relax.
• This is the first cigarette
I've had in three years.
Prepositio Explanations Example
n of time

• night • It gets cold at night.

• used to show an exact or • There's a meeting at 2.30
at a particular time: this afternoon / at lunch
time.

• from a particular time in • England have not won the

the past until a later time, World Cup in
since
or until now football since1966

• used to show an amount • I'm just going to

of time. bed for an hour or so.
for
 Quick Test

____ September
____12 o'clock
____ winter
____ Easter Monday
 Quick Test
• in September
• at 12 o'clock
• in winter
• on Easter Monday
Purpose
• A preposition may tell you the
position/direction of something in
relation to something else.
• The gentle, brown dog slept beside the
fluffy white rabbit.
Preposition of place Explanation Example
 inside  I watch TV in the living-room
 I live in New York
 Look at the picture in the book
 She looks at herself in the
mirror.
in
 She is in the car.
 Look at the girl in the picture
 This is the best team in the
world

 used to show an exact position  I met her at the

or particular place entrance, at the bus stop
 table  She sat at the table
 events  at a concert, at the party
at
 place where you are to do  at the
something typical (watch a movies, at university, at work
film, study, work)
Preposition of place Explanation Example
 attached  Look at the
picture on the wall
 next to or along the
side of (river)  Cambridge is on the
River Cam.
 used to show that
something is in a  The book is on the desk
position above  A smile on his face
something else and
touching it.  The shop is on the left

on  left, right  My apartment is on the

first floor
 a floor in a house
 I love
 used for showing some
traveling on trains
methods of traveling
/on the bus / on a
 television, radio plane
 My favorite
program on TV, on the
radio
Preposition of place Explanation Example
 not far away in  The girl who
by, next to, beside, distance is by / next
near to / besidethe
house.
 in or into the  The town lies
space which halfway between 
separates two Rome and
between
places, people or Florence.
objects

 at the back (of)  I hung my

coat behind the
behind
door.
 Quick Test

• The ceiling is ___ your head.

• The cellar is ___ ground.
• He is hiding ____ the door.
 Quick Test

• The ceiling is above your

head.
• The cellar is below ground.
• He is hiding behind the door.
End of Prepositions
How are you
today?
15
Which respondent are you?
• SPEAKER 2: I’m
good.
• SPEAKER 3: I’m
well.
ADJECTIVES
• Adjectives describe nouns or
pronouns.
–My neighbor is a successful
private investigator.
• Adjectives are used to compare.
• His company is bigger than his
brother’s firm in Quezon City.
• The biggest agency in the area is
not the best.
 Common Mistakes
1. Be careful that you do not use both -er
AND more or both -est AND most.
• INCORRECT:
The detective is the most smartest
person who works with the
agency.
• CORRECT:
The detective is the
smartest person who
works with the agency.
 Quick Test

• The most biggest

spiders Fidel has ever
seen were in Costa
Rica.
 Quick Test
• Since Leo is more taller
than Ramil, he often
attracts attention.
2. Do not make mistakes with irregulars.

Comparative (two) Superlative

Positive Comparative
(three or more)
Bad Superlative
Worse Worst

Good, well Better Best

Little Less Least

Much More most

 Quick Test
• There are over 400 species of
birds to see in Costa Rica,
and the more interesting ones
to photograph are the toucans.
 Quick Test

•I dance best than

Cristina.
ADVERBS
Most adverbs are formed with the addition of
the –ly suffix to an existing adjective.

cautiously surprisingly
usually safely
inadvertently quietly
 It describes verbs.
The private investigator
acts quickly when he is
hired.
It describes adjectives.

The absolutely
priceless statue has
disappeared.
It describes other adverbs.
–Although Jess does not
speak Spanish too well, he
went to visit Costa Rica with
his high school classmates.
 Quick Test
• Our instructor
pronounces his words
very (precise,
precisely).
 Quick Test
• The students are
(absolute, absolutely)
good with their
presentation.
 Quick Test
• The woman looked
(different, differently)
than she did the day
before.
Adverbs of time
• tell us when an action happened
EXAMPLES
• Goldilocks went to the Bears' house
yesterday.
• I'm going to tidy my room tomorrow.
• I saw Sally today.
 Quick Test
1. I haven’t seen her _______ Monday.
A) since B) for
2. I went there __________.
A) yesterday B) tomorrow
 Quick Test
1. I haven’t seen her since
Monday.
2. I went there yesterday.
Adverbs of place
• tell us where something happens
• usually placed after the main verb
or after the clause that they modify
• do not modify adjectives or other
adverbs
• John looked around but he couldn't
see the monkey.
• I searched everywhere I could
think of.
• I'm going back to school.
 Quick Test
• Close the door when you go ___________.
– out
– westward
– here
– there
• The cat is hiding _______________ the couch.
– on
– underneath
– somewhere
– there
 Quick Test
• Close the door when you
go out.
• The cat is hiding underneath
the couch.
Adverbs of manner
• tell us how something
happens
• usually placed either after
the main verb or after the
object
• He swims well.
• He ran quickly.
• She spoke softly.
• James coughed loudly to attract
her attention.
 Quick Test
1. The excited baby pounded the table _______________.
A. Badly
B. Hungrily
C. Normally
2. Walk ______________ or you may miss the bus.
A. Quickly
B. Slowly
C. Personally
 Quick Test
• The excited baby pounded
the table hungrily.
• Walk quickly or you may
miss the bus.
 Adverbs of Frequency
• change or qualify the meaning
of a sentence by telling us how
often or how frequently
something happens are defined
as adverbs of frequency
• The incubator turns each egg hourly.
• We take a vacation at least
once annually.
• I usually shop for groceries on
Saturday mornings.
• He is often late for work.
 Quick Test
1. Our teacher, Mrs Jones, (never / be)
late for lessons.
2. I (often / clean) my bedroom at the
weekend.
3. My brother (hardly ever / help) me
with my homework.
 Quick Test
1. Our teacher, Mrs Jones, is never late
for lessons.
2. I often clean my bedroom at the
weekend.
3. My brother hardly ever helps me with
my homework.
ADJECTIVES
AND
ADVERBS
The difference between adjectives
and adverbs
• ADJECTIVES ADVERBS
bad badly
careful carefully
clear clearly
courteous courteously

51
Use of Adjectives and Adverbs

• He is strange.

• He behaves strangely.

52
Use of Adjectives and Adverbs

• The explanation is clear.

• Explain clearly.

53
Use of Adjectives and Adverbs

• I am sure.

• You surely do look

good.
54
 Bad and Badly

• Bad is an adjective: I feel

bad about the delay.

• Badly is an adverb: The

bruise doesn't hurt so
badly now.
 Good and Well
• Good is an adjective: You look good in blue.

• Well is an adverb: He gets along well with

his co-workers.

• Well is also an adjective when it is used to

refer to health: I am not well today.

• You look good, and you look well too.

 Real and Really
Real is an adjective meaning
"genuine"; really is an adverb.
The admiral has real charm,
so he is really charismatic.
 Use “real” preceding nouns;
use “really” preceding adjectives (“very,” however, is a
more formal adverb than “really.”)

• real excitement • really exciting

• a real disadvantage
• a real friend
• a real honor
• a real difference
• a real crisis
• a real surprise
• real love
• really disadvantageous
• really friendly
• really honorable
• really different
• really critical
• really surprising
• really lovable

58
 Sure and Surely
• Sure is an • Surely is an
adjective meaning adverb meaning
“certain.” “certainly.”
• I am sure that • The city council
congressional surely is making a
hearings are nothing number of
more than vapid,
hollow charades. decisions this year.
59
Practice Exercises
Correct each of the following sentences.

Although Mr. Ramos

does not speak Spanish
too good, he went to
visit Costa Rica with
his colleagues.
He was surprised to see
how quick his Spanish
improved while he was
visiting Central America.
One day Mr. Ramos
and his colleagues rode
horses to a
breathtaking beautiful
waterfall.
The students were
good hikers, so they
walked to view an
active volcano.
How are you
today?
64