BEN27
when i can use to, at, for, by, ?? it is confuse for me, specialy "at" :(
Dec 2, 2014 6:46 PM
Answers · 5
== American English == At Examples: I work at a bank. He is at the beach. We is at the campsite. They sang at a wedding. In Examples: He was in a play. The dog is in the kitchen. The milk is in the refrigerator. The Spanish spoken in Venezuela is different than the Spanish spoken in Spain. He swam in the lake. Water is in the bottle. To Examples: He went to the beach. He came to my party. He hiked to the fire tower. By Examples: A car is parked by the fire station. This book is by James Blaylock. For Examples: He bought a gift for her. This cake is for her. He thanked me for giving him my horse blanket.
December 2, 2014
Ben, I am sorry no-one has answered your question. It is probably because what you have asked is a huge topic. The words you mention are used in so many different ways that it would be impossible to give a quick answer. I recommend that you post texts on the Italki "notebook" which include sentences with these prepositions. If the reasons for the corrections are not clear to you, you could then ask a more specific question here.
December 2, 2014
Hi Ben I'll give you a few of the main uses of these prepositions: TO For movement from one place to another : Let's go to the beach Grammatically, as part of the infinitive : I want to learn English AT For times on the clock : at midnight, at 10 o'clock, at 11.30 To indicate a location (no movement) : I am at the cinema FOR For a length of time: I've lived in London for 5 years Also in phrases like: These flowers are for my mother BY To mean near or next to: She lives by a lake To describe a means or method: We went by car As an agent in a passive construction: The poem was written by Shakespeare. There are other uses of these prepositions, but these are some of the commonest ones. The important thing for you to remember is this: Don't try to translate prepositions directly between Spanish and English! You should try to learn short simple phrases in English (such as 'Let's go to the beach!' above). This will fix in your mind the way we construct sentences in in English. When we learn our mother tongue, we all learn simple phrases in context rather than single words, and that's the best way to learn a foreign language, too. You can't always translate prepositions, and you shouldn't try to. I hope that helps. Do please ask again if you have any specific questions about how we use 'at' or any of the other words.
December 2, 2014
Still haven’t found your answers?
Write down your questions and let the native speakers help you!