Using English Prepositions - Lesson 10: Less Common Uses - Let's learn grammar!

My children and I love chocolate,

but we don't have much left.

So to be fair, I should divide all of this between the three of us.

I'll tell you how many pieces each person gets

by the end of this lesson.

What I'd like to do before that

is share six less common but important

uses of prepositions.

I talked about dividing the chocolate between the three of us.

Can I say that?

There are three of us,

and I used the preposition "between."

BETWEEN usually refers to the distance between two things

in space or time.

But we can also use this preposition

to show a shared amount within a group of people.

This is especially common when we refer to equal amounts

of work or money. Here are some examples.

So the four men shared the labor.

The four children got equal amounts.

So the three of us shared this task.

Perhaps we each didn't collect the same number of signatures,

but by working together we collected 500.

Do you know what this is?

It's an apple slicer.

You push it down over the core

and it slices the apple in eight pieces.

Neat, huh? Do you have one?

IN often refers to being inside a place

or at a certain time, for example, in the summer...in the evening.

But we can also use IN to refer to parts of a whole.

For example, cutting an apple in half or in eight pieces.

We can say IN or INTO.

Let's cut it into eight pieces.

Let's look at some more examples.

Now sometimes you have a choice of using IN or INTO.

I believe with "half" and "pairs" IN is a more common word choice.

Sometimes the verb helps us choose.

For example, I believe it's more common to say something lay in pieces

or people sat in groups.

It's about how things are placed or arranged.

Like standing in a line or sitting in a circle.

As for "divide" and "broke," I would choose INTO.

You divide people into groups.

And we can break up into groups.

Can you imagine what it would be like to win a million dollars?

I think I would be speechless.

I would just keep thinking about all of the possibilities.

I'd be beside myself with excitement.

Beside myself with excitement.

How did I use the preposition there?

BESIDE usually means NEXT TO.

Like having a lamp next to your bed.

Having a lamp beside your bed.

We can also use BESIDE when we want to express strong emotions.

Emotions so strong that we have trouble thinking clearly,

and it's difficult to control ourselves.

Let me show you some examples.

So far, you've seen examples with positive emotions.

Sadly, we often use this expression with negative emotions.

All three sentences are correct,

but they do sound rather formal.

So in everyday, very casual conversation

we would find other words. For example...

Another use of BESIDE is "beside the point."

"That's beside the point."

This expression means that something is off topic.

Let me show you some examples.

We all know that UP and DOWN refer to position.

I can climb up a tree.

A ball can roll down the stairs.

We can also use these prepositions

to show that something is farther along in distance.

We can be talking about roads, sidewalks, corridors, paths...

Let me show you a couple examples.

Could I use DOWN here?

Yes. And there might not be any difference.

But if Nelson lives at 3 Elm Street

and his neighbor lives at 7 Elm Street,

I would use UP just because of those numbers.

The student ran down the hallway to her next class.

I'd keep DOWN here.

I think DOWN is a common choice

when we want to express a little more distance.

Something being farther along.

Down the hallway, down the path, down the road.

If I say, "Sh! I'm on the phone."

What does that mean?

Hopefully, you don't picture me standing or sitting on my phone.

ON often refers to placement,

like putting the phone on my hand.

But when I say I'm on the phone,

I'm using my phone.

We can use ON to refer to our use of technology.

Let's look at some examples.

OVER can also refer to use of technology,

but it seems to be more for relaying information.

Here are two examples.

Finally, let's talk about the preposition ABOVE.

It usually refers to a higher position.

For example, clouds above my head.

But we can also use ABOVE

to refer to importance or goodness.

The opposite would be BENEATH.

Here's an example.

Have you ever cleaned a toilet?

A public toilet?

One of my first jobs involved cleaning a public restroom.

So I don't consider that work beneath me,

and I don't put myself above others.

All jobs deserve some respect.

In other words...

Let's try an exercise.

Choose the right preposition to complete the question.

So how many pieces does each person get?

Well, if I'm dividing all the chocolate between the three of us,

that's four for Alex, four for Natasha,

four for me...There's one left over,

so I'll put that back.

And then it's even. We each get four pieces.

That's all for now.

Thanks for watching and happy studies!