GRAMMAR CHALLENGE: PREPOSITIONS – at, on, in, since, for, during, while

Hi. I'm Rebecca. Are you using the right prepositions in English? Let's find out. Here, we have

seven different prepositions. They are "in", "at", "on", "since", and "for", "during",

and "while". So, we're going to go through these sentences, you'll find out which ones

you get right, which ones you need a little help with, then I'll explain some easy tricks

so that you can know which preposition to use when. And in addition, if you get them

wrong, I will refer you to the fuller video that I have on those specific prepositions

so that you can follow in greater detail if you want to really master it and understand

it very, very well. Okay? So, you ready for our grammar challenge? Let's start.

Number one. I've lived here _____ two years. So, what's the right preposition there? "Since"

or "for"? I've lived here - it should be - for two years. Okay? Now, if you need a

little more time, feel free, pause the video, I'm standing to the side, go through them,

write them down somewhere, and then you can do them along with me. Or, let's keep going.

Number two. See you _____ Friday. Everyone loves these three prepositions. I know, I

know you do. So, what's the right answer? See you - see you on Friday. Okay? Now, I'm

going to explain why we're using these particular prepositions on the next board, so stay with

me, but that is the correct answer. I hope you got it right.

Number three. I was busy _____ the day. What's the right one? I was busy during the day.

Okay? Excellent. Number four. We could meet _____ three o'clock. We could meet at three

o'clock. Okay? I'm going to show you a really cool trick in case you haven't seen it already

about that one, okay? Next, number five. She's worked here _____ 2018. She's worked here

since 2018. Okay? Next, number six. The phone rang _____ we were sleeping. The phone rang

which one? While we were sleeping. Okay? Good. And number seven. The conference is _____ July.

The conference is in July. Okay? So, how did you do? Okay? And please mark down which ones

you got wrong, which ones you got right, okay? And then you'll be able to understand exactly

which - what to focus on and why. Okay? I'm going to give you the explanation right now.

So, let's see how to choose the right preposition. Let's start with these two, "since" and "for".

So, we use "since" plus a point in time, and we use "for" plus a period of time. Alright?

For example, since 9 o'clock. I've been busy since 9 o'clock. It's a particular point in

time. Or, I've been here since March, a particular point in time. Or, he has lived here since

1995. Okay? So, "since" plus a point in time, but when we're talking about "for", we're

talking about a period of time. So, for 5 minutes. For 5 decades. Okay? What are decades?

A decade is a period of 10 years. So, 5 decades would be 50 years. So, "for" plus the period

of time, "since" plus the point in time. And again, as I mentioned, in the lesson description,

I'm going to put links to the specific videos that I have on each of these three preposition

kind of pairs or groups. Alright? So that you can watch the full lesson in case you

are making mistakes in this and really master it. Okay? Alright, next.

Let's go to the next pair, "during" and "while". How can you tell the difference? It's actually

quite easy. "During" plus the noun, and "while" plus the verb. Okay? So, for example, we say,

"during the week", "during the meeting". Okay? So, there's some kind of noun there. Alright?

And we say, "while" plus a verb or a subject and verb. For example, "while watching TV".

Okay? The phone rang while I was watching TV. Or, "while watching TV", the phone rang.

Okay? So, "while" will have a verb somewhere after that, but "during" should never have

a verb after that.

These are also some of the points that I cover in my course, which is called Correct Your

English Errors in 10 Minutes a Day, and it takes each of these kind of very common mistakes

and shows you easy ways to master them. There, we cover grammar mistakes, vocabulary mistakes,

pronunciation, business English, all kinds of critical areas in English. So, if you like,

I'll also leave a link to my course, and you're more than welcome to check that out. Okay?

Next, these three favorite prepositions of everyone's. Okay? At, on, and in. It's really

not that difficult. I have a special lesson which shows me like this, with a pyramid that

says "at", "on", and "in", and it's like this. We use "at" when we're talking about time.

Okay? Here, I'm only talking about time. So, "at" is used for very specific times, like

at 3 o'clock, at 4.30, at midnight, at noon. Okay? Very, very specific is "at". Next, "on"

is for what? One day or one date. That's all. On Sunday. On January 31st. On November 24th.

Like that. Okay? Specific day or a specific date. That's all. "In" is for anything more

than one day. Okay? That's generally how it'll work. So, if it's a longer period of time,

use "in". "In" also covers more options. So, if you're not sure, say "in". Okay? So, in

July, in 2012, in the summer, in the 1900s, and so on and so forth. Okay? So, the point

is if you're serious, and I know if you watch till now, you are serious. You are one of

those serious learners, and you're not going to let anything stop you. All right? I know

that you will master these. Check out the lessons that follow. Okay? On the specific

areas so you completely get it. And then, as I said, you're more than welcome to check

out my course for other such really easy and critical corrections. All right? All the best

with your English. Bye for now.