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A preposition is a type of word that express spatial or temporal relations. Here is a list of known English prepositions. There is no set of rules for learning prepositions, and the prepositions from one language often do not translate directly into another. It's best to learn English prepositions by getting used to using them in context. Today, let's take a look at the preposition "at."
The preposition "at" can be used to express the time of day:
And at three o'clock the Queen comes on and she gives her speech.
And at three o'clock the Queen comes on and she gives her speech.
Caption 24, Christmas Traditions - In the UK
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Or to indicate a place:
As you can see behind me, we are at Buckingham Palace.
As you can see behind me, we are at Buckingham Palace.
Caption 1, In London with Lauren - Buckingham Palace
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Or to indicate an activity or proficiency with something:
So I'm very good at working as part of a team.
So I'm very good at working as part of a team.
Caption 34, Business English - The Job Interview
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Or very commonly when mentioning an email address. The "at symbol" (@) in an email address is also called... at!
You can email us at...
You can email us at...
Caption 50, The Egoscue Clinic of Austin - Exercises for Lower Back Pain
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Further Learning
Search for examples of the preposition "at" on Yabla English to see them used in a real-world context.
There is a standard set of adverbs (words that modify verbs) that describe how often something happens, from not at all (never) to all the time (always). Let's see some examples from Yabla English.
I've never done that in my life.
Caption 70, George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four - BBC TV Movie
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I very rarely have a day off.
Caption 11, Ask Jimmy Carter - Another Interview with Sharon Stone
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Do you have someone who can ... take the air out of your tires occasionally?
Captions 40-41, Will Smith - Enemy of the State
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...I sometimes will write it on a piano.
Caption 27, Bee and Flower - Interview
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Whales feed at depth in waters that are often pitch dark.
Caption 19, Sustainable Human - How Whales Change Climate
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I usually leave it to simmer a little bit.
Caption 85, Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives - Pam's Trinidadian Caribbean Kitchen
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It is always held in Leicester Square.
Caption 25, In London with Lauren - Piccadilly Circus
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The adverbs are written in bold above in increasing order of frequency: never, rarely, occasionally, sometimes, often, usually, always.
Further Learning
Search for examples of frequency adverbs on Yabla English to see them used in a real-world context.
An infinitive verb is the plain form of a verb that is not conjugated and often has the word "to" before it. It is good to know the plain or base form of a verb, since that is the form that is typically the main listing for the word in a dictionary. You may hear the infinitive "to sit" conjugated as "sat" or "sitting," but the form of the word you will need if you care to look it up is the infinitive "sit." In standard usage, the infinitive will always be preceded by another verb.
An infinitive is often used in a sentence in combination with a conjugated from of "to be." In these examples, the subject "it" is used to make general observations:
It is going to blow up!
Caption 37, Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives - Pam's Trinidadian Caribbean Kitchen
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It's going to boil down.
Caption 6, Cooking with Aria - French Toast and a Berry Topping
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It is not enough to obey Big Brother.
Caption 15, George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four - BBC TV Movie
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"The world is watching. It's time to detox."
-Greenpeace: Detox How People Power is Cleaning Up Fashion
The infinitives are written in bold above: to blow up, to boil, to obey, and to detox.
Further Learning
Read this in-depth article on infinitive verbs, then search for examples on Yabla English to see them used in a real-world context.
An infinitive verb is the plain form of a verb that is not conjugated and often has the word "to" before it. It is good to know the plain or base form of a verb, since that is the form that is typically the main listing for the word in a dictionary. You may hear the infinitive "to sit" conjugated as "sat" or "sitting," but the form of the word you will need if you care to look it up is the infinitive "sit." In standard usage, the infinitive will always be preceded by another verb.
The Japanese tradition is to sit on the stool in front of the faucets
Caption 22, An Apartment - In Japan
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In the example above, the infinitive is "to sit." Infinitives preceded by "to" are called "full infinitives."
You can sit right here. -Thank you.
Caption 5, Jessica and Liz - In a Restaurant
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In this example, the infinitive is the verb "sit." An infinitive without the "to" is called a "bare infinitive."
It's really exciting to know that I'm setting a good example for young people.
Caption 26, peta2 Interviews - Vegan Surfer Tia Blanco
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You did well to tell me. We must know everything.
Caption 35, George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four - BBC TV Movie
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In the first example above, you see the full infinitive "to know," and in the second example the bare infinitive "know."
Further Learning
Read this in-depth article on infinitive verbs, then search for examples on Yabla English to see them used in a real-world context.
A gerund is a noun that has been formed by adding the suffix -ing to a verb. The gerund will often function as a verb within the clause, but in the context of the complete sentence forms a subject. Progressive active participle verbs also end in -ing, but retain verb form. Let's learn to tell the difference between a gerund (noun) and a progressive active participle (verb).
But believing ends in seeing
Caption 44, Katie Melua - A Happy Place
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You will be seeing them again.
Caption 37, George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four - BBC TV Movie
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In the first example, "seeing" and "believing" are gerund nouns. Try placing the definite article "the" before the words and see if the sentence still makes sense: "But the believing ends in the seeing." The fact that it works grammatically shows that both "seeing" and "believing" are gerunds. But in the second example, "You will be the seeing them again" would be grammatically incorrect, because in this case "seeing" is a verb.
I'd like your opinion about fast driving on the highway.
Caption 21, James Dean - Interview & Famous Drive Safely Spot
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I'm in a truck, we're driving through the bush.
Caption 23, Kiting For Conservation - Kenya
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In the first example, "the fast driving" works, so it is a gerund noun. In the second example, "we're the driving..." does not work grammatically, so it's a verb.
Further Learning
Try taking examples of some English verbs and adding -ing to the end of them to make the gerund nouns, then search for examples on Yabla English to see them used in a real-world context.
Whenever you see what appears to be a verb in English ending in -ing, you have to be careful as to how you interpret the sentence, as it may wind up that this apparent verb is actually a noun or an adjective! In English, gerunds and present participles are formed by adding -ing to the infinitive form of the verb ("to surf" becomes "surfing"), or for verbs ending in -e, dropping the -e and adding -ing ("to love" becomes "loving"). A gerund is a verb that acts as a noun in sentence. A present participle is a verb that is used to make a verb phrase or an adjective.
Therefore an English verb ending in -ing can either be noun (gerund), an adjective (formed from a present participle), or a verb (a present participle). This all sounds a bit complicated, but if you look at some examples, it's pretty easy to tell the difference!
I've always loved surfing.
Caption 19, Kiteboarding - Rider Profile - Tom Court
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What does he love? He loves surfing. In the above example, the subject of the sentence is "I," and the object of the sentence is "surfing." Since you can make a noun out of "the surfing" as used here, it is a gerund.
We watch a couple of surfing videos.
Caption 26, Kiteboarding - Sam Light Interview
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What kind of videos is he watching? Surfing videos. Here it is clear that "surfing" is an adjective that is modifying the noun "videos."
The four of us have just been surfing different spots.
Caption 10, Naish SUP - Aloha Big Island!
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What have they been doing? They have been surfing. In this last example, by pairing the verbs together, you get "have been surfing." This is the verb "to surf" in its form as present participle verb.
Further Learning
Write down some of your favorite verbs, add -ing to them, following the rules above, and search Yabla English to see them used in a real-world context as either a gerund, adjective, or present participle verb.
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