Starting with the continuation of
SOME REASONS NOT TO MESS WITH A CHILD:
2. A Kindergarten teacher was observing her classroom children while they were drawing. She would occasionally walk around to see each child’s work. As she got to one little girl who was working diligently, she asked what the drawing was. The girl replied: “I’m drawing God”. “But no one knows what God looks like”. Without missing a beat, or looking up from her drawing, the girl replied: “They will in a minute”.
BASIC ENGLISH REVIEW
6. PREPOSITIONS (I)
6.1 IN / ON / AT (PLACE)
6.1.1 IN
In a room // In a building // In a box // In a garden
In a town / city // In a country
Some examples: ‘ There’s no one in the room // in the building // in the garden’. ‘What have you got in your hand // in your mouth?’ ‘When I was in Italy I spent 5 days in Venice’. ‘When we were in England we lived in a small village in the mountains’. ‘Look at those people swimming in the pool // in the sea // in the river’. ‘He was born in (the island of) Cuba’. But ‘Robinson Crusoe was on an uninhabited island ( the island is small)’.
We say that somebody or something is: ‘In a line // in a row // in a queue // in a street // in a photograph // in a picture // (look at yourself) in a mirror // in the sky // in the rain / in the sun (= sunshine) // in the shade // in bad weather // in the world // in a book // in a newspaper // in a magazine // in a letter (but on a page and at the top or at the bottom of a page) // write in ink // write in pencil // in words // in figures // in CAPITAL (= BLOCK) LETTERS // in cash)’. But ‘pay by cheque or pay by credit card // in love (with somebody) / in my opinion’.
6.1.2 ON:
On the left // On the right // On the ground floor // on the 1st floor ...
On a map // on the menu // on a list // On a farm
On a river (on a boat) // on a road // on the coast (on the Northeast or North-east coast of Brazil) // on the beach (but at the seaside).
Other uses: on television // on the radio // on the phone // on a diet // on strike // on fire // on the whole (= in general) // on purpose.
6.1.3 AT
a) At the window (standing at the window) // at the door (somebody knocking at the door) (but in the window = in the frame of the window).
b) At the shop (turn left at the shop, at the roundabout, at the church) // at home (‘I was at my friend’s house’) (but ‘there are five rooms in his house’) // at the Municipal Theatre // at the company’s headquarters // at the Rex (cinema) // at the airport, at the bus station, at the train station // at the hairdresser’s // at the doctor’s.
6.2 OTHER USES OF IN, ON, AT (SOME ‘SPECIAL DIFFICULTIES’)
a) At the age of ... // at the speed of ... // at a temperature of ... .
b) In the corner of a room // at or on the corner of the street
c) The front and the back
In the front and in the back of a car. Example: ‘When the car crashed I was in the front and my children were in the back of my car’. But we say: at the front / at the back of a building / cinema / group of people etc; examples: ‘the garden is at the back of the house’; ‘let’s sit at the front (in the cinema)’ (but ‘in the front row’).
On the front // on the back of a book, letter, piece of paper etc; example: ‘write your name on the back of this envelope’.
d) Compare in, at and on:
d.1) ‘There were a lot of people in the shop’ // ‘Go along this road, then turn left at the shop’.
d.2) ‘There is a notice on the door: it says ‘Do Not Disturb’ ’.
d.3) ‘I usually take the bus at the bus station, at a small village close to London’.
d.4) ‘I have good friends in Recife and in Paris’.
d.5) We say that somebody is in bed // in hospital // in prison.
d.6) We say that somebody is at a party // at a conference // at a concert // at the meeting // at a football match.
6.3 IN / AT / ON (TIME)
Compare the use of in, at, and on
AT:
At 5 o’clock // at midnight // at night // at lunchtime // at sunset’ // at the weekend // at weekends // at Christmas // at Easter // at the moment [see below ‘in a moment’] // at present // at the same time (N.B. ‘What time did you arrive’? (in this case it is not usual ‘at what time’ ...?’)).
ON:
‘They arrived on Friday // on 30 September, 1999 // on my birthday // on Christmas day // on New Year’s eve’.
On time: ‘The 11:45 bus left on time’. ‘We’ll start at 3 o’clock. Please be on time’.
IN:
In time: ‘Will you be back in time for dinner’? ‘I want to get home in time to see the football match on TV’ (the opposite would be too late).
‘They arrived in October // in (the) winter // in 1964 // in the 19th century’.
‘We’ll be back in a few minutes’ // ‘I’ll finish my fieldwork in six months’ // ‘She’ll be here in a moment’ (these are ‘time in the future’). ‘My wife learnt to drive in four weeks’.
In the morning(s) // in the afternoon(s) // in the evening(s). But on Friday morning // on Saturday evenings.
DO NOT USE at // on // in before last // next // this / every : ‘I’ll see you next Friday’. ‘He had his thesis viva last June’ [viva voce examination = oral examination]. ‘She will be back this coming year’. ‘I go to the cinema every Thursday in the evening’.
6.4 OF / FROM (SOME EXAMPLES)
OF:
a) The genitive (= related to possession)
Used especially with inanimate nouns: ‘the title of the book’; ‘the interior of the room’.
b) Especially in writing, the ’s is replaced by of-genitive: ‘The son of a man I know has just been arrested’.
c) We can say: ‘The government’s decision’ or ‘The decision of the government’.
d) Of is normally used with: ‘the beginning of // end of // top of // bottom of // front of // back of // middle of // side of ... . Examples: ‘the back of the car’; ‘the beginning of the month’; ‘the bottom of the sea’; ... .
e) Common uses: ‘the city of New York’; ‘the pleasure of meeting you’; ‘the caatingas of the Northeastern or North-eastern Brazil’; ‘the wines of France’; ‘the gravity of the earth’; ‘the degree of doctor’; ‘a statement of the facts’; ‘the owner of the restaurant’; ‘part of the problem’; ‘the height of the tree’; ‘a friend of mine’; ...
Genitive case: some comments
The following four animate noun classes take -s genitive:
a) Personal names: Admiral Tamandaré’s statue’; ‘Oxford’s pupil; João Pessoa’s city fair.
b) Personal nouns: ‘the student’s lab coat’; ‘my colleague’s computer’.
c) Collective nouns: ‘the government’s decision’; ‘the nation’s social security’.
d) Higher animals: ‘the horse’s tail’; ‘the lion’s hunger’.
Geographical and institutional names:
e) ‘Brazil’s future’; ‘the university’s history’; ‘São Paulo’s water supply’; 'the water's edge; ‘Paraíba’s Senator’.
f) Temporal nouns: ‘a moment’s thought’; ‘a week’s holiday’; ‘today’s work’.
g) Nouns of special interest to human activity: ‘the brain’s volume; ‘the mind’s development’; ‘science’s influence’.
In expressions relating to premises or establishments: ‘I shall be at Bill’s [= ‘where Bill lives’]; ‘I shall be at the dentist’s’ [= it means his / her professional establishment].
Other genitive cases:
a) ‘John’s Mary’ [never say ‘Mary of John’].
b) In a few expressions: 'a stone's throw'; 'journey's end'.
c) ‘His memory is like an elephant’s’.
FROM:
Source, origin: ‘I borrowed a book from a friend of mine’; ‘I am from João Pessoa’; ‘He comes from Italy’; ...
6.5 EXERCISES
Put in the appropriate preposition (at, in, on, to, into)
1) The truck (lorry) crashed ........ a parked car.
2) I have spent the day ........ Recife.
3) What’s the easiest way to get ......... Fortaleza?
4) I met her ........ a concert?
5) Stop shouting ........ me!
6) She opened the door and shouted ........ me: switch off the lights, please.
7) I got married ....... October. My youngest son was born ........ 1993; to be precise ........ a Tuesday, ........ 6th July, ........ 10 o’clock ........ the night.
8) ........ what time will you be back?
Write the preposition that is needed (or not ):
1. Don’t approach ….. the dog. 2. I arrived ….. the station at six.
3. If you don’t know, ask ….. John. 4. She’s very good ….. languages.
5. Congratulations ….. your success. 6. The bus crashed ….. a tree.
7. It all depends ….. the weather. 8. I’d like details ….. your courses.
9. Let’s discuss ….. your plans. 10. I divided the cake ….. three parts
11. Why is she dressed ….. black? 12. Nobody entered ….. the room..
13. This is an example ….. his work. 14. There is no increase ….. prices.
15. I’m interested ….. most sports. 16. He was very kind ….. her.
17. The soup lacks ….. salt. 18. I’m looking ….. a place to live.
19. He has to look ….. his mother. 20. My sister is married ….. a builder.
21. She married ….. him last year. 22. He wasn’t very nice ….. me.
23. Have you paid ….. the drinks? 24. We need proof ….. his story.
25. What’s the reason ….. the change? 26. You remind me ….. your brother.
27. Who’s responsible ….. security? 28. I didn’t take part ….. the meeting.
29. Could you translate this ….. Greek? 30. That’s just typical ….. you.
31. I’m reading a novel ….. Dickens. 32. ….. my opinion you’re wrong.
33. Who’s the man ….. the picture? 34. I love walking ….. the rain.
35. Don’t talk ….. that silly voice. 36. The answer’s ….. page 29.
SCIENTIFIC TEXT
Researchers and public-health officials have long understood that to maintain a given weight, energy in (calories consumed) must equal energy out (calories expended). But then they learned that genes were important, too, and that for some people this formula was tilted in a direction that led to weight gain. Since the discovery of the first obesity gene in 1994, scientists have found about 50 genes involved in obesity. Some of them determine how individuals lay down fat and metabolize energy stores. Others regulate how much people want to eat in the first place, how they know when they’ve had enough and low likely they are to use up calories through activities ranging from fidgeting to running marathons. People who can get fat on very little fuel may be genetically programmed to survive in harsher environments. When the human species got its start, it was an advantage to be efficient. Today, when food is plentiful, it is a hazard.
N.B. Text from www.nytimes.com. Reproduced from Poliedro – Sistema de Ensino – Inglês, 2010, p. 97.
QUESTIONS [Check the Answers in the end]
1. In the text, the central idea is that:
A... obesity should be genetically treated
B... fat people may use different formulae to lose weight
C... fat regulates our feeling of satiety
D... genes contribute to obesity
E... researchers are discussing the consequences of obesity
2. According to the text:
A... today’s obesity may be linked to evolutionary factors
B... the human species is programmed to eat as much as possible to survive
C... the ingestion of large quantities of food was an advantage in the past
D... obese people have some advantages over slim people
E... very little food is necessary to survive in some environments
3. In the text, the pronoun others (line 6) refers to:
A... calories
B... individuals
C... energy stores
D... scientists
E... genes
4. Explain why a human being would be able to get energy from little amount of food and if this trait would be useful to him/her?
ANSWERS (to questions 1-2-3):
D
A
E
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