九張圖示範英文介詞的用法

九張圖示範英文介詞的用法

介詞 at, on, in

介詞 at, on, in

到底是in my office還是at my office？一次搞懂介詞 從此不再說錯！

01你到底“在”哪裡

At是一個點。

假如你說某個人“at某個地方”，你一定找得到他，因為他就在那一點上。坐在桌子前，叫做sit at the table;和你約在某咖啡廳碰面，是meet you at the coffee shop;當然在某一個門牌號碼前面，看著某人，很自然地也都是用at。

On是一個面。

我住在二樓，用I live on the second floor;在某條街上，想像站在那裡、抬頭挺胸，是一種平面概念，用on the street;在火車、捷運的車箱上，你不是擠在一個空間里，可以伸直腰，站在平面上，這是on。那在飛機上呢?

想想這個規則，on an airplane。

In是一個空間。

空間可以大到是宇宙、山川、國家、城市，也可以小到一個車子、杯子、眼睛，所以是in the mountains、in the river、in Taiwan、in Taipei、in a car……。

好，問題來了，有學生問，在辦公室是in還是at?in和at都對，意思有些微差別：

I’ll meet you at the office.

(我們在辦公室見。)指地點。

I’m in my office.

(我正在工作。)

In不只是在辦公室，而是做著在那個空間里應該發生的事;好比in school是求學，in class是上課，in the office是辦公。

有時候in和at用錯了會讓人會錯意。我們經常講的一句話，“請打電話到我辦公室給我”。這句話要怎麼說呢?in還是at?

Please call me___ the office.

(請打電話到我辦公室給我。)

Please call me at the office是正確的;當然也有比較直接的說法Please call my office，不要說please call me in the office，既像“你在辦公室打給我”或“打電話到我的辦公室”，又像“請你在辦公室叫我一聲”(兩人可能在同一個辦公室)。call也有“呼叫、喊叫”的意思。

02 at< on< in介系詞的時間感

At表示特定的時間點。

想像時間是一條線，at就是線上的某個時間點，強調事情發生的那一刻，例如：

I got up at7:00 this morning.(我今天早上7點起床。)

The miracle happened at that moment.(奇蹟在那一刻發生了。)

另外，表示一天中的某個時刻，不需加冠詞，如at dawn、at midnight、at night。

On表示特定的日子或日期。

像是：Let’s have dinner on Friday.(我們禮拜五一起吃晚餐吧。)

His birthday is on the fourth of August.(他的生日在8月4日)

We are going to the party on Halloween.(萬聖節當天我們會去參加派對。)

那為什麼會有at Halloween呢?on Halloween是指萬聖節當天，而at Halloween則是指在萬聖節的期間。

In表示特定較長的時間。

如月份、年份、季節、時代、世紀，或一段時間。例如：

My uncle is going to retire in2015.(我舅舅2015就要退休了。)

She started the job in August.(她在8月的時候就開始做這工作了。)

用in表示一段時間，如in my lifetime(在我的人生中);或是I will go to England in2 weeks.(在2個禮拜內我就要去英國了。)

但in the night和at night又有什麼不同?in the night指的是夜間，從日落到日出這個時段，at night則是指晚上，一天的某個時間點。

03培養對介系詞的感覺

為什麼房間的門用the door of the room，門的鑰匙卻是the key to the door?究竟有沒有個道理可循?

道理在“感覺”，不在“文法”。每一種語言都有一種自然演進的規律，這種規律，與其記規則，不如感受它;比方說，在車上，如果是汽車是in a car，公車是on a bus;記住這種感覺，如果你在交通工具里要彎腰，就用in，in是包在裡頭的感覺，如果是挺著身體走得進去，就是on。依此類推，在飛機上是in還是 on?自然是on an airplane了。

現在一起來看看幾個介系詞給人的感覺：

(1) to/for

To是“朝著目標去”的感覺，目標明確，一定會到);for是“朝著一個方向去”的感覺，是一個大方向，並沒有說一定會到。例如：Give the proposal to me.(將那計劃書交給我。)“給(give)”這個動作必須要作用在"me"身上才算完成，所以用to。

I’ll buy it for you.(我會幫你買。) for指一個方向，不管有沒有交給you，“買(buy)”的動作都已經完成，所以用for。

(2) with/by

With是“伴隨著/在旁邊”的感覺，by則是“靠…過去”的感覺。例如：

I will go with May.(我會和May一起去。)

因為with給人的感覺是“伴隨著”，也就是“在旁邊/拿在在手上”的意思，所以with可以解釋作“利用…工具”，像是

I opened the door with a key.(我“用”一把鑰匙開那扇門。)或者

I am satisfied with the gift.(我很滿意那個禮物。)有這個gift，滿足感隨之而來。

I went there by train.(我搭火車到那裡。)

“靠…過去”是透過train這種交通工具抵達，不能用I went there"with" train，這樣會變成“使用(手拿著)”train到那兒。

(3) of

是從屬、包含、分離的概念。例如：

The table is made of glass.(桌子是由玻璃製成。)桌子是從玻璃中“分離出來的”。

如果說It is made"with" glass.表示你拿glass當工具(伴隨著/拿著)，不合理。如果說It is made by wood.表示wood是某個人，桌子是他做的，這也不合理。

回到最原始的問題：

這間房間的門the door of the room(O)

房門是房間的一部份，可以用of。

這扇門的鑰匙the key of the door(X)

鑰匙不是門的一部份，不能用of。

這扇門的鑰匙the key to the door(O)

鑰匙用來開門，是朝某目標而去的概念，用to就對了。

以這概念來說，這句話也對

通往房間的那扇門the door to the room(O)

也是朝著目標(房間)而去。

04 Up讓句子更有力

介系詞是句子中的精靈，它和動片語在一起，會增加動詞的強度、亮度，使動詞更具動感，像speak up就比單單speak有力。

我們一起來看以下的句子比較at、behind、by、on、with，這些小小的介系詞真的起了“畫龍點睛”的作用。

(1)當我聽到這事時，我簡直不敢相信我的耳朵。

I couldn’t believe my ears when I heard this.

=> I couldn’t believe my ears at this.

(2)她死後留下6個孩子。

She left six children after she died.

=> She left six children behind her.

(3)如果需要幫助，打給我，號碼是2721-5033。

If you need help, just ring me. My telephone number is2721-5033.

=> If you need help, just call me at2721-5033.

(4)我們舉杯慶祝他的成功。

We raise a toast to congratulate him on his great success.

=> We raise a toast to his great success.

(5)這段文章生詞太多，我要理解真是太難了。

There are so many new words in this passage, so it is hard for me to understand.

=> With so many new words, this passage is beyond me.

(6)他因為30票之差輸了競選。

He lost the election because of30 votes.

=> He lost the election by30 votes.

(7)證據對他不利。

The evidence is not good for him.

=> The evidence is against him.

(8)我可以幫你完成這個專案。

I can help you finish the project.

=> I can help you with the project.

(9)我買單。

I’ll pay the bill.

=> It’s on me.

A List Of English Prepositions

A List Of English Prepositions

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There are about 150 prepositions in English. Yet this is a very small number when you think of the thousands of other words (nouns, verbs etc). Prepositions are important words. We use individual prepositions more frequently than other individual words. In fact, the prepositions of, to and in are among the ten most frequent words in English. Here is a short list of 70 of the more common one-word prepositions. Many of these prepositions have more than one meaning. Please refer to a dictionary for precise meaning and usage.

 

1.      aboard

2.      about

3.      above

4.      across

5.      after  

6.      against

7.      along

8.      amid

9.      among

10.  anti

11.  around

12.  as

13.  at

14.  before

15.  behind

16.  below

17.  beneath

18.  beside

19.  besides

20.  between

21.  beyond

22.  but

23.  by

24.  concerning

25.  considering

26.  despite

27.  down

28.  during

29.  except

30.  excepting

31.  excluding

32.  following

33.  for

34.  from

35.  in

36.  inside

37.  into

38.  like

39.  minus

40.  near

41.  of

42.  off

43.  on

44.  onto

45.  opposite

46.  outside

47.  over

48.  past

49.  per

50.  plus

51.  regarding

52.  round

53.  save

54.  since

55.  than

56.  through

57.  to

58.  toward

59.  towards

60.  under

61.  underneath

62.  unlike

63.  until

64.  up

65.  upon

66.  versus

67.  via

68.  with

69.  within

70.  without

 

 

What is a Preposition?

What is a Preposition?
A preposition links nouns, pronouns and phrases to other words in a sentence. The word or phrase that the preposition introduces is called the object of the preposition.
A preposition usually indicates the temporal, spatial or logical relationship of its object to the rest of the sentence as in the following examples:
The book is on the table.
The book is beneath the table.
The book is leaning against the table.
The book is beside the table.
She held the book over the table.
She read the book during class.
In each of the preceding sentences, a preposition locates the noun "book" in space or in time.
A prepositional phrase is made up of the preposition, its object and any associated adjectives or adverbs. A prepositional phrase can function as a noun, an adjective, or an adverb. The most common prepositions are:
about  
above  
across  
after  
against  
along  
among  
around  
at  
before  
behind  
below  
beneath  
beside  
between  
beyond  
but  
by  
despite  
down  
during  
except  
for  
from  
in  
inside  
into  
like  
near  
of  
off  
on  
onto  
out  
outside  
over  
past  
since  
through  
throughout  
till  
to  
toward  
under  
underneath  
until  
up  
upon  
with  
within  
without.
Each of the highlighted words in the following sentences is a preposition:
The children climbed the mountain without fear.
In this sentence, the preposition "without" introduces the noun "fear." The prepositional phrase "without fear" functions as an adverb describing how the children climbed.
There was rejoicing throughout the land when the government was defeated.
Here, the preposition "throughout" introduces the noun phrase "the land." The prepositional phrase acts as an adverb describing the location of the rejoicing.
The spider crawled slowly along the banister.
The preposition "along" introduces the noun phrase "the banister" and the prepositional phrase "along the banister" acts as an adverb, describing where the spider crawled.
The dog is hiding under the porch because it knows it will be punished for chewing up a new pair of shoes.
Here the preposition "under" introduces the prepositional phrase "under the porch," which acts as an adverb modifying the compound verb "is hiding."
The screenwriter searched for the manuscript he was certain was somewhere in his office.
Similarly in this sentence, the preposition "in" introduces a prepositional phrase "in his office," which acts as an adverb describing the location of the missing papers.
 Written by Heather MacFadyen
 
The Proper Use of Preposition
The proper use of preposition collocations can be learned by using the following chart. The words that follow (NOT) in the chart below, are often confused when it comes to using the right preposition collocations.

 A
 to accuse somebody of something指控, 控告; 譴責[(+of)]
NOT for something
To learn more …
 to be (un)accustomed to something習慣於; 有...的習慣
NOT with something
To learn more …
 to be addicted to something沈溺於某種(尤其是不良的)嗜好的; 入了迷的
NOT with/on/in something
To learn more …
 to adjust to something調節; 改變...以適應[(+to)]
NOT with/in something
To learn more …
 to affect somebody/something影響; 對...發生作用
NOT on somebody/something
To learn more …
 to (dis)approve of somebody/something (不)贊成; (不)贊許[W][(+of)]
NOT for somebody/something
To learn more …
 to have a(n) (dis)advantage over somebody/something有(不)利條件, (無)優點, (無)優勢[C][U][(+over)]
NOT to/from something
To learn more…
 to (dis)agree on something意見一致[(+on)][W]
NOT for something
To learn more …
 to apply to somebody/something for something塗, 敷; 將...鋪在表面[(+to)]
NOT in somebody/something for something
To learn more …
 to argue about something (=to disagree about something) 爭論, 辯論; 爭吵[(+about)]
NOT for something
To learn more …
 to argue for something (=to offer reasons why something should not be/happen etc) 提出理由[(+against)]
NOT about something
To learn more …
 to arrive at a conclusion/fixed address達到; 達成[(+at)]
NOT in a conclusion/fixed address
To learn more …

 B
 to be (un)aware of something知道的, 察覺的[(+of)]
NOT about something
To learn more …
 to place a ban on something置, 安置; 將...寄託於[(+on)]
NOT for/about something
To learn more …
 to benefit from something得益, 受惠[(+from)]
NOT with/on something
To learn more …
 to blame somebody/something for something責備, 指責[(+for)]
NOT about/of something
To learn more …

 C
 to be (in)capable of something有...的能力, 能夠(做)...的[(+of)]
NOT for something
To learn more …
 to comment on something發表意見, 評論[(+on/upon)]
NOT about/for something
To learn more …
 to comply with something (對要求、命令等)依從, 順從, 遵從[(+with)]
NOT by something
To learn more …
 to concentrate on something全神貫注; 全力以赴[(+on/upon)] NOT about/over something
To learn more …
 to be (un)concerned with/about something掛慮的, 擔心的, 不安的[(+with/about)]
NOT for something
To learn more …
 to connect something to something else連接, 連結[(+to)]
NOT in/on something else
To learn more …
 a connection between two things聯想[(+between)]
NOT among/by/with two things
To learn more …
 to contribute to something貢獻, 提供[(+to)]
NOT in something
To learn more …

 D
 a decline/decrease in something (e.g. popularity) 減; 減少, 減小[(+in)]
NOT of something
To learn more …
 to decrease something by a certain amount減; 減少, 減小[vt. (+by)]
NOT with a certain amount
To learn more …
 to depend on somebody/something依靠, 依賴[(+on)]
NOT in/by somebody/something
To learn more …
 to differ/be different from somebody/something不同, 相異[(+from)]
NOT than/to somebody/something
To learn more …
 to disconnect something from something else使分離, 分開, 斷開[(+from)]
NOT of/with/to something else
To learn more …
 to distinguish between two things/people區別; 識別; 辨別[(+between)]
NOT among/from two things/people
To learn more …

 E
 to be (in)eligible for something有資格當選的; 法律上合格的[(+for)]
NOT in/to something
To learn more …
 to emerge from something (從困境等中)擺脫; 露頭, 出頭[(+from)]
NOT by something
To learn more …
 to put emphasis on something放, 擺[(+on)]
NOT to something
To learn more …
 to be (in) essential to/for something必要的, 不可缺的[(+to/for)]
NOT about something
To learn more …
 to excuse somebody for something (=to forgive somebody for something) 原諒[(+for)]
NOT from something
To learn more …
 to excuse somebody from something (=to give permission not to do something) 免除[(+from)]
NOT for something
To learn more …
 to experiment on something (animals, etc) 實驗; 試驗[C][U][(+on)]
NOT in/with something
To learn more …
 to experiment with something (methods, substances, etc) 進行實驗, 試驗[(+with)]
NOT in/on something
To learn more …
 to be (un)equal to something相等的; 相當的; 均等的[(+to)]
NOT as/with something
To learn more …
 to be exempt from something (-not to have to do something) 免除, 豁免[(+from)]
NOT for something
To learn more …

 F
 to be faced with something面對; 面臨[(+with)]
NOT by something
To learn more …
 to be (un)familiar to somebody (=to be known by somebody) 世所周知的; 熟悉的; 常見的; 普通的[(+to)]
NOT with somebody
To learn more …
 to be (un)familiar with somebody (=to know somebody) 親近的, 親密的[(+with)]
NOT to somebody
To learn more …

 G
 to graduate from something (a university/college) 【英】大學畢業; 【美】畢業[(+from)]
NOT in/by something
To learn more …
 to graduate in something (a subject) 授與... 畢業學位
NOT from something
To learn more …

 H
 to be harmful/harmless to somebody/something有害的[(+to)]
NOT for somebody/something
To learn more …
 to be a hazard to somebody/something危險; 危害物; 危險之源[C][(+to)]
NOT for somebody/something
To learn more …

 I
 an increase in something增大; 增加; 增強[(+in)]
NOT of something
To learn more …
 to increase something by a certain amount大; 增加; 增強[(+by)]
NOT with a certain amount
To learn more …
 to be ignorant of something不知道的[(+of)]
NOT about/for something
To learn more …
 to be inferior to somebody/something (質量等)次的; 較差的; 次於...的[(+to)]; (地位等)低等的; 下級的; 低於...的[(+to)]NOT from/than somebody/something
To learn more …
 to have the intention of doing something意圖, 意向, 目的[(+of)]
NOT for doing something
To learn more …
 to be (un)interested in somebody/something感興趣的; 關心的[(+in)]
NOT about/for something
To learn more …
 to invest something in something投(資)[(+in)]
NOT something on something
To learn more …

 J
 to offer justification for something正當的理由; 藉口[(+for)]
NOT about something
To learn more …

 K
 to know of/about something知道; 了解, 懂得[(+about/of)]
NOT for something
To learn more …

 L
 to have a lack of something欠缺; 不足; 沒有[(+of)]
NOT for something
To learn more …
 to lecture on a topic (=give a lecture) 演講; 講課[(+on)]
NOT about a topic
To learn more …
 to lecture somebody about something (=warn, reprimand) 告誡[(+about)]
NOT on something
To learn more …
 to be liable for something (responsible for something) 負有法律責任的, 有義務的[(+for)]
NOT about/to something
To learn more …
 to be liable to something (=likely to suffer from something) 易患...的; 易...的[(+to)]
NOT for/about something
To learn more …

 M
 to be married to somebody把(女兒等)嫁予[(+to)]
NOT with somebody
To learn more …

 N
 to be (un)necessary for/to something必要的, 必需的[(+for/to)]
NOT in something
To learn more …
 to take notice of something注意到; 關注
NOT for/about something
To learn more …
 to notify somebody of something通知, 告知; 報告[(+of)]
NOT for something
To learn more …

 O
 to object to somebody/something反對[(+to)]
NOT against somebody/something
To learn more …
 to be opposed to something 使相對; 使對抗[(+to)]
NOT against something
To learn more …
 to be opposite something在...對面
NOT from/over something
To learn more …

 P
 to be (un)popular with somebody (=(dis)liked by somebody) 孚眾望的; 得人心的; 受歡迎的[(+with)]
NOT for somebody
To learn more …
 to prefer somebody/something to somebody/something else寧可; 寧願(選擇); 更喜歡[+v-ing][+to]
NOT from somebody/something else
To learn more …

 Q
 to quit something放棄[+v-ing]
NOT from something
To learn more …

 R
 to have/give a reason for something對...作出(解釋等)
NOT about something
To learn more …
 to refer to something涉及, 有關[(+to)]
NOT at/in something
To learn more …
 to be (un)related to somebody/something 有關, 涉及[(+to)]
NOT with somebody/something
To learn more …
 to be (ir)relevant to somebody/something有關的; 切題的; 恰當的
NOT with somebody/something
To learn more …
 to rely on somebody/something依靠, 依賴; 依仗[(+on)]
NOT in/by somebody/something
To learn more …
 to have respect for somebody/something 尊重, 注重, 重視[U][(+for)]
NOT of somebody/something
To learn more …
 to result from something (=to arise from something) 發生, 產生[(+from)]
NOT of something
To learn more …
 to result in something (=to cause something) 結果; 導致[(+in)]
NOT to something
To learn more …

 S
 to be (dis)(un)satisfied with something使(不)滿意, 使(不)高興; 使(不)滿足[H][(+with)]
NOT by/for something
To learn more …
 to be (in)sensitive to something敏感的; 易受傷害的[(+to)]
NOT with/for/by something
To learn more …
 to be (dis)similar to something相像的, 相仿的, 類似的[(+to)]
NOT as something
To learn more …
 to submit something to somebody提交, 呈遞[(+to)]
NOT for somebody
To learn more …
 to be superior to somebody/something (在職位, 地位等方面)較高的, 上級的[(+to)]
NOT from/than somebody/something
To learn more …
 to suffer from/with something 受損害, 受損失; 變糟[(+for/with)]
NOT by something
To learn more …
 to be (un)suitable for something適當的; 合適的; 適宜的[(+for)]
NOT to/in something
To learn more …

 T
 to threaten somebody with something威脅, 恐嚇; 揚言要[(+with)]
NOT somebody to do something
To learn more …
 to undergo/prescribe treatment for something經歷; 經受; 忍受; 開藥方; 給醫囑[(+for)]
NOT of/about something
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 V
 to be valued (=appreciated, well thought of) 重要性, 益處
NOT to be valued at
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 to be valued at (a price) 估價, 評價[(+at)]
NOT to be valued
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 W
 to wish for something希望, 願望[(+for)]
NOT to wish something
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