Prepositions of Place: practice

1. Complete the sentences with in / at / on.

1. Don't sit _______ the grass. It's wet.
2. What have you got _______ your bag?
3. Look! There's a man _______ the roof. What's he doing?
4. There are a lot of fish _______ this river.
5. Our house is number 45 -the number is _______ the door.
6. Is the post office near here?     Yes, turn left _______ the traffic lights.
7. It's difficult to park _______ the city centre. It's better to take the bus.
8. My sister lives _______ Brussels.
9. There's a small park _______ the top of the hill.
10. I think I heard the doorbell. There's somebody _______ the door.
11. Munich is a large city _______ the south of Germany.
12. There are a few shops _______ the end of the street.
13. It's difficult to carry a lot of things _______ a bicycle.
14. I looked at the list of names. My name was _______ the bottom.
15. There is a mirror _______ the wall _______ the living room.


2. Complete the sentences with in / at / on.

1. Helen is studying law _______ university.
2. There was a big table _______ the middle of the room.
3. What is the longest river _______ the world?
4. Where there many people _______ the concert last night?
5. Will you be _______ home tomorrow afternoon?
6. Who is the man _______ this photograph? Do you know him?
7. Where are your children? Are they _______ school?
8. Gary is coming by train. I'm going to meet him _______ the train station.
9. Charlie is _______ hospital. He had an operation yesterday.
10. How many pages are there _______ this book?
11. Are you hungry after your journey?    No, I had something to eat _______ the train.
12. I'm sorry I'm late. My car broke down _______ the way here.
13. Is Tom here?      No, he's _______ his brother's.
14. Don't believe everything you see _______ the newspaper!
15. I walked to work, but I came home _______ the bus.











ANSWER KEY:
1)

1. on 2. in 3. on 4. in 5. on 6. at 7. in 8. in 9. at 10. at 11. in 12. at 13. on 14. at 15. on, in

2)

1. at 2. in 3. in 4. at 5. at 6. in 7. at 8. at 9. in 10. in 11. on 12. on 13. at 14. in 15. on. 

  

Social Life

Do you like going out? Did you go out last night?

Listen to some people answering these questions 

You can answer the questions in a comment.

Hurricane - Bob Dylan

Listen to the song and put the verbs in the correct verb tense past simple or past continuous.

Bob Dylan - Hurricane

Pistols shots ring out in the barroom night

Enter Patty Valentine from the upper hall

She sees the bartender in a pool of blood

Cries out "My God they killed them all"

Here comes the story of the Hurricane

The man the authorities (1)__________ to blame (COME)

For something that he never done

(2)__________ him in a prison cell but one time he could-a been (PUT)

The champion of the world.

Three bodies lying there does Patty see

And another man named Bello moving around mysteriously

"I didn't do it" he says and he throws up his hands

"I (3)__________ only the register I hope you understand (ROB)

I (4)__________ them leaving" he says and he stops (SEE)

"One of us had better call up the cops"

And so Patty calls the cops

And they arrive on the scene with their red lights flashing

In the hot New Jersey night.

Meanwhile far away in another part of town

Rubin Carter and a couple of friends are driving around

Number one contender for the middleweight crown

(5)__________ no idea what kind of shit was about to go down (HAVE)

When a cop pulled him over to the side of the road

Just like the time before and the time before that

In Patterson that's just the way things go

If you're black you might as well not shown up on the street

'Less you wanna draw the heat.

Alfred Bello had a partner and he had a rap for the corps

Him and Arthur Dexter Bradley were just out prowling around

He (6)__________ "I saw two men running out they looked like middleweights (SAY)

They (7)__________ into a white car with out-of-state plates" (JUMP)

And Miss Patty Valentine just nodded her head

Cop said "Wait a minute boys this one's not dead"

So they (8)__________ him to the infirmary (TAKE)

And though this man could hardly see

They told him that he could identify the guilty men.

Four in the morning and they haul Rubin in

Take him to the hospital and they bring him upstairs

The wounded man looks up through his one dying eye

Says "What do you bring him in here for ? He ain't the guy !"

Yes here comes the story of the Hurricane

The man the authorities (9)__________ to blame (COME)

For something that he never done

(10)__________ in a prison cell but one time he could-a been (PUT)

The champion of the world.

Four months later the ghettos are in flame

Rubin's in South America fighting for his name

While Arthur Dexter Bradley's still in the robbery game

And the cops are putting the screws to him looking for somebody to blame

"Remember that murder that (11)__________ in a bar ?" (HAPPEN)

"Remember you said you saw the getaway car?"

"You think you'd like to play ball with the law ?"

"Think it might-a been that fighter you (12)__________ running that night ?" (SEE)

"Don't forget that you are white".

Arthur Dexter Bradley said "I'm really not sure"

Cops said "A boy like you (13)__________ use a break (CAN)

We got you for the motel job and we're talking to your friend Bello

Now you don't want to have to go back to jail be a nice fellow

You'll be doing society a favour

That son of a bitch is brave and getting braver

We want to put his ass in stir

We want to pin this triple murder on him

He ain't no Gentleman Jim".

Rubin could take a man out with just one punch

But he never (14)__________ like to talk about it all that much (DO)

It's my work he'd say and I do it for pay

And when it's over I'd just as soon go on my way

Up to some paradise

Where the trout streams flow and the air is nice

And ride a horse along a trail

But then they (15)__________ him to the jailhouse (TAKE)

Where they try to turn a man into a mouse.

All of Rubin's cards (16)__________ marked in advance (BE)

The trial was a pig-circus he never had a chance

The judge made Rubin's witnesses drunkards from the slums

To the white folks who (17)__________ he was a revolutionary bum (WATCH)

And to the black folks he was just a crazy nigger

No one doubted that he pulled the trigger

And though they could not produce the gun

The DA said he was the one who did the deed

And the all-white jury agreed.

Rubin Carter was falsely tried

The crime was murder 'one' guess who testified

Bello and Bradley and they both baldly lied

And the newspapers they all (18)__________ along for the ride (GO)

How can the life of such a man

Be in the palm of some fool's hand?

To see him obviously framed

Couldn't help but make me feel ashamed to live in a land

Where justice is a game.

Now all the criminals in their coats and their ties

Are free to drink martinis and watch the sun rise

While Rubin sits like Buddha in a ten-foot cell

An innocent man in a living hell

That's the story of the Hurricane

But it won't be over till they clear his name

And give him back the time he's done

Put him in a prison cell but one time he could-a been

The champion of the world

ANSWER KEY:

1. came 2. put 3. was (only) robbing 4. saw 5. had 6. said 7. jumped 8. took 9. came 10. put 11. happened 12. saw 13. could 14. did 15. took 16. were 17. watched 18. went

Sentence Stress (2)

The other day we practised sentence stress and we used  this conversation as an example.

A: Where were you  at six o'clock in the evening?
B: I was at work.
A: What were you doing?
B: I was having a meeting with the boss.

Keep practising at home and remember to pay attention to intonation and rhythm. Try to apply the rules to other conversations and think about it when you practise speaking in class.

If you want to know more about sentence stress go to my previous post

Prepositions of time and place (at, on, in)

Prepositions of time and place (at, on, in)

Prepositions of time: practice

1. Complete the sentences with at / on / in.

1. Bye! See you _______ Friday.
2. Where were you _______ February 28th?
3. I got up _______ 8 o'clock this morning.
4. I like getting up early _______ the morning.
5. My sister got married _______ May.
6. Diane and I first met _______ 1991.
7. Did you go out _______ Tuesday?
8. Did you see Pete _______ Saturday night?
9. Do you go to English classes _______ the evening?
10. Let's meet tomorrow _______ 10 pm.
11. I often go to the beach _______ the weekend.
12. I'm starting my new job _______ 3 July.
13. We often go on holiday _______ summer.
14. George isn't here _______ the moment.
15. Jane's birthday is _______ December.
16. Do you work _______ Saturdays?
17. The company started _______ 1989.
18. I like to look at the stars _______ night.
19. I'll send you the money _______ the end of this  month.
20. I'll see you _______ lunchtime!











ANSWER KEY:

1. on 2. on 3. at 4. in 5. in 6. in 7. on 7. on 9. in 10. at 11. at 12. on 13. in 14. at 15. in 16. on 17. in 18. at 19. at 20. at

What did you do last summer?

Last summer, we decided to have a different holiday. We like travelling and we always try to visit a new place every summer. However, last summer we decided to do something different and new to us.
We rented an apartment in the South of the island and stayed in Los Cristianos for a month. We really enjoyed the experience. We had a relaxing beach holiday which was what we were looking for. We used to go for a walk in the morning, take the kids to the park and have a coffee in one of the many nice and cosy cafés there. We would then go to the apartment, have lunch and let the kids sleep the siesta. After that, we went to the beach in the afternoon and spent there all afternoon swimming, sunbathing and playing with the kids on the beach.

We loved it! The kids had a great time, we relaxed and really enjoyed the experience.

What did you do last summer???

Tell me in a comment.

Remember to use the past simple to talk about past finished actions and time sequencers and connectors to order events in your text.

Word stress: two syllable words

Approximately 80% of two syllable words are stressed on the first syllable.

Most two-syllable nouns and adjectives are stressed on the first syllable, e.g. mother, happy. However, many two syllable verbs and prepositions or connectors are stressed on the second syllable, e.g. arrive, behind, before.

Now watch the video to practise word stress.