PREPOSITIONS – 1º ANO

I. The preposition “in” indicates the position dentro de, incluído em.
Example: - The toys are in that box.

Place – The preposition “in” is used before cities, states, countries, continents and regions if the
verb doesn’t indicate movement.

Attention: Verb (movement) – We use the preposition “to”.

Examples: - We are in Recife.
but: - They go to Recife every month. (verb – movement)
- They live in England.
but: They travel to Germany every year. (verb – movement)
- Egypt lies in the African continent.

Expressions: in bed
in ink
in the car If the verb doesn’t indicate movement. (to be / to stay, etc.)
in the taxi
in the truck

Examples: - He is in the car.

but: - He goes by car. (verb - movement)

The preposition “in” is also used to express time.

Time – We use the preposition “in” before months (without date), seasons of the year, years,
centuries and a day’s periods.

Examples: - We are in September.

- It’s cold in winter.
- Richard was born in 1988.
- Brazil was discovered in the 15th century.
- I always study in the morning
in the afternoon
in the evening

II. The preposition “on” indicates the position “sobre”, em contato com a superfície.

Place – The preposition “on” is used before streets, avenues, roads, squares (names) and floors
(building)

Examples: -She lives on Bond Street.

-They study on Park Avenue.
-He saw her on Liberty Square.
-My office is on the third floor.
on the 3rdfloor.

The preposition “on” is also used: islands, farms, beaches, frontiers, coasts, rivers and lakes.

Examples: - Would you like to live on a farm or on an island?

- She lives on the frontier between Switzerland and Italy.

Expressions: on the beach

on the farm
 on the desert island

Expressions: on the radio

on the television
on the page one (two)
on the bus
on the boat
on the ship
on the plane If the verb doesn’t indicate movement.
on the train
on the subway
on a bicycle

Examples: - She is on the bus.

but: - She goes by bus. (verb – movement)
Attention: on foot / on horseback

Example: - Her house is near Mappin. She can go there on foot. Time: We use the preposition
“on” with days: (months with date/days of the week, etc)

Examples: – He was born on January 1st (month with date)

– They don’t work on Sundays.
– He will be here on Christmas Day.

III. The preposition “at” indicates the position “perto de”, junto a, no ambiente de.
Examples: - She likes to stay at the window.
- Look! There is a cat at your door.

Place: - The preposition “at” is used with definite locals if the verb doesn’t indicate movement.
Examples: - We are at school.
but: - We go to school every morning. (verb – movement)

We also use the preposition “at” before address, numbers (houses, apartments or rooms)
(residences)

Examples: - I live at 45 Bond Street.

- We study at 175 Fleming Road.
- Dr. Smith, your patient is at 452 room.

Attention: - He met her at a subway station in Rio de Janeiro.

Time – We use a preposition “at” when it is followed by hours, ages and names of parties or
commemorations.

Examples: - I always get up at six o’clock.

- At the age of fifteen she left home.
- She will be here at Christmas
at Carnival
at Easter

Expressions: at first
at last
at once
at times
at night
 at noon
at midnight
at dawn
at dusk
at the weekend
at the end of
at the moment

Example: - I’m going on holiday at the end of October.

Between – means entre (dois ou duas)

Between – separing two things or persons
Subject + Verb + Between + two words with “and”
number “two”

Examples: - She sits between Peter and Paul.

- That man is standing between two policemen.
- There’s a house between the river and the road.

• Among – means “entre” (vários ou várias)

Subject + Verb + Among + Nouns (Plural)
Among – surrounded by

Examples: - Carol is among her best friends.

- The house is among many trees.

REVIEW

In On At
in Europe (continent) on Paulista Avenue at home
Prepositions

in Italy (country) on Liberty Square at work

of place

in Paraná (state) on Oxford Street at the door (a man)

in Recife (city) on the ground/floor at 16 Bleecker Street
in the park on the wall (a picture) at the bus stop
in the building on the roof (a cat) at Maracanã
in the morning on July 4 at five o’clock
Prepositions

in the afternoon on July the fourth at 16 (years old)

of time

in the evening on the fourth of July at the age of 16

in July on Monday at Christmas
in 1993 on my birthday at night
in the 20th century on a cold morning at noon

EXERCISE

Choose the correct alternative.

1) Three of you can go to the club with me _____ car. The others will have to go ______ foot.
a) on – by d) on – on
b) by – on e) in – by
c) by – by
2) Susan was born ______ April _____ 1994 I’m sure.
a) on – in d) in – in
b) in – on e) on – on
c) at – in

3) I never go ______ school _____ Sundays.

a) by – through d) at – in
b) at – on e) to – in
c) to – on

4) He’s staying _____ a hotel. It’s _____ Main Street _____ Houston.
a) at – at – in d) in – on – on
b) at – on – in e) at – in – in
c) on – at – at

5) There is an American _____ those fifty students.

a) among d) in
b) beside e) on
c) between

6) You can visit me _____ the morning or ____ the afternoon.

a) at – at d) in – at
b) on – on e) on – at
c) in – in

7) Alice lives _____ the frontier ____ Switzerland and Italy.

a) in – among d) in – between
b) on – between e) in – besides
c) on – among

8) Meet me _____ the Roxy Theater____ nine o’clock.

a) in – at d) in – in
b) on – at e) on – in
c) at – at

9) She is coming ______ Easter Sunday.

a) at b) in
c) on d) beside
e) none of the above alternatives applies.

10) William was born ____ a hot summer day___ 1948.

a) in – in d) at – in
b) on – in e) in – on
c) on – on

Mark true (column I) and false (column II) – Questions 11 and 12

Analyze the following sentences according to the prepositions.

11)Question
I II
0 0 I live in Pernambuco, in Recife, in Boa Vista.
1 1 At Christmas we are usually at Desmond Hotel, on the beach.
2 2 Her birthday is on Monday. She was born on May 18 1967.
3 3 The tourists didn’t realize they were skiing in thin ice.
4 4 The girls wrote a letter at ink and went on foot to mail it immediately.

12) Question
I II
0 0 He is living in California in the United States, in a small community close to Los Angeles.
1 1 They opened a new restaurant in New York at 7th Avenue.
2 2 She was on the phone, at home, at midday.
3 3 My best friend is living on 532 Park Avenue in Boston.
4 4 Park your car at 2930 on Kedzie Avenue.

Text One • Com base na figura a seguir, responda às questões:

1) According to the situation in the cartoon above, the man is going to be

a) fired.
b) hired.
c) invited.
d) promoted.
e) asked for a raise.

2) The word “unemployment” means

a) a chapter on unemployment the man is going to write.
b) a series of benefits paid by a government to a person who has lost a job.
c) the situation of having a job that provides money.
d) the situation of someone not having a job when they want one.
e) the need of arriving early at work to talk to the boss.

Text Two

VESTIBULAR
The Vestibular (from Portuguese: vestíbulo, "entrance hall") is a competitive examination and is
the primary and widespread entrance system used by Brazilian universities to select their
students. The Vestibular usually takes place from November to January, right before the start of
school year in February or March, although certain universities hold it every semester. The exams
often span several days, usually three, with different disciplines being tested each day. Origin
The Vestibular was implanted primarily as a way to prevent nepotism or some other form of unfair
or beneficial selection of candidates. It was considered by law the only authorized selection
method until 1996, when the new Education Law was passed.
Criticism
While the Vestibular is generally considered to be a fair and unbiased system to select students,
there are controversies.
There is some criticism to the alleged standardization of the high school curriculum for the whole
country to match the Vestibular agenda. As most types of academic evaluation, the vestibular
suffers from the same limitations as a regular test; that is, factors such as stress come into play. It
also seems to favor candidates that come from a wealthier background, who had access to better
and deeper education in private schools, as opposed to the comparatively poor public high school
educational system, although many university boards claim that it doesn\'t matter which
background the candidates have, since their Vestibular aims to select the best students based
solely on their knowledge. To ease this problem, some universities such as the Federal University
of Minas Gerais, provide a 10– 15% bonus for students who received their middle and high
education in public schools. There is also the alternative of taking classes at cram schools called
cursinhos. Those are revisions of Vestibular subjects, given through periods of 9 months (the
regular year-long one), 6 months (the semi-intensive one), and 3 months (known as intensive).
These "cursinhos" are given usually for the most prestigious schools and can be done after
concluding high school or as a complement of the last year of it.
(Disponível em: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vestibular)

3) According to the text, the vestibular

I. is a system to select students to enter the university.
II. has its origin in Brazil.
III. just takes place in February or March.
IV. was implanted as a fair way of entering the university.
V. doesn’t show any limitations to select students for the university.

The CORRECT alternative is

a) I, II and III. d) III, IV and V.
b) III and IV. e) II and V.
c) I and IV.

4) According to the text,

I. vestibular also doesn’t make people to get stressed.
II. all the students have the same background.
III. it doesn’t matter if students come from public or private schools.
IV. students that come from public schools have a bonus.
V. “cursinhos” can be done after concluding high school.

The CORRECT alternative is

a) I. d) V.
b) II and III. e) IV and V.
c) III and IV.

5) Considering the context, what does the word “widespread” mean in Portuguese?
a) Amplo
b) Verdadeiro
c) Justo
d) Correto
e) Imprescindível

6) The word “their” (first paragraph) is related to

a) students.
b) vestibular.
c) examination.
d) entrance system.
e) Brazilian universities.

GABARITO - GRAMMAR
1 – B (by / on)
2 – D (in / in)
3 – C (to / on)
4 – B (at / on / in
5 – A (among)
6 – C (in / in)
7 – B (on / between)
8 – C (at / at)
9 – C (on)
10 – B (on / in)
11 – F (at Boa Vista)/T/T/F (on thin ice)/F(in ink)
12 – F (at a small community)/F (on 7th Avenue)/T/F (at 532 ParK Avenue)/t

GABARITO - TEXT
TEXT ONE 1–A 2–D
TEXT – TWO 3–C 4–E 5–A 6–E