What little words connect the bigger words?
What do ON, AT, BUT, IN tell you?
🎙 Speak: Tell me where something is using "on," "in," "at," or "under."
Little words like prepositions and conjunctions are the glue of English. Without them, you have a pile of words. With them, you have sentences that make sense. Prepositions tell WHERE or WHEN. Conjunctions join ideas TOGETHER.
🎙 Speak: Tell me one sentence about where you are right now. Use a preposition.
| Preposition | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| IN | Inside something | The cat is in the house. |
| ON | On top of something | The book is on the table. |
| AT | At a place / location | I am at the shop / at home. |
| UNDER | Below something | The dog is under the chair. |
| BEHIND | At the back of something | The car is behind the house. |
| NEXT TO | Beside something | I sit next to my friend. |
| BETWEEN | In the middle of two things | The pen is between the books. |
| Preposition | Use | Example |
|---|---|---|
| AT | Exact time (hours) | I go to work at 9am. |
| ON | Days / dates | I work on Monday / on July 5th. |
| IN | Months / seasons / years | I travel in summer / in 2025 / in March. |
| BEFORE | Earlier than something | I wake up before 7am. |
| AFTER | Later than something | I eat lunch after 12pm. |
| DURING | Throughout a period | I sleep during the night. |
1. "The pen is the table." (in / on)
"ON" — the pen is on top of the table.
2. "I go to work Monday." (on / at / in)
"ON" — use ON for days of the week.
3. "I wake up 7 o'clock." (at / in / on)
"AT" — use AT for exact times (hours).
🎙 Speak: Create three sentences. Use one preposition of place and one of time in each.
🎙 Speak: Tell me (1) where you are now, (2) where you sleep, (3) when you eat, (4) when you work. Use prepositions.
| Conjunction | Use | Example |
|---|---|---|
| AND | Add two ideas / things together | I like coffee AND tea. She is happy AND excited. |
| BUT | Show a contrast / difference | I like coffee BUT I don't like tea. She is happy BUT tired. |
| OR | Give a choice | Do you want coffee OR tea? I like cats OR dogs. |
| SO | Show a result / consequence | I was hungry SO I ate. It's cold SO I wear a jacket. |
| BECAUSE | Give a reason | I eat BECAUSE I'm hungry. She's happy BECAUSE she passed the exam. |
Examples:
✓ "I like my job because it's interesting." (reason)
✓ "I study hard so I pass exams." (result)
✓ "I like tea but I don't like coffee." (contrast)
1. "I like ice cream I don't like chocolate." (and / but)
"BUT" — two opposite ideas. I like one, I don't like the other.
2. "It's raining I take an umbrella." (because / so)
"SO" — raining is the REASON, taking an umbrella is the RESULT. "It's raining so (therefore) I take an umbrella."
3. "Do you want tea coffee?" (and / or)
"OR" — it's a choice between two options.
🎙 Speak: Create your own sentences using AND, BUT, OR, SO, BECAUSE.
🎙 Speak: Tell me about your day or your week. Use AND, BUT, OR, SO, or BECAUSE at least once in each sentence.
"There is" and "There are" tell us that something EXISTS or is PRESENT.
| Pattern | Use | Example |
|---|---|---|
| There is | Singular (one thing) | There is a book on the table. |
| There are | Plural (many things) | There are many books in the library. |
| There is NOT | Negative (one thing doesn't exist) | There is no milk in the fridge. |
| There are NOT | Negative (many things don't exist) | There are no chairs in the room. |
Order: "There is/are" + article (a, the, some) + noun + location
✓ "There is a dog in the park." (correct)
✗ "A dog is in the park." (different meaning — we already know the dog)
Listen and repeat:
"There is one cat in the house."
"There are ten students in the classroom."
"There is no sugar in the coffee."
"There are many trees in the park."
🎙 Speak: Say them out loud. Feel the difference: IS for singular, ARE for plural.
🎙 Speak: Tell me what exists in your room. Say at least three things using "There is" or "There are."
| Subject | Verb | Object | Full Sentence |
|---|---|---|---|
| I | like | coffee | I like coffee. |
| She | reads | books | She reads books. |
| The cat | sleeps | all day | The cat sleeps all day. |
| We | eat | lunch at noon | We eat lunch at noon. |
Pattern: SUBJECT + VERB + OBJECT (+ details)
Subject = WHO? (I, she, the cat, John)
Verb = WHAT? (like, sleep, eat, read)
Object = WHAT DO THEY DO IT TO? (coffee, books, all day, lunch)
| Mark | When to Use | Example |
|---|---|---|
| . (Full Stop) | End of a normal sentence | I like coffee. She goes to work. |
| ? (Question Mark) | End of a question | Do you like coffee? What is your name? |
| ! (Exclamation Mark) | Strong feeling / surprise | I love you! Look out! |
| CAPITAL LETTER | Start of sentence & names | I am here. John reads books. |
Complete this sentence: Subject? Verb? Object?
like .
"I like coffee." (Subject: I, Verb: like, Object: coffee)
Or: "She likes pizza." "They like music." "Dogs like bones."
Complete this question: What's the pattern?
Do like ?
"Do you like coffee?" (Question form: Do + Subject + verb + object + ?)
🎙 Speak: Create four sentences. Follow SVO: Subject + Verb + Object. End with a full stop.
🎙 Speak: Make four sentences about yourself or someone you know. Each one should have: Subject + Verb + Object. Check your capital letters and full stops.
Choose one topic. Speak about it for about two minutes using prepositions, conjunctions, and "there is/are."
Pick one card. Speak for about two minutes. Aim to use:
🎙 Speak: Start. Use your prepositions and conjunctions naturally. Describe clearly.
...use prepositions for place and time, join ideas with conjunctions, describe existence with "there is/are," and build clear simple sentences with correct punctuation.
1. When do you use "there is" and when "there are"?
"There is" = singular (one thing). "There are" = plural (many things). Example: "There is one cat" / "There are many cats."
2. What's the difference between "so" and "because"?
"Because" = REASON (why something happened). "So" = RESULT (what happened as a consequence). Example: "I ate BECAUSE I was hungry" / "I was hungry SO I ate."
3. What do you use at the start of a sentence and at the end?
Capital letter at the START. Full stop (.) at the END. Question mark (?) for questions. Exclamation mark (!) for strong feeling.
4. What's the SVO pattern?
Subject + Verb + Object. Example: "I (subject) like (verb) coffee (object)." Who does what to whom?
Which activity was most helpful?
🎙 Speak: Pick one. Tell me why it helped you.
🎙 Speak: Describe something in your room or your area. Use prepositions (where things are), conjunctions (join ideas), and "there is/are" if you can.