PREPOSITION + NOUN


Common patterns


There are many expressions formed by a preposition + noun, and sometimes a preposition is used with a particular meaning in a number of expressions, so they are very common.

A book by Stephen King, a film by Steven Spielberg, a song by Elton John.
You can go for a walk, for a drive, for a run, for a swim
You can go in the morning, in the afternoon, in the evening (but at night)
You can travel by car, by plane, by bus, by coach, by train, by taxi (but on foot)
I heard it on the radio; I saw it on TV; I spoke to her on the phone (but I read it in the newspaper, in a magazine)
The man in the dark suit; the woman in the red dress.


Fixed expressions


Sometimes it is difficult to know why a particular preposition is used, and you must learn these as fixed expressions.

I took his pen by mistake.
I did all the work by myself. (but on my own)
The shoes are made by hand.
The workers are on strike.
I met them by chance.
The children are on holiday.
He broke the plate by accident.
He broke the plate on purpose.
There are two million out of work.
There are at least fifty people at the party.


In time or on time?


Sometimes two prepositions can be used with the same noun, but the meaning is different.

Lessons begin at 8.30 and I always arrive on time. (= at 8.30)
Lessons begin at 8.30 and I always get there in time. (= before 8.30; I´m not late)

In the end we went home. (= finally, after a long period)
At the end of the book they get married.

The two men are in business. (= they are businessmen)
The two men are in Germany on business. (= they are there for work and not for a holiday.)

I´ll see you in a moment. (= very soon)
I can´t speak to you at the moment. (= right now)

(From the book English Vocabulary in Use by Stuart Redman - Cambridge University Press)