10 Preposition Mistakes — Easy English Conversation

Transcript

Introduction

A: Today we’re fixing ten mistakes with prepositions — the little words that rarely translate one-for-one and cause problems for many learners.

B: You’ll learn why you arrive in a city but at a station, why you’re on a bus and in a car, why “discuss about” has one word too many, and why “at night” beats “in the night” for anything you do regularly.

A: Six of today’s ten to listen for: arrive at or arrive in; at home, in the car, on the bus; to wait for; to discuss something; on time or in time; and in the morning or at night.

B: After that, six short situations as a quick review, so you can practice out loud.

A: You can practice today’s phrases in Recursio — link in the description.

Arriving somewhere

B: Let’s start with the one that shows up in the first sentence of a trip.

A: “I arrived to London.” I’ve said that out loud in an airport.

B: A lot of people have. You’ll also hear “arrive to” from some native speakers — “I arrived to the party late” — and that use has been growing. But “arrive at” and “arrive in” are still much more common and safer choices for learners.

A: And they’re not the same?

B: They’re not. “Arrive in” goes with a city, a country, a big area: “we arrived in London,” “she arrived in Japan.”

A: And “arrive at”?

B: A specific point — a building, a station, an address, an event. “We arrived at the airport.” “They arrived at the hotel at midnight.”

A: So London gets “in,” and the airport in London gets “at.”

B: That’s exactly the shape of it. Big and around you: in. A point you can put a pin on: at.

A: What about home?

B: That one drops the preposition completely. “I arrived home at seven.” Not “arrived at home.”

A: Home keeps doing that, doesn’t it?

B: It does. “Go home,” “get home,” “come home” — no preposition. But “I’m at home” keeps it, because that’s a place, not a movement.

A: And in American English I hear just “I’m home.”

B: You do, and it’s very common. “I’m home” and “I’m at home” both work.

A: Is there another verb that behaves like “arrive”?

B: “Reach” — when it means arriving somewhere, it takes nothing. “We reached the station.” It does take one in other meanings — “reach for the salt,” “I’ll reach out to her” — but for arriving, the place comes straight after the verb.

A: And the opposite direction? Leaving?

B: “Leave for.” “We leave for Rome tomorrow” means Rome is where we’re going, not where we are.

A: That one sounds backwards to me.

B: It catches people. “Leave for” names the destination. “Leave from” names the starting point: “the train leaves from platform two.”

A: So if I want a travel verb with “to,” what can I use?

B: Use “get”: “We got to the station at seven.” Or use “reach” with no preposition: “We reached the station at seven.”

A: Arrive at the station, get to the station, reach the station.

B: Exactly — three common verbs, three different patterns.

At home, in the car, on the bus

A: Now the one I lose sleep over. Am I in the bus or on the bus?

B: On the bus. And in the car. Same journey, two different words.

A: Why?

B: There isn’t one perfect physical rule. A useful pattern is “on” for buses, trains and planes, but “in” for cars and taxis.

A: So I get on a bus, but into a car.

B: Right. And with a bike or a horse, use “on” because you sit on it: on a bike, on a horse.

A: Does that always hold?

B: It’s a pattern, not a law. Elevators, vans and boats show why a rule based only on size or movement soon breaks. Learn the common combinations as phrases.

A: And “at home” is the third shape.

B: For the ordinary phrase, “at home” takes no article: “I’m at home.” “At the home” needs a more specific meaning, as in “at the children’s home.” A possessive works too: “we met at my friend’s home,” though people often say “at my friend’s house.”

A: Three small words, three different pictures.

B: And it’s worth saying them as a set until they stick: at home, in the car, on the bus.

A: Now, how do I say how I traveled?

B: With “by,” and here English drops the article. “By car.” “By bus.” “By train.” “By plane.”

A: Not “by a car”?

B: Not “by a car,” and not “with the bus.” For the method of transport, “by” plus the bare word is the main pattern.

A: And walking?

B: That’s the exception, and it’s the one people get wrong. Walking is “on foot,” not “by foot.”

A: “I go to work on foot.”

B: Correct — though in everyday speech you’d more likely just say “I walk to work.” “On foot” really earns its place in a contrast: “by car or on foot?”

A: And if I want to name my own car?

B: Then you leave “by” behind. “I came in my car,” “we went in Anna’s car.” Once there’s a “my” or an “Anna’s,” it’s “in.”

A: What about a bike?

B: “By bike” for the method, “on my bike” for the specific one. Same idea as the car — except a bike takes “on,” because you sit on it.

A: And the subway?

B: “On the subway,” “on the train,” “on the plane.” For a car and a taxi, use “in.” These are common combinations, not a rule based only on size.

A: There’s also the sentence people text.

B: “I’m on the train.” That doesn’t mean standing on the roof — it means traveling right now. “I’m on the bus, I’ll be there in ten.”

A: And while I’m still waiting?

B: Then you’re not on anything yet. “I’m at the bus stop.” “I’m at the station.” Points on the map again.

A: At the stop, on the bus.

B: At the stop, on the bus. Two words, and they mark the moment the doors close.

A: Getting on and off we did in the getting-around episode.

B: We did, so today we stay with the words in front of the vehicle, not the ones for climbing into it.

One word missing, one word too many

A: Next pair, and they’re mirror images.

B: Two verbs. One needs a preposition and learners drop it; the other needs nothing and learners add one.

A: Start with the missing one.

B: “Wait.” In English you don’t wait somebody — you wait for somebody. “Wait for me.” “We’re waiting for the bus.” There are fixed phrases without it, like “wait your turn,” but when you’re expecting a person or a thing, you normally need “for.”

A: “Wait me” is what I say when I’m in a hurry.

B: And it’s an understandable mistake, because in a lot of languages the “for” simply isn’t there. In this meaning, English normally wants “wait for.”

A: Is there a version without “for”?

B: Use “can’t wait to” before an action you’re excited to do: “I can’t wait to see you.” Use “can’t wait for” before a person or thing: “I can’t wait for the weekend.” When another subject does the next action, use “for” plus that subject: “I can’t wait for the film to start.”

A: And the one with a word too many?

B: “Discuss.” People say “let’s discuss about the report.” But “discuss” already includes the idea of talking about something.

A: So it’s just “let’s discuss the report.”

B: “Let’s discuss the report.” “We discussed the problem for an hour.” Nothing between the verb and the thing. The person comes after, with “with”: “I discussed it with my manager.”

A: But “talk about” needs it.

B: It does, and that’s why the mistake happens — “talk about the report” and “discuss the report” mean nearly the same thing and take different shapes.

A: So if I’m not sure, I say “talk about.”

B: That’s a useful alternative here. It’s common in speech and its pattern may be easier to remember.

A: Are there other verbs like “discuss”?

B: A few worth knowing: “enter a room,” not “enter into a room” — though you do “enter into an agreement,” which is a different thing. “Answer the question,” not “answer to the question” — “answer to” exists, but it means being answerable to somebody: “I answer to the head of sales.” “Marry someone,” not “marry with someone.”

A: Any more from the office?

B: “Contact someone,” not “contact with someone.” “I’ll contact the supplier.”

A: And asking?

B: “Ask someone,” not “ask to someone.” “I asked my manager.” The “for” comes in when you’re requesting something: “I asked my manager for a day off” — and it works with people too, when you want one particular person: “I asked for the manager.”

A: What about “meet”?

B: “Meet someone” is the plain one — “I met her yesterday.” “Meet with someone” often suggests an arranged conversation, especially in American English: “I’m meeting with the architect on Thursday.”

A: So “meet with” isn’t a mistake.

B: Not a mistake at all. It’s standard and common in American office English.

A: And the ones with prepositions I already met?

B: “Listen to,” “depend on,” “married to,” “interested in,” “good at” — we did those in the common-mistakes episode, so they’re not among today’s ten.

One verb, three prepositions

A: Now my favorite kind of trouble. One verb that changes meaning with the little word.

B: “Look.” Three prepositions, three completely different actions.

A: Go.

B: “Look at” — point your eyes at something. “Look at this photo.”

A: “Look for”?

B: Search. “I’m looking for my keys.” The keys are lost; you’re trying to find them.

A: And “look after”?

B: Take care of. “She looks after her neighbor’s cat.”

A: Same verb, and one is seeing, one is searching, one is caring.

B: That’s why these combinations are worth learning together: the added word changes the meaning.

A: Is there a fourth?

B: “Look forward to,” which we did in the meetings episode, and “look up” — to find information. “I’ll look up the address.”

A: And “look into”?

B: To investigate. “I’ll look into it” is what somebody says when they’re going to find out what went wrong.

A: Six prepositions, six jobs.

B: A useful habit is to write each combination together on the same card. “Look” also works on its own, as in “Look!” or “You look tired.”

A: Now the other verb I keep getting wrong. Think.

B: “Think of” and “think about.” And here I’ll be honest with you: they overlap a lot, and in many sentences both are fine.

A: That’s not what I wanted to hear.

B: But there are two places where one of them is clearly better. “Think of” is for bringing something to mind — remembering it, or inventing it. “I can’t think of his name.” “Can you think of a better title?”

A: And “think about”?

B: It often means spending time considering something. “I’m thinking about changing jobs.” “Let me think about it.”

A: And asking my opinion?

B: “What do you think of the new office?” is a common choice, and “what do you think about it?” is natural too.

A: So where’s the actual mistake?

B: Here: “I’m thinking to buy a car.” That one doesn’t work. After “think of” or “think about,” a verb takes -ing: “I’m thinking of buying a car.”

A: Thinking of buying. Thinking about changing.

B: That’s the shape to keep.

Prepositions of time

A: Last three, and they’re all about when.

B: Start with the pair that ruins train stations. “On time” and “in time.”

A: I use them as if they were the same.

B: They aren’t. “On time” means at the arranged moment — punctual. “The train left on time” means it left at ten o’clock, as printed.

A: And “in time”?

B: Early enough for something. “We got to the station in time to buy coffee.” There was still room before the deadline.

A: So one is punctual, and one is early enough.

B: And the difference matters. “I arrived on time” means you weren’t late. “I arrived in time” means you weren’t too late — and it’s usually followed by what you were in time for: “in time to buy coffee,” “in time for the meeting.”

A: And “just in time”?

B: That’s the dramatic one. It means you almost missed it. “We got there just in time.”

A: Now the days and the hours.

B: The base pattern is worth memorizing as three lines. “In” for long stretches: in the morning, in the afternoon, in the evening, in May, in winter, in 2026.

A: “On” for days.

B: On Monday, on Tuesday, on my birthday, on May fourteenth.

A: And “at”?

B: “At” for clock times and for a few fixed points: at seven o’clock, at noon, at midnight — and at night.

A: What happens when I combine them? Monday and morning?

B: The day wins over the part of the day. “On Monday morning,” not “in Monday morning.” Clock times keep their own word, though: “at seven on Monday.”

A: “On Friday evening.”

B: “On Friday evening,” “on the morning of May fourteenth.” And in American English you’ll often hear the “on” dropped entirely — “I’ll see you Monday morning.” That’s fine too. For this phrase, don’t say “in Monday morning.”

A: And one more I always get wrong — “in an hour” or “after an hour”?

B: For a simple countdown from now, use “in.” “I’ll call you in an hour” means an hour from now.

A: And “after an hour”?

B: That means when an hour has passed, usually measured from another event. It can be past or future: “After an hour, we gave up.” “The medicine should start working after an hour.”

A: What does “after” need that “in” doesn’t?

B: A starting event or period: “after the meeting,” “after an hour of waiting.” For a countdown from right now, use “in”: “in five minutes,” “in two days,” “in a year.”

A: Back to the day. Morning, afternoon and evening take “in,” and night takes “at.”

B: Night is the odd one out, and there’s no logic to rescue you. “In the morning” and “at night” simply have to be learned as a pair.

A: Is “in the night” ever correct?

B: It exists — “she woke up in the night” — though in American English you’ll hear “in the middle of the night” more. Either way, for your daily routine it’s “at night.” “I read at night.”

A: And the last one. The weekend.

B: The one where you can be right twice. Americans typically say “on the weekend.” British speakers typically say “at the weekend.”

A: And the mistake?

B: For American or British English, avoid “in the weekend.” Use “on” for the American pattern and “at” for the British one.

A: Anything else in that family?

B: In the plural you can drop the article: “on weekends” in American English, “at weekends” in British — though “on the weekends” is just as common in the US. And there’s the bare “weekends” on its own: “I work weekends.”

A: So I choose the form that matches the variety I’m using.

B: Right. “On the weekend” is your American default, and “at the weekend” is the British twin.

Practice and quick review

A: Six short situations. Give me the situation, and I’ll answer out loud in the gap.

B: Ready. Your flight landed in the Italian capital early in the day, and then you got to your hotel. What two sentences do you say, including the time of day?

A: I arrived in Rome in the morning. Then I arrived at the hotel.

B: “In” for the city, “at” for the building — and “in the morning” on the way past.

A: Next.

B: You’re at home before you leave. Then you’re on a bus, and your colleague is in her car. Later, you compare your usual journeys: you walk and she drives. What five short phrases do you use?

A: I’m at home. I’m on the bus. She’s in her car. I go on foot. She goes by car.

B: “At home,” “on the bus” and “in her car” for where you are; “on foot” and “by car” for the method.

A: Next.

B: You’re running late and you want somebody to hang on for you. Later that day, the team needs to go through the report together. What do you say at each moment?

A: Wait for me. Let’s discuss the report.

B: “Wait for” needs the word; “discuss” takes the thing straight after it.

A: Next.

B: Your keys are missing, a photo is in front of you, your neighbor is taking care of your cat, and you’re considering a new job but can’t produce a good reason. What four sentences do you say?

A: I’m looking for my keys. I’m looking at the photo. My neighbor is looking after my cat. I’m thinking about changing jobs, but I can’t think of a good reason.

B: “Look for,” “look at” and “look after” have different jobs; “think about” is for the decision, and “think of” brings the reason to mind.

A: Next.

B: The train left at the printed minute, and you reached the platform early enough to buy a coffee. How do you describe both?

A: The train left on time. I got there in time to buy a coffee.

B: “On time” for punctual, “in time” for early enough — and the “to” that says what for.

A: Last one.

B: You read before sleeping, and Saturday and Sunday are yours. How do you describe both, using American English first and then the British weekend form?

A: I read at night. I’m free on the weekend. In British English, I’m free at the weekend.

B: “At night,” not “in the night,” for a routine — then “on the weekend” in American English and “at the weekend” in British English.

Outro

A: Today’s ten: arrive at or arrive in; at home, in the car, on the bus; by car or on foot; to wait for; to discuss something; to look for, look at, look after; think of or think about; on time or in time; in the morning or at night; and on the weekend or at the weekend.

B: Ten patterns, and a lot of the errors come from copying the preposition straight out of your own language. They’re safer learned inside the phrase.

A: Open the link below and practice them in Recursio.

B: See you in the next one.