5. Prepositions

Prepositions are perhaps one of the most difficult aspects of learning English. The problem is that they are not easy to translate from one language to another. One the other hand, the more you read and listen to English, the more natural it becomes to use prepositions correctly.

Here are some of the commonest prepositions with examples of how they are used:

At
at ten o'clock, at midnight, at Easter, at Christmas, at present, at home, at the theatre, at work, at last (endelig), at least (minst, i det minste), at first

By
by train/boat/plane/sea/air/car, by hand, by the way (forresten), by chance, by mistake, by accident

In
in September, in 1914, in a few days (om noen dager), in the bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, etc., in the morning/afternoon, evening, in the long run, in other words, in a way, in my opinion, in hospital

On
on Monday, on the 16th March, on Monday morning, on Christmas Eve, on a farm, on the beach, on the table/chair, on fire, on sale, on purpose, on the contrary, on the whole, on the other hand, on foot (til fots)

For
for a few days (i/for noen dager), for Christmas/your birthday, for lunch/dinner/breakfast, for a change, for this reason, for various reasons