A to and till/until

to can be used of time and place; till/until of time only. We can use from... to or from... till/until:

They worked from five to ten/from five till ten. (at five to ten would

mean 'at 9.55'.) But if we have no from we use till/until, not to:

Let's start now and work till dark, (to would not be possible here.) till/until is often used with a negative verb to emphasize lateness:

We didn't get home till 2 a.m.

He usually pays me on Friday but last week he didn't pay me till the

following Monday. till/until is very often used as a conjunction of time:

We 'II stay here till it stops raining.

Go on till you come to the level crossing. But note that if 'you come to' is omitted, the till must be replaced by to:

Go on to the level crossing.

B after and afterwards (adverb)

after (preposition) must be followed by a noun, pronoun or gerund:

Don't bathe immediately after a meal/after eating.

Don't have a meal and bathe immediately after it. If we do not wish to use a noun/pronoun or gerund, we cannot use after, but must use afterwards (= after that) or then:

Don't have a meal and bathe immediately afterwards.

They bathed and afterwards played games/played games afterwards or

They bathed and then played games.

afterwards can be used at either end of the clause and can be modified by soon, immediately, not long etc.:

Soon afterwards we got a letter.

We got a letter not long afterwards. after can also be used as a conjunction:

After he had tuned the piano it sounded quite different.

Travel and movement: from, to, at, in, by, on, into, onto, off, out, out of

A We travel from our starting place to our destination: They flew/drove/cycled/walked from Paris to Rome. When are you coming back to England?

We also send/post letters etc. to people and places. (But see note on home below.)

B arrive at/in, get to, reach (without preposition)

We arrive in a town or country, at or in a village, at any other destination:

They arrived in Spain/in Madrid.

I arrived at the. hotel/at the airport/at the bndge/at the crossroads. get to can be used with any destination, and so can reach:

He got to the station just in time for his train.

I want to get to Berlin before dark.

They reached the top of the mountain before sunnse. get in (in = adverb) can mean 'arrive at a destination'. It is chiefly used of trains:

What time does the train get in? (reach the terminus/our station) Note also get there/back (there, back are adverbs).

C home

We can use a verb of motion etc. + home without a preposition:

It took us an hour to get home.

They went home by bus.

But if home is immediately preceded by a word or phrase a preposition is necessary:

She returned to her parents' home.

We can be/live/stay/work etc. at home, at +... + home or in +... + home. But in cannot be followed directly by home:

You can do this sort of work at home or at/in your own home.

D Transport: by, on, get in/into/on/onto/off/out of

We can travel by car (but in the/my/Tom's car), by bus/train/ plane/helicopter/hovercraft etc. and by sea/air. We can also travel by a certain route, or by a certain place (though via is more usual):

We went by the M4. We went via Reading. We can walk or go on foot. We can cycle or go on a bicycle or by bicycle. We can ride or go on horseback. We get into a public or private vehicle, or get in (adverb). We get on/onto a public vehicle, or get on (adverb). But we go on board a boat (= embark). We get on/onto a horse/camel/bicycle.

We get out of a public or private vehicle, or get out (adverb). We get off a public vehicle, a horse, bicycle, etc., or get off (adverb).

E get in/into/out/out of can also be used of buildings, institutions and countries instead of go/come/return etc. when there is some difficulty in entering or leaving, in and out here are used as adverbs. I've lost my keys! How are we going to get into the flat/ to get in? (adverb)

The house is on fire! We had better get out! (adverb) It's difficult to get into a university nowadays.

F Giving directions: at, into, to etc. (prepositions), along, on (prepositions and adverbs) and till (conjunction):

Go along the Strand till you see the Savoy on your right.

The bus stop is just round the corner.

Turn right/left at the Post Office/at the second traffic lights.

Go on (adverb) past the post office.

Turn right/left into Fleet Street.

Take the first/second etc. turning on/to the right or on/to your right

Go on (adverb) to the end of the road, (till could not be used here.)

You will find the bank on your left halfway down the street.

When you come out of the station you will find the bank opposite

you/in front of you.

Get out (of the bus) at the tube station and walk on (adverb) till you

come to a pub.

Get off (the bus) and walk back (adverb) till you come to some

traffic lights. Be careful not to confuse to and till (see 92 A).