English Grammar:

2
Step by Step Written by Elizabeth Weal
Illustrated by Anastasia Ionkin

Tenaya Press
Palo Alto, CA
 For my students

©2010 Elizabeth Weal

All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or translated in any form or by any means,
electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, or by any information storage retrieval system, without
permission in writing from the publisher.
All inquiries should be addressed to
Elizabeth Weal
Tenaya Press
3481 Janice Way
Palo Alto, CA 94303
650-494-3941
[email protected]
http://TenayaPress.Tenaya.com
Book design: Stuart Silberman
Cover: Beth Zonderman

About the cover

The cover is a photograph of a portion of a mola. Molas are part of the traditional dress of the Central
American Cuna (or Kuna) tribe of the San Blas Islands, a chain of tropical islands along the Atlantic coast of
Panama. Molas, which also can be found in Colombia, are handmade using a “reverse appliqué” technique.
Several layers of different-colored cloth are sewn together; the design is then formed by cutting away parts of
each layer.

ISBN 978-0-9796128-9-3

ii English Grammar: Step by Step 2

 Contents
Welcome . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .vii
Chapter 1: My shoes are under the chair. .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.1 Introducing Prepositions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
1.2 Household Vocabulary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
1.3 More Prepositions of Location. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6
1.4 Where Questions with Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8
1.5 Where Questions with People. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Chapter 1 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
More Practice! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Chapter 2: What is Jose’s date of birth? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

2.1 What time Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
2.2 Days, Months and Dates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
2.3 When Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
2.4 What Questions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
2.5 Possessive Nouns. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
2.6 Question Word Questions vs. Yes/No Questions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Chapter 2 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
More Practice! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

Chapter 3: There’s a pizza in the oven. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

3.1 Introducing There is and There are. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
3.2 There + Is = There’s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
3.3 Negative Statements: There isn’t and There aren’t. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
3.4 Questions with Is there and Are there . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
3.5 Answering Is there and Are there Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
3.6 More about Yes/No Questions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Chapter 3 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
More Practice! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Chapter 4: I play soccer once a week. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
4.1 Identifying Verbs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
4.2 Introducing Simple Present Tense Verbs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .56
4.3 More about Simple Present Tense Verbs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
4.4 Using Simple Present Tense Verbs Correctly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .60
4.5 Rules for Spelling Simple Present Tense Verbs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
4.6 Irregular Present Tense Verbs: Goes, Does and Has. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
4.7 When to Use Simple Present Tense Verbs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
4.8 Adverbs of Frequency: Always, Usually, Sometimes, Never. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
4.9 Once a Week, Once a Month, Once a Year . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .70
Chapter 4 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
More Practice! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .73

English Grammar: Step by Step 2 iii

 Chapter 5: I don’t have a car. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
5.1 Negative Statements with Present Tense Verbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
5.2 More Negative Statements with Present Tense Verbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
5.3 Negative Statements with Has, Goes and Does . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
5.4 Using Don’t and Doesn’t. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
5.5 Doesn’t vs. Isn’t. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
5.6 Asking Yes/No Questions with Do and Does . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
5.7 Answering Yes/No Questions with Do and Does. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
5.8 Yes, I do vs. Yes, I am . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
5.8 Where, When, and What Time Quesstions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
Chapter 5 Summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
More Practice! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97

Chapter 6: I’m studying English now. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101

6.1 Introducing Present Progressive Tense Verbs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
6.2 Spelling Present Progressive Verbss. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
6.3 Negative Sentences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
6.4 Contractions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
6.5 Yes/No Questions and Answers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
6.6 Question Word Questions and Answers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
6.7 Present Progressive Verbs vs. Simple Present Verbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
Chapter 6 Summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
More Practice! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117

Appendix A: Answers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121

Appendix B: Contractions with to be. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
Glossary of Grammar Terms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
Index. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
English/Spanish Dictionary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
Spanish/English Dictionary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139

iv English Grammar: Step by Step 2

 Welcome
A note to students
Welcome to English Grammar: Step by Step 2, a book that will help you understand the
basics of English grammar so that you can speak and write English correctly.
The assumption behind this book is that anyone can learn English grammar, regardless
of their level of education. To ensure that this occurs, grammar concepts are presented
in a step-by-step fashion, starting at the most basic level. Each new concept is followed
by exercises that give you the opportunity to practice what you’ve learned and additional
exercises at the end of each chapter provide even more practice. All of the answers to the
exercises are in an appendix, so you can check your work as you go. A dictionary of all
the words used in this book is included in the back of the book, making it easy to look
up words you don’t know how to spell. The dictionary also includes pronunciation.
This book assumes that you have a very basic knowledge of English grammar.
Specifically, you should know how to use the verbs to be (am, is and are) and to have;
and how to use possessive adjectives (his, her, our, etc.). You also should know how
to identify nouns, pronouns and adjectives and use basic punctuation (periods and
question marks) correctly. If these topics are unfamiliar to you, work through English
Grammar: Step by Step 1; then continue with this book.
Keep in mind that the focus of this book is exclusively on grammar. Learning English
requires many other skills in addition to grammar, such as pronunciation, listening
comprehension, vocabulary development, and so on. At the same time, if you want to
advance in English you’ll need a solid foundation in basic grammar, which is precisely
what this book provides.

A note to teachers
English Grammar: Step by Step 2 was written to help Spanish-speaking students learn
grammar in a simple, straightforward manner. It focuses on many of the grammar
points that are most confusing to new English language learners: prepositions, simple
present tense verbs and present progressive verbs. It assumes that students know how
to use the verbs to be and to have and understand the use of possessive adjectives (his,
her, our, etc.). Students also should be able to identify nouns, pronouns and adjectives.
and use basic punctuation (periods and question marks) correctly. If students are not
familiar with these topics, they should work through English Grammar: Step by Step 1;
then continue with this book.
Teachers can use this book as a classroom text in classes with only Spanish-speakers or
as a supplement for Spanish-speaking students in mixed-language classes. These books
can also be made available to students in distance learning programs and in school
bookstores that stock ESL materials. Many teachers also sell these books to students so
they can use it at home.

English Grammar: Step by Step 2 v

 Because the book is available in English and Spanish, teachers who don’t speak Spanish can read the English
version to learn some basic differences between English and Spanish grammar, then make the Spanish
version of the book available to their students.
Acknowledgements
Many people gave me the encouragement I needed to embark on the second book in this series. My friend
and colleague Maria Kleczewska was the inspiration for the first book and offered invaluable encouragement
the second time around. Lorraine Reston provided valuable editorial input. Gabriela Urricariet was a
skilled and thorough editor and translator. Her eye for detail helped make this book a success. Anastasia
Ionkin, an incredibly talented artist, created the drawings that make this book fun to read. Stuart Silberman
transformed my original manuscript from a sea of gray into a document that’s both easy to use and inviting
to read. Beth Zonderman designed the book cover. Julie Reis and Phyllis Mayberg were excellent copy editors.
My friend Mary Bender opened my eyes to the beauty of Latin American textiles in general and to molas in
particular. A mola from her collection is pictured on the cover of this book.
I also want to thank the many Sequoia Adult School staff members—including Barbara Hooper, Lionel
De Maine, Pat Cocconi, Ana Escobar, Soledad Rios, Maria Ibarra, and Juan Ramirez—who have supported
my efforts and helped make my books available to Sequoia Adult School students.
My extraordinary husband Bruce Hodge unflaggingly supported my efforts and helped with countless tasks,
from design assistance to 24/7 technical support. Without his help, this book would not exist. My daughters
Chelsea and Caroline provided editorial and artistic input. Finally, I want to thank the many students who
completed my first book; then thanked me for making English grammar understandable. They continue to
be my inspiration.

vi English Grammar: Step by Step 2

 Chapter 1

My shoes are under

the chair.

I magine this situation: You’re late for work. Your boss, who
speaks only English, calls you on your cell phone to find
out where you are. If you can’t answer him, you’re going to
have a problem! In this chapter, you’ll learn how to answer
questions about where you are and also about where things
are at home and on the job.

At the end of this chapter you will be able to

• identify prepositions.
• use prepositions to describe where people and objects are
located.
• ask and answer questions about where people and objects
are located.

English Grammar: Step by Step 2 1

 1.1 Introducing Prepositions

A preposition is a word that shows the relationship between words in a sentence.

En, a, entre and sin are all Spanish prepositions. A preposition of location or a
preposition of place describes where something or someone is located, In this
section, you’ll learn several prepositions of location. In the following illustrations,
each preposition of place is underlined.

Note that in and on have different meannings. In general, in means dentro de and
on means sobre.

A preposition is a part of speech

To understand English or Spanish grammar, it is very useful to understand parts
of speech, names that you use to specify how a word is used in a sentence. Here is a
summary of the parts of speech you should be familiar with.*
Part of speech Definition Examples
noun (sustantivo) A person, place, animal or teacher (maestra); school
thing (escuela); dog (perro); table
(mesa)
pronoun (pronombre) A word that takes the place of I (yo); you (usted, tú,
a noun ustedes); we (nosotros,
nosotras); he (él); she (ella)
adjective (adjectivo) A word that modifies or big (grande, grandes);
describes a noun or pronoun beautiful (bonito, bonita,
bonitos, bonitas)
verb (verbo) A word that shows action or is (ser, estar); have (tener);
state of being work (trabajar)
preposition A word that shows the under (abajo de); above
(preposición) relationship between other (arriba de)
words in a sentence.
*If you are unclear how to identify nouns, pronouns, and adjectives, read Gramática del inglés: Paso a paso 1.
We’ll talk more about how to identify verbs in Chapter 4.)

2 English Grammar: Step by Step 2

 u rn!
Your t

1.1.a Directions: One of the three words in each group of words is not a preposition. Cross out the word
that is not a preposition. (If you don’t know a word, look it up in the dictionary in the back of this book.)
1. boy, above, in 3. television, under, above
2. in, husband, on 4. on, above, tired

1.1.b Directions: One of the three words in each group of words is not a noun. Cross out the word that is
not a noun. Remeber that a noun is a person, place, animal or thing.
1. microwave, beautiful, house 5. cousin, aunt, at
2. apartment, table, in 6. cat, dog, dirty
3. eggs, book, happy 7. above, coffee, car
4. black, dress, house 8. year, month, are

1.1.c Directions: One of the three words in each group of words is not a pronoun. Cross out the word that
is not a pronoun. Remember that a pronoun is a word that can replace a noun.
1. he, doctor, she 5. they, we, pencil
2. white, she, it 6. backpack, it, you
3. I, store, you 7. she, sad, we
4. ball, it, they 8. happy, he, they

1.1.d Directions: One of the three words in each group of words is not an adjective. Cross out the word
that is not an adjective. Remember that an adjective is a word that describes a noun or pronoun.
1. cashier, tired, handsome 5. beautiful, apple, red
2. blue, airplane, purple 6. old, new, dog
3. yellow, happy, it 7. above, heavy, thin
4. sad, lazy, person 8. interesting, good, student

1.1.e Directions: Write the preposition that describes each drawing.

on
1. The rabbit is ___________ the box. 3. The rabbit is ___________ the box.
2. The rabbit is ___________ the box. 4. The rabbit is ___________ the box.

English Grammar: Step by Step 2 3

 1.2 Household Vocabulary

You’ll often use prepositions of location to tell where things are located around
your house. The following illustrations show the rooms in a house and what’s often
found in each one. The dictionary in the back of this book tells you how these
words are pronounced. You’ll use these words in the exercises on the next page.

You use the preposition in to refer to objects in a room. For example:

▶▶ The apples are in the kitchen. (Las manzanas están en la cocina.)
▶▶ The toys are in the living room. (Los juguetes están en la sala.)

4 English Grammar: Step by Step 2

 u rn!
Your t

1.2.a Directions: Identify the items in each picture.

Kitchen Bedroom
microwave
1. ________________________ 1. ________________________
2. ________________________ 2. ________________________
3. ________________________ 3. ________________________
4. ________________________ 4. ________________________
5. ________________________ Bathroom
6. ________________________ 1. ________________________
Living room 2. ________________________
1. ________________________ 3. ________________________
2. ________________________ 4. ________________________
3. ________________________ 5. ________________________
4. ________________________
5. ________________________
6. ________________________

English Grammar: Step by Step 2 5

1.3 More prepositions of location

Here are a few more prepositions of location to study.

The preposition between

In both English and Spanish, the preposition between (entre) is always followed by
two singular nouns or by one plural noun. For example, if a cat is between two boxes,
you say
▶▶ The cat is between the boxes. (El gato está entre las cajas.)
If the cat is between a box and a ball, you say
▶▶ The cat is between the box and the ball. (El gato está entre la caja y la pelota.)
It is incorrect to say
▶▶ The cat is between the box. (El gato está entre la caja.)

Prepositions composed of more than one word

You may have noticed that several prepositions in both English and Spanish are
more than one word long. These are sometimes called compound prepositions.
For example, next to is two words; al lado de is three words. Regardless of the
language, what’s important is to include every word of the compound preposition
and to make sure you properly separate the words that comprise the compound
preposition. Thus, you say
▶▶ The cat is next to the box. (El gato está al lado de la caja.)
It is incorrect to say
▶▶ The cat is next the box. / The cat is nexto the box.

6 English Grammar: Step by Step 2

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Your t

1.3.a Directions: Write the preposition that describes each drawing.

behind
1. The rabbit is ________________ the box. 3. The rabbit is ____ ___________ ____ the box.
2. The rabbit is ________________ the boxes. 4. The rabbit is ___ ___ _____ the boxes.

1.3.b Directions: One of the sentences in each pair is not a correct sentence. Cross out the incorrect
sentence.
1a. The table is in front of the sofa. 1b. The table is in the sofa.
2a. The couch is between the end tables. 2b. The couch is between the end table.
3a. I am in the bedroom. 3b. I am on the bedroom.
4a. The blender is in the counter. 4b. The blender is on the counter.
5a. She is next to her sister. 5b. She is next her sister.
6a. I am in front my apartment. 6b. I am in front of my apartment.
7a. The pencil is on the floor. 7b. The pencil is in the floor.
8a. The store is between the school. 8b. The store is between the school. and the
park.
9a. Your shoes are next the window. 9b. Your shoes are next to the window.
10a. The oranges are in the kitchen. 10b. The oranges are on the kitchen.

1.3.c Directions: Translate these sentences.

1. Los libros están al lado de la lámpara. The books are next to the lamp.
2. El cuadro está arriba del sofá.
3. Mi casa está al lado de la tienda.
4. Mi tía está en la cocina.
5. Tu libro está entre el cuaderno y el
bolígrafo.
6. Las sillas están delante de la mesa.
7. Nuestro carro está delante de la casa.

English Grammar: Step by Step 2 7

 1.4 Where Questions with Objects

Now that you know some prepositions, you’re ready to start asking questions about
where things are. Study this conversation.

Note the following:

▶▶ The mother uses Where is in the first question because she is asking her daughter
about her backpack, which is singular.
▶▶ The mother uses Where are in the second question because she is asking her daughter
about her shoes, which are plural.
Note that the response to the first question is
▶▶ It is on the floor. (Está en el piso.)
It is less common, but also correct, to reply
▶▶ My backpack is on the floor. (Mi mochila está en el piso.)

Questions made with where (dónde) and the verb to be have this form:
Question word and verb Rest of the Translation
sentence
Where is the book? ¿Dónde está el libro?
Where’s the book? ¿Dónde está el libro?
Where are the books? ¿Dónde están los libros?

Contractions
A contraction is a word that is made by joining two words. You can use a contraction
to shorten where is to where’s. As you can see from the chart above, the following
questions mean the same thing:
▶▶ Where’s the book? Where is the book?
You cannot use a contraction to shorten where are. For example, you cannot ask,
▶▶ Where’re the books?

8 English Grammar: Step by Step 2

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1.4.a Directions: Look at the pictures. Then, answer the questions using one of the following
prepositions: in, on, under, between, in front of or next to. Note that each line represents one word in the
response.

1. The shoes are __________

under the table.
2. The sock (calcetín) is ________ the shoes.
3. The dog is ________ the floor.
4. The bread (pan) is ________ the table.
5. The cheese (queso) is ________ ________ the bread.
6. The ball is ________ ________ ________ the dog.
7. The broom (escoba) is ________ ________ ________ the table.
8. The dog is _______ the living room.

1.4.b Directions: Write a Where question before each answer. Don’t forget to end each question with a
question mark (?).
1. ____________________________________________
Where is the ball? The ball is on the floor.
2. ____________________________________________ The books are on the table.
3. ____________________________________________ The towels (toallas) are in the bathroom.
4. ____________________________________________ The socks are on the dresser.
5. ____________________________________________ The pizza is in the kitchen.
6. ___________________________________________ The students are at the park.

English Grammar: Step by Step 2 9

1.5 Where Questions with People

In this section, you’ll learn to ask questions to find out where people are. Read this
conversation between a husband and wife speaking on their cell phones.

Note the following:

▶▶ In the first conversation the wife uses the preposition in because she’s referring to a
room, kitchen.
▶▶ In the second conversation she uses the preposition at because she’s referring to a
place in the community.
The table below tells you which prepositions to use when you’re specifying locations.
Preposition Example in English Example in Spanish
Use at before the name of a at the library en la biblioteca
place at the beach en la playa
at the restaurant en el restaurante
at the park en el parque
at home en casa
at work en el trabajo
at school en la escuela
at church en la iglesia
at Rick’s Restaurant en el restaurante Rick’s
at Hoover Park en el parque Hoover
Use at for a street address at 313 Grove Street en el 313 de la calle Grove
Use in before a room, city, state in the kitchen en la cocina
or country in the office en la oficina
in the classroom en el aula, en la clase
in San Francisco en San Francisco
in California en California
in Mexico en México
in the United States en los Estados Unidos
Use on for a street name on Ross Street en la calle Ross

Notice the following:

▶▶ You never use the before the name of a specific place, such as Rick’s Restaurant
or Hoover Park. You do use the when you are referring to a general location such
as the restaurant or the park.
▶▶ There is no good explanation for why you use the before the names of some
places and not others. In general, you use the before general place names with the
exception of home, work, school and church.

10 English Grammar: Step by Step 2

 u rn!
Your t

1.5.a Directions: Complete each sentence using at, in or on.

1. I am ____
in______ the bedroom. 9. Luis is __________ the United States.
2. Laura is __________ home. 10. Carlos is not __________ Chicago.
3. Jose is __________ New Orleans. 11. My uncles are __________ Mexico.
4. The teacher is __________ the classroom. 12. My house is __________ 222 Pine St.
5. The party is __________ 17 Post Avenue. 13. My house is __________ Center Street.
6. Carlos is __________ the beach. 14. Andrew is not __________ the bedroom.
7. My sisters are __________ school. 15. Jose is a cook __________ Nick’s Restaurant.
8. Sam is __________ work. 16. We are not __________ the park.

1.5.b Directions: One of the sentences in each pair is not a correct sentence. Cross out the incorrect
sentence.
1a. Lisa is at the beach. 1b. Lisa is in the beach.
2a. Marian is in work. 2b. Marian is at work.
3a. Maria is in the home. 3b. Maria is at home.
4a. Our teacher is in the classroom. 4b. Our teacher is at the classroom.
5a. I am in the living room. 5b. I am at the living room.
6a. The book is in the sofa. 6b. The book is on the sofa.
7a. My parents are at the work. 7b. My parents are at work.
8a. My friends are at Pedros Pizza Restaurant. 8b. My friends are at the Pedros Pizza Restaurant.
9a. Her house is on 8th Ave. 9b. Her house is in 8th Ave.
10a. I am no at work. 10b. I am not at work.
11a. The students are at the El Pueblo Market. 11b. The students are at El Pueblo Market.
12a. We are at the beach. 12b. We are in the beach.

1.5.c Directions: Translate these sentences.

1. Estoy en Chicago. I am in Chicago.
2. Él está en Perú.
3. Juana es de Perú.
4. Mis amigos están en la playa.
5. Los estudiantes están en la
biblioteca.
6. Tus libros están en la cama.
7. Los jugetes estan en el piso.

English Grammar: Step by Step 2 11

 Chapter 1 Summary
Prepositions
A preposition is a word that shows the relationship between words in a sentence. En, a, entre and sin are
all Spanish prepositions. A preposition of location describes where something or someone is located. The
following are some common prepositions of location:
in on above
under next to between
in front of behind/in back of

Prepositions of location
The table below tells you which prepositions to use when you’re specifying locations.
Preposition Example in English Example in Spanish
Use at before the name of a at the library en la biblioteca
place at the beach en la playa
at the restaurant en el restaurante
at the park en el parque
at home en casa
at work en el trabajo
at school en la escuela
at church en la iglesia
at Rick’s Restaurant en el restaurante Rick’s
at Hoover Park en el parque Hoover
Use at for a street address at 313 Grove Street en el 313 de la calle Grove
Use in before a room, city, in the kitchen en la cocina
state or country in the office en la oficina
in the classroom en el aula, en la clase
in San Francisco en San Francisco
in California en California
in Mexico en México
in the United States en los Estados Unidos
Use on for a street name on Ross Road en la calle Ross

Where questions
Questions made with where (dónde) and the verb to be have this form:
Question word Verb Rest of the sentence Translation
Where is the book? ¿Dónde está el libro?
Where are the books? ¿Dónde están los libros?

12 English Grammar: Step by Step 2

 More Practice!
P1.a Directions: One of the three words in each group of words is not a preposition. Cross out the word
that is not a preposition.
1. boy, above, in 5. in front of, green, between
2. in front of, bed, between 6. on, tall, next to
3. she, at, next to 7. above, they, behind
4. under, tired, behind 8. across from, happy, under

P1.b Directions: One of the three words in each group of words is not a noun. Cross out the word that is
not a noun.
1. book, beautiful, student 5. floor, is, bed
2. shower, nurse, in 6. kitchen, sofa, dirty
3. school, dog, bad 7. above, sink, teacher
4. apartment, new, car 8. we, pencil, New York

P1.c Directions: One of the three words in each group of words is not a pronoun. Cross out the word that
is not a pronoun.
1. she, nurse, I 5. he, I, pencil
2. kitchen, it, they 6. sick, they, you
3. I, window, she 7. school, I, she
4. they, you, hot 8. picture, you, we

P1.d Directions: One of the three words in each group of words is not an adjective. Cross out the word
that is not an adjective.
1. dresser, red, new 5. beautiful, ugly, children
2. sick, rabbit, purple 6. under, handsome, dirty
3. on, happy, green 7. above, tall, thin
4. aunt, expensive, healthy 8. lazy, hardworking, study

P1.e Directions: One of the sentences in each pair is not a correct sentence. Cross out the incorrect
sentence.
1a. The books are next the lamp. 1b. The books are next to the lamp.
2a. The students are in the classroom. 2b. The students are on the classroom.
3a. Yvonne is at home. 3b. Yvonne is in the home.
4a. The photos are in front the table. 4b. The photos are in front of the table.
5a. I am at work. 5b. I am at the work.
6a. The dog is between the chairs. 6b. The dog is between the chair.
7a. My wife is at Berkeley Adult School. 7b. My wife is at the Berkeley Adult School.
8a. Susan is at the Benny’s Restaurant. 8b. Susan is at Benny’s Restaurant.
English Grammar: Step by Step 2 13
P1.f Directions: Write the preposition that describes each drawing.

on
1. The rabbit is ___________________ the box. 5. The rabbit is ___________________ the box.
2. The rabbit is ___________________ the box. 6. The rabbit is ___________________ the box.
3. The rabbit is ___________________ the box. 7. The rabbit is ___________________ the box.
4. The rabbit is ___________________ the boxes. 8. The rabbit is ___________________ the box.

P1.g Directions: Complete each sentence using at, in, on or between.

1. in
I am ___________ Chicago. 9. Luis is ___________ the United States.
2. Adam is ___________ Michoacan. 10. Carlos is not ___________ Texas.
3. Jose is ___________ work. 11. Your books are ___________ the floor.
4. We are not ___________ home. 12. The photo is ___________ the wall.
5. The women are ___________ church. 13. The plates are ___________ the table.
6. Caroline is ___________ the beach. 14. My house is not ___________ Redwood City.
7. The students are ___________ the library. 15. Jose is ___________ Nick’s Pizza.
8. Sam is not ___________ work. 16. The boys are ___________ Mitchell Park.

P1.h Directions: Translate the following sentences.

1. Tus llaves están en la mesa. Your keys are on the table.
2. Mi mochila está en la cocina.
3. Samuel está en la iglesia.
4. Los estudiantes están en la biblioteca.
5. Tus libros están al lado de la lámpara.

14 English Grammar: Step by Step 2

P1.i Directions: Read the paragraph and answer the questions. Use complete sentences. Don’t use
contractions.
Efrain is sad. He is at his apartment but his apartment is empty (vacio). His brother is at work. His mother
and father are also at work. His sisters are at school. His grandmother is in her bedroom. She is sleeping
(durmiendo) because she is sick. His grandfather is at the park. Efrain has two dogs. His dogs are with (con)
his grandfather. Efrain is lonely (solitario). He calls his friend. He feels better (mejor).
1. Where is Efrain? He is at his apartment.
2. Where is his brother?
3. Where are his parents?
4. Where are his sisters?
5. Where is his grandmother?
6. Where is his grandfather?
7. Where are his dogs?

P1.j Directions: Look at Dulce’s busy schedule. Then answer the questions. Use complete sentences. Don’t
use contractions. Check the table on page 12 to see when you need to use the and when you need to omit the.
6:00 a.m. home
7:00 a.m. Silver Gym
8:00 a.m. work
9:00 a.m. work
10:00 a.m. work
11:00 a.m. work
12:00 p.m. Hoppers Restaurant
1:00 p.m. school
2:00 p.m. school
3:00 p.m. school
4:00 p.m. library
5:00 p.m. supermarket
6:00 p.m. home

1. Where is Dulce at 6:00 a.m.? She is at home.

2. Where is Dulce at 7:00 a.m.?
3. Where is Dulce at 8:00 a.m.?
4. Where is Dulce at 12:00 p.m.?
5. Where is Dulce at 1:00 p.m.?
6. Where is Dulce at 4:00 p.m.?
7. Where is Dulce at 5:00 p.m.?
8. Where is Dulce at 6:00 p.m.?

English Grammar: Step by Step 2 15

16 English Grammar: Step by Step 2