Easy reading - "I'm Going With You"

Dear students,

Here is an easy dialogue. Please read it and do exercises. Before you start reading and answer the questions, read the words below. You are on your own here. You have to read and understand everything.

Irena

Nouns                Verbs                Other

time                    starve            it is=it's

lunch                   go                I am=I'm

pound                have              you are=you're

shake                like                what       

thanks                want              where

luck                    lose               why

coffee                get                too

hamburger                                well

Mc Donald's                            with

calorie                                but

diet                                    chocolate

French fries                               certainly

Big Mac                                a lot of

Explanation of some new words:

pound - lb. "I need to buy 5 pounds of potatoes".

a shake is a drink with milk, ice cream and flavor. To make a shake you blend or shake everything together. Example, "strawberry shake".

"to starve" has a literal meaning "to die of hanger". Example, "I'm starving". It usually means "I'm very hungry".

"me too" is a short way of saying "Iam too"or "I do too".

"French fries" - - plural, we have to say "they"

"getting" here means "eating" or "ordering"

"certainly" is the same as "sure", it's a positive answer. 

Now, please, read the dialog very carefully"

Maria and Pedro are computer programmers. They work for the telephone company and are very good friends. They often eat lunsh together. Maria is going on a diet. She loves French fries, but she can't eat them because of her diet.

Pedro: What time is it?

Maria: It's twelve o'clock

Pedro: I'm starving!

Maria: Me too.

Pedro: I'm going to lunch.

Maria: Where are you going?

Pedro: To Mc Donald's

Maria: Good. I'm going with you.

Pedro: What are you having for lunch?

Maria: A hamburger and coffee.

Pedro: With French fries?

Maria: No French fries for me.

Pedro: Why not? You like French fries.

Maria: Yes, but  they have a lot of calories.

Pedro: Are you on a diet?

Maria: Yes, I want to lose 20 pounds.

Pedro: Good luck!

Maria: Thanks. What are you getting? 

Pedro: A Big Mac, French fries and a chocolate shake.

Maria: Well, you're certainly noton a diet.

After you read and understand everything, please do these exercises.

TRUE or FALSE. Write T or F.

____ 1. Maria and Pedro are going to Burger King to eat.

____ 2. Maria and Pedcro are going to dinner.

____ 3. They're very hungry.

____ 4. Maria doesn't like French fries.

____ 5. Maria gets a chocolate shake.

____ 6. Pedro is on a diet.

____ 7. Maria wants to lose weight.

____ 8. French fries have many calories. 

FILL IN THE BLANKS. Complete the sentences with one of the following words or phrases.

hamburger   eat    lose     good luck     diet     chocolate shake

1.  We _____________ lunch at 12:30.

2.  Gloria is drinking a ________________.

3.  Jack weights 230 pounds. He's on a ____________.

4.  He wants to ______________ weight.

5.  I buy a lottery ticket every day, but I never have ___________.

6.  Bob is cooking a __________________.

starving      a lot of       Big Mac      getting      calories      going to

7.  A chocolate shake has many ____________.

8.  Carmen and Bill are _____________ Mc Donald's for lunch.

9.  Betty is _____________ French fries.

10. Ray is having a ______________.

11. Susan wants to eat now. She is ______________.

12. A thousand dollar is _______________ money.

Prepositions AT, IN and ON (with time)

Dear students,

We have to learn some grammar about prepositions AT, ON and IN with TIME. 

Today you are going to read this post slowly and carefully. Make sure you understand everything. If you don't understand anything, go back to the beginning of the post and start reading again.

You have to memorize all the grammar rules. After you do this, start practicing and do some exercises I posted here for you.

If you have any questions, please, ask me. I will gladly answer them. Hope you will understand this grammar.

Learn more and have fun.

Irena

You have to understand the rules about prepositions at, on and in. So, we use some rules for prepositions:



Rule #1:

Preposition "ON" is used with days and dates:

I will see you on Monday.
The week begins on Sunday.
I have an appointment on the 15th of the month.
I'm going to have an exam on May 2nd.
She was born on September 21st, 1980.




Rule #2:
Preposition "AT" is used with hours and minutes:

My plane leaves at 10:45.
The movie starts at 6 p.m.




Remember:

We also use at for a particular time of the day:
at lunch time (At lunch time we talk a lot)
at sunset (We will be having dinner on the deck at sunset)
at noon (My class is at noon)
at midday (At midday my child has a nap)
at night (At night it's colder here)
at midnight (He goes to bed at midnight)


Rule #3:

Preposition "In" is used with with months, years, seasons and centuries:

He likes to read in the afternoon.
The days are long in August.
The book was published in 1999.
The flowers will bloom in spring. 
Queen Elizabeth the second was born in the twentieth century. 


Remember:

We also use in when we talk about 3 parts of the day - morning, afternoon and evening. So we say: in the morning, in the afternoon, in the evening.

We are going out in the evening.
He takes a shower in the morning.
I work in the afternoon.

Here there is some useful information about this subject. Please, read carefully.

Additional Information (click here)


Here are some Exercises. Click on them and do, please.

Ex. 1

Ex. 2 

Ex. 3 

Ex. 4 

Ex. 5 

So, we use:


AT for HOURS AND MINUTES and a SPECIFIC TIME

IN for MONTHS, YEARS, SEASONS and CENTURIES

ON for DAYS and DATES



AT                                     IN                                                  ON

HOURS and MINUTES     MONTHS, SEASONS                  DAYS and DATES and SPECIFIC TIME          YEARS and CENTURIES     


at 3 o'clock                       in May                                      on Sunday

at 10:30 am                     in the summer                           on Tuesdays

at noon                            in the winter                             on 6 March

at midnight

at night

at dinnertime                   in 1990                                     on 25 Dec. 2010

at bedtime                       in the 1990s                             on Christmas Day

at sunrise                        in the next century                    on Independence
                                                                                     Day

at sunset                         in the Ice Age                           on my birthday

at the moment                 in the past/future                      on New Year's Eve




Look at these examples:


I have a meeting at 9 am.

The shop closes at midnight.

Jane went home at lunchtime.

In England, it often snows in December.

Do you think we will go to Jupiter in the future?

There should be a lot of progress in the next century.

Do you work on Mondays?

Her birthday is on 20th of November.

Where will you be on New Year's Day?



Please, think about why we use this preposition. If you don't know or don't remember, look at the rules above again.


Notice the use of the preposition of time AT in the following standard expressions. Try to memorize these expressions.

AT NIGHT 
The stars shine at night.

AT THE WEEKEND 
I don't usually work at the weekend. 

AT CHRISTMAS/EASTER
I stay with my family at Christmas.


AT THE SAME TIME
We finished the test at the same time.

AT PRESENT
He's not home at present. Try later.



Notice the use of the prepositions of time IN and ON in these common expressions:


IN                                                          ON

in the morning                                 on Tuesday morning

in the mornings                               on Saturday mornings

in the afternoon(s)                          on Sunday afternoons

in the evening(s)                             on Monday evening



REMEMBER:

When we say last, next, every and this we do not use prepositions at, in and on.


I went to London last June.
(not in last June)

He's coming back next Tuesday.
(not on next Tuesday)

I go home every Easter.
(not at every Easter)

We'll call you this evening.
(not in this evening)

Here is another interesting video about Prepositions if Time. 
Please, watch it. Take notes. Make sure you understand everything.



Here is a poster to remind you about the rules of how and when to use these prepositions.

If you have any questions, please, ask me. I would be happy to answer them and explain even some more!

Here are 2 exercises to practice prepositions:

Ex. 1
Ex. 2

Hope, you've learned these prepositions!