Short as they are, prepositions are many people's nightmares

介系詞雖然短短的，但它卻是很多人的困擾

because they have different usages and meanings when collocating with different words

因為搭配不同的字，它會有不同的用法以及意思

Such flirty players

容易變心的花心大蘿蔔

Then what should we do? How to learn prepositions?

那要怎麼辦呢? 介系詞到底要怎麼學比較好?

First of all, let's get clear on the definition of prepositions

首先，讓我們來認識一下介系詞到底是什麼

Prepositions describe relationships

介系詞是代表關係的字

After a preposition we'll put a noun, namely the object of the preposition

在後面我們會接上一個名詞，也就是介系詞受詞

The whole unit is called a prepositional phrase

那這一整個我們就叫他為介系詞片語

such as on the floor, in the room, beside the chair

比如說 on the floor, in the room, beside the chair

on, in, beside are prepositions

on, in, beside 就是介系詞

the floor, the room, and the chair are the objects of the prepositions

那 the floor, the room 跟 the chair 就是介系詞後面的受詞

If we put these prepositional phrases in a sentence

若是把這些介系詞片語放在一個句子裡面

they'll have different functions according to different positions

他就會依照放在不同的位置而有不同的作用

If it's after a noun, it's used as an adjective to modify the noun

如果是放在名詞後面，就是作為形容詞修飾名詞

the puppy on the floor

the puppy on the floor

If it's after a be verb, it's used as a complement to modify the noun

如果是放在 be 動詞後面，就是作為補語修飾名詞

The puppy is on the floor

The puppy is on the floor

If it's after a verb, it's used as an adverb to modify the verb

如果是放在動詞後面，就是做為副詞修飾動詞

The puppy sat on the floor

The puppy sat on the floor

Wherever the prepositional phrase is

不管是放在哪裡

it always describes the relationship of the words it modifies

介系詞片語都是在說明與被修飾者之間的關系

the puppy on the floor, the puppy is on the floor, the puppy sat on the floor

在地上的狗，狗在地上，狗坐在地上

Besides nouns, things that can "be used as nouns"

除了接名詞之外，代名詞，動名詞

like pronouns, gerunds and noun clauses, can be put after a preposition

名詞子句這些可以「作為名詞」的也可以接在介系詞後面

and be used as the object of the preposition to form a prepositional phrase

當作介系詞受詞而形成一個介系詞片語

such as "against me"

比如說 against me

a preposition and a pronoun, me

介系詞加上代名詞 me

"without stopping"

without stopping

a preposition and a gerund, stopping

介系詞加上動名詞 stopping

"for what he has done"

for what he has done

a preposition and a noun clause, what he has done

介系詞加上名詞子句 what he has done

There are many common prepositions including at, on, in, from

比較常見的介系詞有很多個，包含 at on in from

...

...

by...with...

by...with...

........

........

to…...(Go on, not over yet, not over yet)

to…... (繼續說阿，還有喔，還有喔)

...........

...........

from.....?

from.....?

(You already said it!) Hahaha really?

(你講過了！) 阿哈哈哈真的嗎？

at, on, in, from, to, for, of, with, by, etc.

at on in from to for of with by 等

Prepositions have many different meanings when collocating with different words

而每一個介系詞跟不同的字搭配都會有很多種不同的意思

Today's video is mainly the basic introduction to prepositions

今天影片主要是介系詞的基本介紹

so we won't explain in detail what different meanings there are under different circumstances

所以不會一個一個詳細地說明在不同的狀況下會有什麼樣不同的意思

As for more detailed lessons, in the future

那詳細的教學，之後

.....

.....

Will we do it? (May...Maybe?)

可能會做嗎? (應...應該吧?)

Today we're gonna talk about top 3 commonly seen prepositions: at, on, in

今天我們要來討論三個最常見的介系詞 at, on 跟 in

and how they describe positions and time

以及他們會如何來點出位置以及時間的關係

These 3 are usually used to describe different kinds of places and time

這三個常常會用來描述各式各樣的時間地點關係

Although you can memorize their collocations one by one

雖然可以一個一個來去背該如何搭配

if you get the hang of prepositions, you can still infer some usages

但是如果你抓到介系詞的感覺，有些用法是可以推測出來的喔

Technically, at, on, in respectively indicates points, surfaces, and spaces

準確來說，at, on, in 有點，面，空間的屬性

Now let's see how to use at, on, in to describe positions and time

那我們就來看一下要如何使用 at, on, in 來描述位置跟時間

When these 3 are used to describe positions, "at" is for a point, "on" for a surface, and "in" for a space

這三個介系詞描述位置時 at 是一個點 on 是一個面 in 是一個空間

"At somewhere" indicates an exact point

at 某地，就是確切的在那個點上

such as at the table, at the bus stop, at the store

比如說 at the table, at the bus stop, at the store 這些明確的地點

"On somewhere" indicates a surface

On 某地，那是在一個接觸面上

such as on the second floor or on the street

比如說 on the second floor 或是 on the street 這一個面上

"In somewhere" indicates a space

In 某地，就是在一個空間內

It can be big as a universe or small as a cup

可以大至宇宙也可以小至一個杯子

such as in the world, in the river, in the room

比如說 in the world, in the river, in the room

But some places can be modified by different prepositions

不過有一些地點可以通用不同的介系詞

In such cases the meanings are a little different

意思上會有一點點微妙的差異

For example

我們來看一下一些例子

Beach 海灘, at or on?

Beach 海灘 應該要用 at 還是 on?

If it's "at the beach," it means the exact location, the beach

如果是 at the beach 就是在海灘的這個地點

If it's "on the beach," it means the surface of the beach

如果是用 on the beach 是在海灘上的這個範圍

Office 辦公室, at or in?

Office 辦公室 應該要用 at 還是 in?

If it's "at the office," it means the exact location, the office

如果是 at the office 是指在辦公室這個地點

If it's "in the office," it means inside the office

如果是 in the office 則是指辦公室裡面

Water 水, on or in?

Water 水 應該要用 on 還是 in?

If it's "on the water," it means upon the surface of the water

如果是 on the water 是指浮在水的表面上

If it's "in the water," it means inside the water

如果是用 in the water 是指在水裡面

You still with me?

大家還聽得懂嗎?

All right?

還可以嗎?

Is it too boring for you?

會不會太無聊?

The following are simpler anyway

好接下來的比較沒有這麼複雜了

When we use these 3 prepositions to describe time

這三個介系詞在描述時間時

"At" indicates precise points in time

at 是一個特定的時間點

"On" indicates certain days or dates

on 則是特定的日子或是日期

"In" indicates long periods

in 則是特定較長的時間

"At a certain time" emphasizes the moment when something happens

At 某時間點，強調事情發生的那一刻

such as at noon, at 6 o'clock

比如說 at noon, at 6 o’clock

"On a certain time" indicates specific dates

On 某時間，表示特定日子或時間

such as on Friday, on April 1st, on Halloween

比如說 on Friday, on April 1st, on Halloween

"In a certain time" describes a longer period of time

In 某時段，是描述較長的一個時間內

such as in the morning, in September, in spring, in 2015

比如說 in the morning, in September, in spring, in 2015

Is that simpler?

有比較不複雜嗎?

Here we have an interesting point in time, weekend

這裡有趣的一個時間點是 weekend

Some say "at the weekend," "on the weekend," while others say "in the weekend"

有人說 at the weekend, on the weekend, 也有人說 in the weekend

When you're not sure which preposition to use

當你不確定要使用哪一個介系詞時

I recommend you go to Google Ngram and check how most people use it

推薦你們使用 Google Ngram 看看大多數人是怎麼使用的

In Google Ngram, you can use commas to separate the collocations you want to compare

到了 Google Ngram 你可以用逗號來分開你想要比較的不同詞語搭配

The search engine will tell you which usage is more common

他會透過搜尋引擎告訴你比較起來，哪一個是比較常見的用法

Here we can tell "on the weekend" is the most common one

這裡我們看得出來，on the weekend 是最常用的

Alright! After all that explanation, do you have a better understanding of prepositions?

好！聽了這麼多，你是否對介系詞有更加了解了呢?

Please say yes

拜託說有

If you like this video, please give me a thumbs up

如果你喜歡這個影片，請幫我點個讚

If you want to see more videos, please click here to subscribe

那如果你想要看到更多的影片，請按這邊的訂閱按鈕

We have new videos up every Mon and Thurs

我們每個禮拜一跟禮拜四都會有新的影片喔

We also have Facebook and Instagram

那我們在 Facebook 跟 Instagram 也都有帳號

You can find us by typing in Ray Du English

可以用 Ray Du English 來搜尋到我們

And that is a wrap, thank you guys for watching as always

And that is a wrap, thank you guys for watching, as always

and I'll catch you guys next time! See ya!

and I’ll catch you guys next time! See ya!