Greetings everybody, my name is Francisco.
I have got a bit of trouble to understand the differences betwen the following list of prepositions: In, inside, within, interior
Out, outside, exterior.
I thank you all in advance for all of your kind assistance.
“Interior” and “exterior” are not prepositions. The are nouns and are sometimes used as adjectives.
“In” and “inside” usually mean the same thing when “inside” is a preposition. When “inside” is used as an adverb, the situation is completely different.
“Out” and “outside” usually mean the same thing when they are prepositions. When they are used as an adverbs, the situation is completely different.
Please tell us your native language and give us some examples of what confuses you. If you’re too vague, it’s hard to help you.
My native language is Spanish, thanks so much for your help.
What would be the meanings in each case, my problem is that when I need to use any of them it`s not easy for me as to decide which of them to choose, for example:
“I have decided to repaint the inside of the house”
“My wife wants me to rather paint the exterior”
Those would be my main options, wonder if had taken the correct decisions in selecting the appropriate words.
“I am inside the house” or “I am in the house”
Moreover, I trully want to learn English the best way I possibly can, and by getting to know the meaning and usage of different kind of words, will enable me to achieve my goal.
“I have decided to repaint the inside of the house.” – This is correct, and “inside” is a noun here. You could also have chosen “interior”, but it would have sounded more formal.
“My wife wants me to paint the exterior instead.” – “Exterior” is a noun here, and it is more formal than the noun “outside”, but you could have said she wants you to paint “the outside”.
“I am inside the house,” and, “I am in the house,” are the same thing. It makes no difference which one you choose.
What country do you live in, by the way?
I live in Zihuatanejo, Guerrero, Mexico. I lived in Detroit, Michigan for about 17 years up until last year when I came back to Mexico. I took English classes (ESL)for about year and a half in Livonia back in 1992
What would be the difference if I used both out and outside as prepositions? Can they be used interchangeably?
Not in most cases, no.
Take a look at these uses of ‘outside’ as a preposition:
Situated or moving beyond the boundaries of (a room, building, or other enclosed space)
Examples:
there was a boy outside the door
the dog was still barking outside
outside, the wind was as wild as ever
‘Out’ could not be used in the above cases.
Situated beyond the boundaries of (a particular location)
Vincennes, just outside Paris
those in the occupied territories and those outside
‘Out’ could not be used in the above cases.
Not being a member of (a particular group)
those of us outside the university
‘Out’ could not be used in the above cases.
(in football, soccer, and other sports) Closer to the side of the field than (another player)
Swift appeared outside him with Andrews on his left
‘Out’ could not be used in the above cases.
Beyond the limits or scope of / not part of something
the high cost of shipping has put it outside their price range
You may do as you wish outside working hours.
You could use ‘out of’ instead of ‘outside’.
Thank you for the explanation. Is “out of” considered a preposition? I was looking at the dictionary and it falls under adverb. e.g. to go out of town.
That’s right -but it is the only way to use ‘out’ in those last examples.
please help me to answer :
[color=blue][size=150] * Look! the book is … the bag.[/size]
[color=blue][size=150] ( there _ inside_ out )[/size]
Hello Pansy,
Welcome to the forums.
We try to encourage learners to have a go at the questions themselves rather than just provide an answer. Working it out helps the learning.
Which of the three words do you think belings there, and why?
[color=blue]Hello Beeesneees,
[color=blue]How are you ?
[color=blue][size=150]
I Think the answer is (Look! The book is out the bag)[/size]
[color=blue][size=150] Because of the exclamation mark,This means there is present in the right place.[/size]
Hello Pansy,
Using ‘out’ would require ‘of’. like this:
The book is out of the bag.
The exclamation mark only indicates surprise.
These two are not correct - they don’t make sense:
Look! The book is out the bag.
Look! The book is there the bag.
The only possible correct answer is ‘inside’:
Look! The book is inside the bag. - The speaker is surprised to find the book in the bag.
[b][color=blue][size=150]I felt it show me the correct answer is inside, but I was not sure.
Thank you very much for your cooperation with me.[/size][/b]