preposition

Prepositions "On," "At," and "In"

A preposition is a word that links a noun, pronoun, or noun phrase to some other part of the sentence.
Prepositions can be tricky for English learners. There is no definite rule or formula for choosing a preposition. In the beginning stage of learning the language, you should try to identify a preposition when reading or listening in English and recognize its usage.
A preposition is used to show direction, location, or time, or to introduce an object.
Here are a few common prepositions and examples.

On

Used to express a surface of something:
I put an egg on the kitchen table.
The paper is on my desk.
Used to specify days and dates:
The garbage truck comes on Wednesdays.
I was born on the 14th day of June in 1988.
Used to indicate a device or machine, such as a phone or computer:
He is on the phone right now.
She has been on the computer since this morning..

At

Used to point out specific time:
I will meet you at 12 p.m.
The bus will stop here at 5:45a.m
Used to indicate a place:
There is a party at the club house.
There were thousand of people at the park.

In

Used for unspecific times during a day, month, season, year:
She always reads newspapers in the afternoon.
In the summer, we have a rainy season for three months.
The new semester will start in january

Common Verb and Preposition Combinations

Verbs and prepositions are also used in common phrases. The verb generally goes in front of the preposition.

Do you agree with the new guidelines?

Do you agree to the new guidelines?

You get what you pay for.

This novel gave me a lot to think about.

It’s easy to fall in love with big, silly dogs.

I have no doubt about the outcome of the vote.

Rock on, dude!

The verb and the preposition may be separated, especially if the sentence is formally written so the preposition isn’t at the end.

Didn’t I warn you about leaving things until the last minute?

To whom does this book belong? (Who does this book belong to?)

Could you please explain this math problem to me?

To explain something to someone is a common phrase which will always be separated by the something.
Some other examples of verb/preposition combinations are ask for, depend on, look after, wait for, rely on, dream on, lead on, do something for someone, be careful of, be careful with, be disappointed by, boast about, complain about, in conclusion, and search for.
 

 

 references :
http://www.talkenglish.com/grammar/prepositions-on-at-in.aspx
http://www.grammarly.com/handbook/grammar/prepositions/9/common-verb-and-preposition-combinations/

Commonly Misused Words And Confusingly Misused Words

Commonly Misused Words

 It is meant to include only words whose misuse is deprecated by most usage writers, editors, and other professional linguists of Standard English. Some of the examples are homonyms or pairs of similarly spelled words that are often confused.

 example of commonly misused words :

1. (Your, You're )  =   You're is a contraction of "you are", and your is a possessive pronoun meaning "belonging to you".

• When driving, always wear your seatbelt.
• Standard: If you're going out, please be home by ten o'clock.

 2. (adverse, averse) = Adverse means unfavorable, contrary or hostile. Averse means having a strong feeling of opposition, antipathy, or repugnance. Merriam-Webster notes that adverse is commonly used as an attributive adjective (before the noun), while "averse" is rarely used in this situation.

• They sailed despite adverse weather conditions.
•  He was averse to taking his medicine .

3.  ( effect, affect)   = An Effect is a result, Affect usually means to alter.Effect can also be a verb that means "to cause (something) to be", while affect as a noun has technical meanings in psychology, music, and aesthetic theory: an emotion or subjectively experienced feeling.

• Temperature has an effect on reaction spontaneity.
• He seemed completely devoid of affect.

4.  (aesthetic, ascetic) = Aesthetic relates to an appealing or unappealing visual look or atmosphere. Ascetic is used to express the avoidance of pleasure due to self-discipline.

• The aesthetics of the building were beautiful.
• Some religions support ascetic practices.

5.   (Than, Then)       =   Than is used for comparisons, Then means it came next. Than is a grammatical particle and preposition associated with comparatives, where then is an adverb and a noun.

•        I like pizza more than lasagna.
•       We ate dinner, then went to the movies.

Confusingly Misused Words 

There are words that cause problems when the speaker is not able to distinguish between them. They are similiar in meaning or pronounciation but can not be used interchangeably.

 1. (Remind, remember) = Remind to cause a person to remember, cause (a person) to think of (someone or something) and Remember to recall to the mind with effort; think of again.

• Remind me to return this book to the library.
• I remember to lock the door.

 2.  (do, make )             = Do (To carry out activities or tasks) and make ( to cause to happen and to create or build something)

• He needs to do his homework.
• Don’t forget to make a list.

3. (Good, Well)            = Good used to modify nouns and linking verbs and well used to modify action verbs

• I have a good idea.
• She is writing a book very well. 

4. (borrow,lend)         = borrow used to take a loan and lend used to give a loan

Can I borrow $20 from you please? I will lend you $20.

 5. (bring, take)         = bring used to carry towards someone or somewhere and take used to carry away from someone or somewhere

• He brings me flowers every week.
• He always takes his brother to hockey games.
   

http://www.noslang.com/spelling.php

http://english-problems.blogspot.co.id/2012/04/confusingly-related-verbs.html?m=1

http://www.gingersoftware.com/content/grammar-rules/verbs/confusing-verbs/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:List_of_commonly_misused_English_words