Preposition + noun

1. Common patterns
There are many expressions formed by a preposition + noun, and sometimes a preposition is used with a particular (rieng biet, ngoai le) meaning in a number of expressions, so they are very common.

A book by Stephen King
A film by Steven Spielberg
A song by Elton John
You can go for a walk/ for a drive/ for a run/ for a swim
You can travel by car/ by plane/ by bus/ by train/ by ship/ on foot.
I heard it on the radio/ I saw it on TV/ I spoke to her on the phone.
I went in the afternoon.
I'll see you in a moment.
I'm very busy at the moment.
It's very quiet at night.

2. Fixed expressions
Sometimes it is diffucult to know why a particular preposition is used, and you must learn these as fixed expressions.

I took his pen by mistake. (= I thought it was my pen)
I did all the work by myself. (without help from others)
The shoes are made by hand. (= not by machine)
The workers are on strike. (= they refuse to work because of a problem over pay, hours, etc)
I met them by chance. (= it wasn't planned - it was luck)
The children are on holiday. (= they are having a holiday)
He broke the plate by accident. (= he did not want to do it, it was an error/mistake)
He broke the plate on purpose. (he intended to do it)
There are two million out of work. (without a job)
There were at least fifty people at the party. (= a minimum of 50)
I have a day off. (not work today)

3. In time or On time
Sometimes two prepositions can be used with the same noun, but the meaning is different.

Lessons begin at 8.30 and I always arrive on time. (= at 8.30)
Lessons begin at 8.30 and I always get there in time. (= before 8.30, I'm not late)
In the end we went home. (= finally, after a long period)
At the end of book they get married.
The two men are in business. (= they are businessment)
The two men are in Germany on business.
I'll see you in a moment. (= very soon)
I can't speak to you at the moment. (= right now)

Other samples:
I wrote the reports without any help from anyone else. = by myself.
Did you get to the cinema before the film started? = in time.
Thousands of people are without jobs in my town. = out of work.
She's making a phone call. = on the phone.
I saw the advertisement when I was watching TV last night. = on TV
It was a very long journey but finally we got there. = in the end
He gets killed in the last scene of the film. = at the end.
I'm afraid I'm very busy right now. = at the moment.
I saw her yesterday but I didn't plan to see her. = by change.


along with + Noun
   _ Along with accounting, I am also majoring in Business Finance.