he is travelling in the 8 o'clock train

First Conditional: Examples, Sentences, Exercises

Download free lesson PDF

When do we use the first conditional?

We use the first conditional to talk about results of possible future conditions. Here are some example sentences:

• If it’s sunny tomorrow, I’ll go to the beach.
• If it rains tomorrow, I’ll stay home.
• If she studies hard, she will pass the exam.
• If you finish your chores, you can watch TV.
• If we don’t get to the airport on time, we’ll miss our flight.
• If he doesn’t call me soon, I’ll send him a text message.
• If you save money, you’ll be able to afford that new phone.
• If the restaurant isn’t too crowded, we’ll have dinner there tonight.

Download this lesson

Parts of a first conditional sentence

There are two parts to a first conditional sentence:

• the condition (sometimes called the “if clause”)
• the result  (sometimes called the “main clause”)

It is possible to reverse the condition and the result, with no change in meaning:

• If you don’t study, you’ll fail.
• = You’ll fail if you don’t study.
• If I wake up early enough tomorrow, I’m going to make a big breakfast.
• = I’m going to make a big breakfast if I wake up early enough tomorrow.

Note that when the “if clause” (condition) comes first in the sentence, we use a comma after it. However, when the result comes first in the sentence, then we don’t use a comma between the two clauses.

How to form the first conditional

Pay close attention to the correct verb forms in the condition and result:

CONDITION:  if + subject + present simple

• If we go to the party tomorrow,
• If you don’t leave work soon,
• If she gets promoted,
• If he doesn’t read the textbook,

RESULT:  subject + simple future (will / won’t, going to / not going to)

• we’ll have a good time.
• you’ll get stuck in rush hour traffic.
• she’s going to earn more money.
• he won’t understand the class.

Even though BOTH events are in the future, we always use the simple present  in the condition (“if-clause”).

Avoid the common error of using the simple future in the condition:

• If we will go to the party tomorrow, we’ll have a good time.
• If we  go  to the party tomorrow, we’ll have a good time.
• If it won’t rain tonight, I’ll go for a walk.
• If it doesn’t rain tonight, I’ll go for a walk.

Both the condition and the result can be positive or negative (with “not”):

• If you take the train, you ‘ll get there faster. (positive condition – positive result)
• If you don’t take the train, you ‘ll have to drive. (negative condition – positive result)
• If you take the train, you won’t get stuck in traffic. (positive condition – negative result)
• If you don’t take the train, you won’t need to buy a train ticket. (negative condition – negative result)

First Conditional Quiz

Variations in first conditional sentences, alternative words to “if” in the condition.

It is possible to use other words instead of  if  in the “condition” part of first conditional sentences:

Let’s study each case separately.

WHEN: When the “condition” will definitely happen in the future.

Look at the difference between these two sentences:

• If I see Sam, I’ll give him your message. (I’m not sure if I will see him or not)
• When I see Sam, I’ll give him your message. (I will definitely see Sam)

AS SOON AS: To emphasize immediacy.

• My feet hurt! As soon as I get home, I’m going to take off these high heels.
• As soon as we have enough money saved, we’ll take a vacation to Costa Rica. We can’t wait!
• I’ll respond to your e-mail as soon as I can.

UNLESS: Substitute for “if not.”

• You won’t lose any weight unless you start eating healthier food. = You won’t lose any weight if  you  don’t start eating healthier food.
• I’m not going to dance unless somebody invites me. = I’m not going to dance if somebody doesn’t invite me.
• Unless there’s an emergency at work, I’ll be home on time. = If there’s not an emergency at work, I’ll be home on time.

Alternative words to will / going to in the result

Instead of will / going to, we can use modal verbs like can, might, could, or  should . Compare these two sentences:

• If you go out in the rain, you  will  get wet. (100% certain)
• If you apply for that university, you might/could be accepted. (not 100% certain)

Use  can  in the result of first conditional sentences to give permission / prohibition:

• If you finish your homework, you can watch TV for an hour.
• If you don’t have a ticket, you can’t get into the theater.

Use might/ could  to express a possibility that is not a certainty:

• If he gets home from work early, we could go for a walk before dinner.
• If you try to lift that heavy weight, you  might  hurt yourself.

Use  should  to give advice if the condition happens:

• If your toothache doesn’t get better soon, you should  see a dentist.
• If they go to New York next week, they  should visit the Statue of Liberty.

First Conditional vs. Other Conditionals

First conditional vs. zero conditional.

The zero conditional describes GENERAL truths and facts. Both the condition and result are in the simple present:

• When it rains, the ground gets wet. (it is a general fact/truth)
• If I’m late to school, the teacher always yells at me. (this ALWAYS happens)

The first conditional describes a specific event that will/might happen in the future IF a future condition happens. The condition is in the simple present tense, and the result is in the simple future tense:

• If it rains tomorrow, I’m going to stay home.
• If I’m late to school today, I’ll miss an important test.

First Conditional vs. Second Conditional and Third Conditional

Both the second conditional and third conditional describe IMAGINARY situations.

In the second conditional , we are imagining the result if the present were different:

• If I were a millionaire, I would buy a sports car. (but the reality is that I AM NOT a millionaire, so I’m not buying that car)

In the third conditional, we are imagining the result if the past had been different:

• If I had taken the earlier train, I would have gotten to work on time. (but the reality is that I DID NOT take the earlier train, so I did not get to work on time)

The first conditional describes REAL future results/possibilities that will happen if the condition happens. Compare these conditional sentences:

• First conditional: If I have some free time this weekend, I will read a book. (it’s a real possibility that I’ll have some free time and read a book)
• Second conditional:  If I had more free time, I would take dance classes. (this is just imaginary – the reality is that I don’t have much free time, so I’m not taking dance classes)
• Third conditional:  If I ‘d had more free time yesterday, I would have cleaned the house. (imaginary – the reality is that I didn’t have free time yesterday, so I didn’t clean the house)

Learn more about the first conditional with this tutorial

Master the details of English grammar:

More Espresso English Lessons:

About the author.

Shayna Oliveira

Shayna Oliveira is the founder of Espresso English, where you can improve your English fast - even if you don’t have much time to study. Millions of students are learning English from her clear, friendly, and practical lessons! Shayna is a CELTA-certified teacher with 10+ years of experience helping English learners become more fluent in her English courses.

Present Tenses

Present simple, present continuous, present perfect/continuous..

Here are the most common uses for the present tenses:

Present simple For timetables: The train leaves at 6:30 . And for unchanging situations: It never snows in Malta.

Present continuous For actions that happen around the time of speaking: I’m looking for a new job . And for fixed arrangements in the future: He is flying to London tomorrow.

Present continuous – get For gradual developments get is used in the present continuous: Winters are getting longer.

Present continuous – always When expressing irritation: He is always playing games on his phone.

Present perfect To talk about results/consequences of a past activity in the present: He can't ride his bike. He's broken his leg.

Present perfect continuous For an action which started in the past and continues to the present with emphasis on duration: I've been trying to contact them for an hour.

State verbs and present tenses We don't normally use love, hate, like, believe, know, prefer, realise, suppose, want, appear in the continuous tenses. I believe you . NOT I am believing you.

The verbs think, taste, smell, see, look, smell feel and have can have continuous tenses but there is a difference in the meaning.

I think he is unhappy – (I believe) BUT I'm thinking of moving to another city – (I'm considering)

Now select the right tense for these sentences.

Lesson by Tristan

• 1) He ___(move) to a new apartment next week. is moving moves has moved
• 2) Now that they have a child, John and Mary ___(look) for a new place to live. have been looking are looking look
• 3) The flight ___(arrives) at nine o'clock tomorrow. Has arrived arrives is arriving
• 4) Travelling ___(get) more and more affordable. is getting gets has been getting
• 5) Peter and Jane ___(think) of getting married. think are thinking have thought
• 6) I ___(try) to find a good second hand car for a month now. have been trying try am trying
• 7) ___(they/wait) long? do you wait are you waiting have you been waiting
• 8) He ___(buy) a new boat next week. has bought is buying buys
• 9) My neighbours ___(always/have) parties till late into the night. I can't get a good night's sleep. always have are always having have always had
• 10) He ___(not/be) to work for three days now. is not is not being has not been
• 11) My brother ____(study) to become a doctor so I hardly see him these days. studies is studying has studied
• 12) I ___(read) a really good book at the moment. have read read am reading

• Lesson Index

Seven Letters

English language Schools

Eight O’Clock by Alfred Edward Housman: Summary and Critical Analysis

An unpleasant event was about to happen. The hour was quite near against his desire. He stood and counted the quarter strike. It was four. He therefore cursed his luck because he could do nothing to protect himself from the unhappy thing. Then the clock gathered all its strength and struck eight.

Housman always looks at the dark side of life with muffled sadness and melancholy. In this poem, the protagonist is directly confronted with the consciousness of the running time when he is in the form of the tower. Time arouses the people in the morning. Every person feels he is limited in time. The protagonist here is aware, that is coming hear- his time of departure from the world. Time becomes stronger as a man becomes weaker in this world.

The man curses his luck of being a mortal man. Time gathers its maximum strength when it strikes human beings. Eight o’clock in the morning was his time to be struck. It is a rhymed poem with classical restraint of emotion, the word ‘struck’ signifies the striking sound of the clock and it also means the striking of the protagonist to death by the hand of time. The time is a never ending process. Nothing in this world exists forever. Everything falls into the cruel grip of time and melts forever. The protagonist also realizes this. He feels that he is limited in time. And he is aware that his deportation from this world is coming near. Every fifteen minutes the clock makes sound for men. Time becomes stronger as a man becomes weaker in this mortal world. So the protagonist curses his luck of being a mortal man. The poem might be trying to tell us the feeling of the person who is going to face a terrible thing. At that moment he is so much conscious of time. To him every second is important. He lives every second restlessly being conscious of every moment. He may be going to be hanged or he may be undergoing a terrible experience.

Housman’s ‘Eight O’clock’ is an alliterative poem. The poem moves rhythmically towards the climax. It is a rhymed poem with classical restraint of emotion with chosen symbols and phrases. The alliteration begins in the first line and ends in the last. ‘Stool’, ‘steeple’, ‘sprinkle’, ‘strapped’, ‘cursed’, ‘strength’ and ‘struck’ make for a satisfying musical pattern. ‘Struck’ signifies the ticking sound of the clock, and it also signifies the striking of the protagonist to death by the hand of time. It is a classically finished poem, free from the usual sentimentalism of Housman’s time. In texture and austerity it is nearer to metaphysical poetry.

Literary Spotlight

Loveliest of Trees

To an Athlete Dying Young Man

Biography of Alfred Edward Housman

Exercise on Simple Present - Present Progressive

Complete the sentences. Use Simple Present and Present Progressive.

• Look! Jenny (go) to school.
• She (wear) a raincoat and wellies and she (carry) an umbrella.
• Jenny usually (cycle) to school, but today she (take) the bus because it (rain) .
• The bus (leave) at 7.35 and (arrive) at Jenny's school at 7.45.
• The first lesson (begin) at 8 o'clock.

Academia.edu no longer supports Internet Explorer.

To browse Academia.edu and the wider internet faster and more securely, please take a few seconds to  upgrade your browser .

Enter the email address you signed up with and we'll email you a reset link.

• We're Hiring!
• Help Center

The eight o'clock train

The story features the trip of a young student, a former seaman, by mail train from Athens to Salonica on a cold February night in mid-seventies. The nightlong journey ignites memories and reflections, which follow the events of that era. At the crossroads of his life, he concentrates his thoughts on what he knows and what has done so far with a glimmer of hope. Will the city embrace him or push him away?

Related Papers

Dictionary of Sydney

Rachel Franks

Journal of Social and Cultural Geography

Laura Watts

Current theories concerning the social and material construction of time and space have little to say concerning the specific things and people involved. For example, how do times and spaces get made on a train—with passengers, train seats, tables, and views through the window? Through a travelogue of one train journey across England, this paper explores the art and craft of train travel, and the making of a particular time and space. The paper draws together science studies approaches to socio-material relations, and geographical concerns with socio-spatiality, to discuss passengers as spatially distributed persons and property. Reflecting on ethnographic evidence in the form of quotations and photographs woven through the text, it demonstrates how these heterogeneous passengers craft their travel times as an effect of their travel time use; how socio-material interactions with pens, papers, puzzles and electricity pylons make time. Following Michel Serres, it also suggests how passenger time is not a simple flow but a percolation, and how these passenger times coalesce in train carriages to form communities. The paper is itself a journey, in the form of words and images, which begins and ends with the imaginary, social, and material work of making a destination.On peut douter de la pertinence des théories actuelles relatives à la construction sociale et matérielle du temps et de l'espace concernant les objets et personnes dont il s'agit. Par exemple, comment constitue t'on les temps et espaces sur un train en tenant compte des passagers, des sièges de train, des tables et du panorama ? À partir d'un journal de voyage en train à travers l'Angleterre, cet article explore l'art et le métier de voyager en train ainsi que la constitution d'un temps et d'un espace. L'article met en parallèle les approches en études des sciences avec les relations socio-matérielles et les préoccupations géographiques avec la socio-spatialité, afin d'aborder les passagers comme des personnes et des biens qui sont spatialement distribués. Des citations et photographies insérées dans le corps du texte donnent un aperçu des données ethnographiques qui permet de démontrer comment ces passagers hétérogènes conçoivent le temps du voyage en fonction de l'usage qu'ils font du temps laissé pour voyager; et comment les interactions socio-matérielles avec les stylos, le papier, les puzzles et les pylônes électriques font passer le temps. De plus, à l'instar de Michel Serres, l'article indique comment le temps pour les passagers n'est pas un simple flux mais une percolation et comment ces temps fusionnent dans les wagons de train pour former des communautés de passagers. L'article est en soi un périple sous forme de mots et d'images qui commence et se termine par le travail imaginaire, social et matériel nécessaire pour parvenir à destination.Resumen: la teoría actual sobre la construcción social y material del tiempo y el espacio no tiene mucho que decir sobre las cosas y personas específicas de que se trata. Por ejemplo, ¿cómo se producen los tiempos y espacios en un tren?—¿con pasajeros, asientos, mesas y vistas a través de la ventana? Mediante un documental sobre un viaje en tren por Inglaterra, este papel explora el arte de viajar en tren y la creación de un tiempo y espacio específico. El papel une enfoques de estudios de la ciencia con relaciones sociomateriales, y preocupaciones geográficas con socioespacialidades, para hablar de pasajeros como personas y propiedad espacialmente distribuidas. Reflexionando sobre las pruebas etnográficas en la forma de comentarios citados y fotografías entretejidos por el texto, se pone de manifiesto el modo en que estos pasajeros heterogéneos construyen su tiempo de viaje como un efecto de su uso del tiempo de viaje; el modo en que las interacciones sociomateriales con bolígrafos, papeles, puzzles y torres de alta tensión crean el tiempo. Siguiendo Michael Serres, las pruebas también sugieren que el tiempo del pasajero no es un simple flujo sino una difusión, y que estos tiempos de pasajero se unen en los vagones de los trenes para formar comunidades. El papel mismo es un viaje, en la forma de palabras e imágenes, que comienza y termina con el trabajo imaginario, social y material de crear un destino.

Studies in Eastern European Cinema

Luboš Ptáček

Verity Norman-Tichawangana

De Gruyter eBooks

Alexandra Patrikiou

Marci Calabretta

Journal of Academic Studies in World Languages, Literatures and Translation (WOLLT)

Tuba BAYKARA

August Wilson's play, Two Trains Running is the seventh play of his Century Cycle which chronicles black people's experiences in American society. Since the structure and dynamics of each society are distinctive, the experiences of individuals belonging to that society are naturally shaped by these factors. The complicated relationship between societal norms, values, and power structures play a pivotal role in shaping the individual and collective experiences in society. In that respect, the social practices of black people in American society are notably outstanding as they have been subjected to slavery and segregation through systematic racism. Ideologically, racism has been used as a strategic tool to control the black people, who were pushed out of social boundaries because of their skin color and to sustain the white dominance for economic and politic reasons. Significantly, black authors have tried to be the voice of the oppressed black people on the literary arena and considered the theater as a way of resistance. Based on the societal awareness aroused by black authors, this study analyzes the struggle of black people in Wilson's Two Trains Running. Drawing attention to the significant fact that black people are the members of the white society with their loyalty to their own cultural values and their African-American identity, Wilson is an antiracist playwright. Relatedly, the central focus of this study is the ways of coping with the unequal, unfair and discriminative practices of the white supremacy.

Benjamin Fraser

Juliet Jain

It is evident to the casual observer travelling on the British rail network that fellow travellers are occupying their time with a range of activities–including work. The significance of such time use has tended to be overlooked in transport studies and in the economic assessment of time spent travelling and investment in measures to save such time. In transport studies, travel has traditionally been seen as a derived demand (Tipping, 1968)–derived from the need or desire to participate in activities that are taking place elsewhere.

The Sage International Encyclopedia of Travel and Tourism

RELATED PAPERS

Physical Review B

Eric Sieverts

The New England …

Mario Rizzetto

Robert Colwell

gonçalo Borrecho

Nephrology, dialysis, transplantation : official publication of the European Dialysis and Transplant Association - European Renal Association

Francesco Casino

Diabetes Research and Clinical Practice

Shahed Alam

Gary Palmer

Maria Jose Guerra Paniagua

RIDE revista iberoamericana para la investigación y el desarrollo educativo

Concepción del Socorro Medrano Madriles

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health

Marios Argyrides

Zeitschrift für Religion, Gesellschaft und Politik

Meike Haken

Journal of South American Earth Sciences

Alexandra Alvarado

Urban Geography

McArthur Damis

Zeitschrift für Naturforschung B

Ashutosh Pandey

Lecture Notes in Computer Science

Sergi Figuerola

DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals)

International Ophthalmology

Bhavik Panchal

JMIR human factors

Theory and Foundations of Modeling and Simulation (TMS 2019)

Hessam Sarjoughian

Archaeological Review from Cambridge

Adnan Kaljanac , Jesenko Hadžihasanović

Perspectivas em Análise do Comportamento

Niklas Törneke

Forestry Bulletin

Zoltán Pásztory

Psychiatric Services

RELATED TOPICS

•   We're Hiring!
•   Help Center
• Find new research papers in:
• Health Sciences
• Earth Sciences
• Cognitive Science
• Mathematics
• Computer Science
• Academia ©2024

• BOOK COURSES
• Active Courses
• Homestay Courses Private
• B2 Upper Intermediate Exercises
• B1 Intermediate Exercises
• A2 Pre-Intermediate Exercises
• A1 Elementary Exercises
• Phrasal & Multi-Word Verb Exercises
• Learn English Grammar
• ESL Worksheets + Answers
• Word Search Puzzles
• Learn Idioms

PREPOSITIONS OF TIME – AT / ON / IN

Online EXERCISES with in, on, at for time / Worksheet PDF

WHEN TO USE AT FOR TIME

• I went to the doctor at 8 o’clock this morning.
• The shops open at 9 a.m.
• I go to bed at midnight.

Although we use AT for an exact or precise time, some phrases do not follow the rule so we also say:

• I play tennis at the weekend.
• He doesn’t work at night.    (Note!!! We say in the morning / in the afternoon / in the evening)
• At Christmas, we spend a lot of time with our family.  (At is used here to the mean the time of the Christmas holidays not Christmas Day. For the day itself, we must say, “on Christmas Day”.
• I’m not working a lot at the moment.
• At the end of the lesson, the teacher gives homework to the students.

Prepositions of Time (at / on / in)

WHEN TO USE ON FOR TIME

• The children are going to the cinema on Monday.
• On Fridays, I go to the gym. (This means, I go to the gym every Friday.)
• I always have a party on my birthday.
• Valentine’s day is on the 14th of February.
• REMEMBER to put THE before date. I went there on THE 5th of July.

WHEN TO USE IN FOR TIME

• I like to go on holiday in winter.
• My birthday is in April.
• I was born in 1995.
• I don’t work in the evening.
• I’m going to start my new job in 5 weeks.
• The lesson starts in 5 minutes. (It is now 8.55 a.m. and the lesson will start at 9 a.m.)

REMEMBER! I go to the gym in the afternoon. BUT – On Mon day afternoon, I’m going to the gym. (We use on here because the first time is the DAY).

DO NOT USE AT / ON / IN WITH THE FOLLOWING WORDS:

• Every week, I have an English lesson on Monday.
• I had an English lesson last Monday.
• Next Monday, I’m going to have an English lesson.
• I don’t have an English lesson today.
• Tomorrow, I’m going to have an extra English lesson.
• Yesterday, I had an English lesson.

Click here for Prepositions of Time Exercises

Practice exercise: prepositions of time.

Click on the links below for more on prepositions: Learn Prepositions of Place

Learn Prepositions of Movement

Share this Post

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Register to get your text revised right away for FREE ⚡

Today more than 1001 people got their English checked.

By continuing to use this website, you agree to our Terms of Service .

Get a FREE revision 🎁

Register a new account, welcome back, confirm your email.

Please click the link that we've sent to this address to post your question to our experts. Ok, I'll check my email

not your email? Change it now

Set a new email

Here you can set your new address email. Remember to use a valid email address. We will send you an email to confirm your account.

Facebook Login Discontinued

Unfortunately, the Facebook login method has been discontinued.

To access your TextRanch account, please click the "Reset Password" button below and input your Facebook Email. Our team will send you an email with further instructions.

If you don't remember your email, please fill out this form .

Your text is being reviewed by one of our Experts. We will notify you when your revision is ready.

Or wait in this page

Leave this page open, and your corrected text will appear as soon as it's ready!

You need to add a payment method to get our special promo ⚡

Enter your email below to get instant access to the first Chapter of our Ebook

Downloaded more than 1320 times today.

Add payment method

NOTE: Credits are valid for one year.

We're so happy that you liked your revision! Your feedback helps us improve our service. Want more FREE revisions ? 🎁

Step 1 out of 2!

Like us on Facebook by clicking the like button below:

Almost there!

Last step (2/2)

Share TextRanch on Facebook by clicking on the button below.

Congrats! You've just earned 3 credits!

Closing your account will prevent you from accessing your past revisions, and you will no longer be eligible for a FREE daily revision.

There is no cost to keep your TextRanch account, and we store all of your past revisions in a secure and private manner.

Help us understand

If we didn't meet your expectations, we'd really like to know more. Please tell us why you are closing your account:

The best way to perfect your writing.

Discover why 1,026,573 users count on TextRanch to get their English corrected!

1. Input your text below. 2. Get it corrected in a few minutes by our editors. 3. Improve your English!

One of our experts will correct your English.

📝 ️Notes for your editor

Let our editor help you, include background information, explanations of unusual words and special terms, or instructions about specific improvements you want.

"on the eight o'clock train" vs "by the eight o'clock train"

Last Updated: March 31, 2024

on the eight o'clock train

This phrase is correct and commonly used to indicate traveling on the train at that specific time.

• I will meet you on the eight o'clock train platform.
• She always takes the on the eight o'clock train to work.
• He missed the on the eight o'clock train because of traffic.
• They were excited to board the on the eight o'clock train.
• The on the eight o'clock train is usually crowded during rush hour.

Alternatives:

• on the train at eight o'clock
• taking the eight o'clock train
• boarding the train at eight o'clock
• traveling on the eight o'clock train
• catching the eight o'clock train

by the eight o'clock train

This phrase is correct and commonly used to indicate being present or completing an action before the train departs at eight o'clock.

• Make sure you are at the station by the eight o'clock train.
• I need to finish my work by the eight o'clock train departure.
• She always arrives at the station by the eight o'clock train.
• He wanted to buy a ticket by the eight o'clock train time.
• They planned to have breakfast by the eight o'clock train.
• before the eight o'clock train
• prior to the eight o'clock train
• ahead of the eight o'clock train
• in time for the eight o'clock train
• before the departure of the eight o'clock train

Related Comparisons

Thanks to TextRanch, I was able to score above 950 on TOEIC, and I got a good grade on ACTFL OPIC as well. + Read the full interview

I love TextRanch because of the reliable feedback. The editors' comments are helpful and the customer service is amazing. + Read the full interview

TextRanch has helped me to improve my written skills as well as to communicate more naturally, like a local English speaker. + Read the full interview

TextRanch is amazingly responsive and really cares about the client. It's the best online service that I have ever used! + Read the full interview

I started to use TextRanch when I began to learn English. It has been an awesome way to improve my English skills. + Read the full interview

I love that TextRanch editors are real people who revise the text and provide feedback – it makes it so personal. + Read the full interview

I sometimes wonder if my English expressions make sense clearly and TextRanch helps me a lot in such cases. + Read the full interview

TextRanch has been really helpful in improving the flow and repairing the structure of my sentences. + Read the full interview

“Faster than AI"

“This was very helpful and I personally think this site is the best."

“It was extremely thorough and very helpful!"

“7 years without any disappointment. Always 100% satisfied. You guys are the best in the world at what you do. Thank you so much :)"

“In a world of text messages and online communication, this is great to have as a live tool. Thank you."

“Without textranch I would be stuck!"

“Accuracy and fast response. Personal comments from editor. Thank you."

“I wasn't aware of this service, it's fascinating and more reliable than standard IA tools available on the internet"

“The fact that you can get reliable fast feedback on your texts."

“you guys are better than grammarly i'm being honest here"

“OMG! This is really good than any other text correction tools I've used so far. Highly recommend this."

“Very fast and accurate. thank you."

“I love this app because it's help to writing skills all of students ♥️"

“This was exactly the mistake I was looking for, the wording dind´t sound right at first. Better than grammarly!"

“The immediate help that I received was reassuring and very satisfactory. Thanks."

“this helps A LOT for my studies."

“Woow!! I would never have expected such precision! Thank you soooo much!!"

“Real Time Editor and not AI. Many Thanks."

“The very first thing excites me about Textranch is how much your editors care."

“The fact that texts are checked by human editors rather than by AI, etc. I appreciate this!"

“Feel welcome, immediate response, high quality feedback"

“This is the best app that I have ever seen"

“Quick response and got what I intend to say. Grammar correction is excellent because the meaning is retained."

“Excellent, I truly loved this textRanch for quick revision. This textRanch for quick revision is a 10/10 for me."

⚡️Ask our Editor now.

Fresh content for your texts, so you can be more professional.

estimated time: 30 minutes , directly in your inbox

Want to improve your English business writing?

More than 150,000 people like you receive our weekly newsletter to master their English skills!

Why choose TextRanch?

Lowest prices Up to 50% lower than other online editing sites.

Fastest Times Our team of editors is working for you 24/7.

Qualified Editors Native English experts for UK or US English.

Top Customer Service We are here to help. Satisfaction guaranteed!

• Rules/Help/FAQ Help/FAQ
• Members Current visitors
• Interface Language

Follow along with the video below to see how to install our site as a web app on your home screen.

Note: This feature may not be available in some browsers.

• English Only

He left ... the 10 o'clock train.

• Thread starter Frannz
• Start date Jan 17, 2024

• Jan 17, 2024

Hi all, i found this question in a quiz, it's just a regular complete the sentence with the following alternatives He left ... the 10 o'clock train. by toward with from Correct answer was "by". Now I am not a native speaker so preposition always are a little tricky to me. I am aware you should normally use "by" with means of transport such as train but I still chose "with" since it seemed to link better with determinative article. Could you tell me why I am wrong? Does "with" seem like an acceptable answer to you too?  

sound shift

Senior member.

My initial reaction, before I saw the four options, was "on", and I stand by that.  

entangledbank

Yes, 'on' is more likely, but 'by' is possible, not the others.  

Hello Frannz - welcome to the forums! I would say either He left by the 10 o'clock train. or He left on the 10 o'clock train. Like sound shift and entangledbank, I'd be more likely to use "on". I wouldn't use "with".  

Thanks everybody for your feedback! I agree that on sound better than all the other alternatives. Brilliant!  

Generally "with" is used about people in that kind of context. A: Where is Jack? B: He left with Marcel about 6 o'clock. A train is not your buddy that you travel with. - He left by (way of) the 10 o'clock train. That was the method he used to leave. It sounds sort of literary to me and not like something you'd say in conversation but you might read in a book as part of a story.  

Linking the Myths

Because you live on the same planet as I do…

Analysis of “Eight O’Clock” by A.E. Housman

Take a quick look at your watch! Or maybe that clock on your Smartphone! If it ain’t no Eight o’Clock in there… get it to Eight! Okay… that was an intro to this post. Let’s get to the point, and do some down-to-earth analysis of “Eight O’Clock” by A.E. Housman, shall we?

The idea of the poem is simple. Time is the most powerful phenomenon in the world and we human beings have no choice. Death is inevitable and it is the ultimate truth of life. The following four-level analysis of “Eight O’Clock” will help you to better understand this masterpiece written by A.E. Housman.

Four-level Analysis of “Eight O’Clock” by A.E. Housman

Literal comprehension (summary).

Literally, this poem is about a man who is going to be hanged by the steeple in an old English town. He is counting the minutes he is left with few moments until 8 o’clock which is when he will be executed. It is really hard for him to fall asleep knowing that he is going to be executed the next morning. No matter how hard he wanted to live, he could do nothing other than wait for his death. At last, the inevitable happens. The clock strikes eight, and he faces his unfortunate fate.

Interpretation

Although the main character in the poem is shown to be a prisoner, it could be any common man from a normal walk of life. On a deeper level, this poem acknowledges the fact that time controls us and our life and death, seeing how it was the clock chime that decided the prisoner’s time of death/execution. Time is the most powerful force in the universe and everyone is helpless in front of it, irrespective of their wealth and social status.

No matter how much you run after money, fame, and prestige, death is the only ultimate truth of life and there’s no way we can avoid it. We are used to taking everything for granted, even the valuable time that we have at the moment. We don’t realize that we had something until it is gone, such as the time we wasted on something insignificant.

The title of the poem “Eight O’Clock” itself is rather symbolic. It refers to the traditional morning hour of execution in England of centuries past. The striking of the clock and the striking of the head of the prisoner is analogous. The speaker is the poet. The dramatic situation is that an unnamed male prisoner is standing, presumably on a scaffold, and waiting to be executed when the clock in the nearby church steeple tolls eight.

Critical Thinking

The poet deserves appreciation for his amazing music-like composition. The beautiful rhyming in the poem gives the reader a sense of inevitability as well as harmony. The significance of the word “struck” is really deep in the poem as it could mean both the time on a clock and the death execution. However, from a critical perspective, the poem is not able to convince its readers on certain points.

There are two sides to life. There are good times and then there are bad times. But the protagonist. Life is full of both happiness and sadness. Life always comes with death, otherwise, life would lose its significance. There is no point in cursing the almighty god for this natural process of life. Rather than staying there and doing nothing, the protagonist could have done something to change his fate or make his life meaningful before actually facing his death. But he just remained idle waiting for his execution. He seems to have a loser mentality.

Assimilation

Until now, I used to just pass my leisure time on insignificant things that made no sense at all. After reading this poem, I have become more self-aware of what I do and how do I spend my time. Time is limited and we have to make the best use of every second we have. I have come to understand the real meaning behind the age-old proverb “time and tide waits for none”.

But just because we are going to die at one point in life doesn’t mean that we die today. We have to give our best and make every day count. It’s worth citing Steve Jobs here with regard to time: “ If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today? ” Make a habit of asking this question to yourself every morning before you start your day.

Good Luck !

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

8 O‘clock Train

In category.

• Brain Teasers

SEARCH RIDDLES

Share riddle #8248, like riddles.com, link to riddle #8248.

If you would like to use this content on this page for your website or blog, we only ask that you reference content back to us. Use the following code to link this page: <a href="https://www.riddles.com/8248" >8 o‘clock Train Riddle</a>

SUBSCRIBE TO RIDDLES

• Get our Weekly Riddles Round Up sent direct to your email inbox every week!
• The last 7 Riddle Of The Day's ,
• Current Problem of the Week and
• Current Weekly Challenge .

• JOIN RIDDLES
• USER RIDDLES

Have an account?

16 questions

Introducing new   Paper mode

No student devices needed.   Know more

Travelling ___ foot is very difficult.

Their flight leaves ___ 8 o'clock.

I would like to ___ a window seat.

The train ___ at 5 o'clock.

is going to leave

He is travelling ... the 8 o'clock train.

She is afraid of travelling ... plane.

The plane is.......... way to travel.

the fastest

more faster

Bicycles are............ than motorcycles.

Bungee jumping is ________________ riding a bike.

dangerouser than

more dangerous than

the most dangerous

Dad's car is much ---- than mine. (fast)

The turtle is the _______________________ animal

The Burj Khalifa is ___________ building of the world.

taller than

the tallest

A plane is ___________ a bus.

the most comfortable

more comfortable than

comfortabler than

the comfortablest

Renault 4 was ________________car in Colombia.

the economicalest

more economical than

the most economical

economicaler than

Cars are _______ than planes.

more beautiful

the biggest

A car is ... than a bike.

most expensive

more expensive

most economic

more economic

Explore all questions with a free account

Continue with email

Continue with phone