Place Before Time at the End of a Sentence — Exercises
Practice the end-position order of English adverbials: place first, then time — I went to the cinema yesterday, we watched a film at home last night.
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I'll meet you ___.
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in the park at six
Place comes before time at the end of a clause.
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I went ___.
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to the cinema yesterday
Place comes before time at the end of a clause.
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We had dinner ___.
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at a nice restaurant
A place expression goes at the end of the clause, after the object.
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I went ___.
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to the gym yesterday
Place comes before time at the end of a clause.
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We watched a film ___.
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at home last night
Place comes before time at the end of a clause.
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They arrived ___.
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at the station at noon
Place comes before time at the end of a clause.
Place Before Time at the End of a Sentence
When a place expression and a time expression both appear at the end of an English sentence, the order is fixed: place first, then time. Many languages allow either order, or prefer time first, which makes 'I went yesterday to the cinema' a very common transfer error. English treats the sequence as a rule, not a stylistic choice.
Place, Then Time
They arrived at the station at noon.
We watched a film at home last night.
Keeping a Place Phrase Together
A place expression is a single unit — nothing may be inserted inside it.
I'll meet you in the park at six.
Time at the Beginning
A time expression can also move to the front of the sentence for emphasis. A place expression usually cannot.
With manner as well, the full order is manner → place → time: She sang beautifully in the garden last night.
Common Mistakes
✗ They arrived at noon at the station. → ✓ They arrived at the station at noon.
✗ We watched a film last night at home. → ✓ We watched a film at home last night.
Last updated: · Satori Editorial