preposition + article + noun – English Grammar Profiler

In this post, we are looking at more advanced uses of the ‘preposition + article + noun phrase‘ structure.  For example:

I just came on the spur of the moment.

listen

I was just in the mood for a little conversation.

Even Money

My life has been extraordinarily blessed 

with marriage and children and certainly interesting work to do, 

whether it be at the University of Sydney Law School, 

where I served a term as dean, 

or now as I sit on the United Nations Committee

 on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities,

 in Geneva.

TED

Someone‘s in a mood.

listen

Your mother will be over the moon.

listen

For the moment, 

we should follow their example.

Escape from the Planet of the Apes

On the whole, 

a more efficient ship is a quieter ship.

TED

A search in iWeb corpus for:

_I _A _NN

1 AT THE END 1115284 2 IN THE WORLD 1112517 3 AT THE TIME 941972 4 OF THE YEAR 829363 5 AS A RESULT 815540 6 OF THE WORLD 772719 7 AROUND THE WORLD 569912 8 IN THE FUTURE 551723 9 IN THE PAST 498297 10 IN THE MIDDLE 494664 11 AT A TIME 450570 12 AT THE TOP 445463 13 OF THE TIME 425383 14 OF THE DAY 424642 15 OVER THE YEARS 386513 16 OF THE GAME 384392 17 IN THE CASE 373682 18 AT THE UNIVERSITY 371561 19 IN THE AREA 359735 20 FOR A WHILE 341816 21 IN THE END 327057 22 IN THE FORM 325778 23 IN THE COUNTRY 320806 24 IN THE MORNING 319855 25 OF THE CITY 317278

26 IN THE PROCESS 316780 C2

We‘re in the process of getting a business off the ground.

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We‘ve taken the first step in the process.

listen

27 AT THE MOMENT 313936 A2 = NOW or SHORT PERIOD OF TIME

I know 

you don’t have a workshop at the moment, 

but I have a friend here in Los Angeles.

A Nomad River

I‘ll be with you in a moment.

listen

And just for a moment, 

it felt really great.

Trainspotting

28 AT THE BOTTOM 299214 29 IN A WAY 295619 30 IN THE CITY 294266 31 IN THE GAME 278902 32 IN THE FIELD 277458 33 ON THE MARKET 273557 34 BY THE TIME 264237 35 AT THE BEGINNING 258739

36 ON THE ROAD 256885

We‘ve been on the road for two days.

listen

37 IN THE WAY 254838 38 OF THE SEASON 254829 39 IN THE EVENT 253825 40 BY THE END 251191 41 OF THE COUNTRY 250165 42 ON THE GROUND 247291 43 BY THE WAY 245880 44 TO THE POINT 243449 45 OF THE PEOPLE 242907 46 ON THE BACK 234640 47 OF THE COMPANY 234488 48 IN MY OPINION 227975 49 OF THE WEEK 227299 50 ALONG THE WAY 226020

51 OF THE STATE 218672 C1

There have been no stays or reprieves, 

therefore the execution will go forward 

as stipulated under the laws of the State of California.

Listen to this C2 example sentence

52 ACROSS THE COUNTRY 214503 53 IN THE STATE 213963 54 OF THE WAY 212971

55 ON THE INTERNET 209870

Where were you?
On the Net, talking to you.

listen

56 AS A WHOLE 201721 57 TO THE RIGHT 198096 58 OF THE HOUSE 197856 59 ON THE WAY 194440 60 IN THE BACK 193787 61 OF THE BODY 190402 62 IN A VARIETY 189014 63 TO THE TOP 188201 64 TO THE PUBLIC 187286 65 IN THE SUMMER 187153 66 FROM THE UNIVERSITY 184390 67 IN THE AIR 182841 68 FOR THE REST 180075 69 ON THE FLOOR 174113 70 IN THE HOUSE 174055 71 OVER THE WORLD 173872 72 OF THE THINGS 173195 73 ON THE SIDE 168673 74 WITH THE HELP 167926 75 AT THE START 163730 76 TO THE WORLD 163578 77 TO THE END 162965 78 IN THE FACE 160133 79 OVER THE COURSE 159688 80 IN THE INDUSTRY 159680 81 ON THE DAY 157673 82 IN THE MARKET 156715 83 IN THE REGION 156405 84 IN A STATEMENT 155902 85 IN MY LIFE 154843 86 FOR THE PURPOSE 152675 87 IN THE HEART 151503 88 ON THE RIGHT 149489

89 ON THE BASIS 149174 C1

On the basis of what evidence?

listen

90 IN THE COMMENTS 148720 91 IN YOUR LIFE 148657 92 FOR A COUPLE 144866 93 IN THE BODY 144169 94 DURING THE DAY 144063 95 ON THE SITE 144029 96 OF MY LIFE 143768 97 AT THE AGE 143302

98 IN THE COMMUNITY 142466

He collected stuffed animals from people in the community and he put them on display.

listen

99 OF THE CHURCH 141957
100 IN A ROW 141339

Stand out vocabulary at  B2:

basis, community, process, state, statement