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Lesson A2 · Elementary Grammar

A Parcel's Journey: Where Is It Now?

Follow a parcel from a depot to a hallway, distinguish place from movement, answer twelve checks and write three location updates.

6 min read 956 words Updated Nov 10, 2026
A courier hands a parcel to an adult at an open apartment door.
On this page (7 sections)

Track one parcel

You are checking a fictional delivery. Read the six updates in order. Notice when the parcel stays in a place and when it moves. Allow about 25 minutes. A depot is a place where parcels are stored before delivery; a courier delivers them.

The tracking story

At seven, the parcel is on a shelf in the depot. Its label says Flat 4. At eight, a courier takes it from the shelf and puts it into a van. During the journey, the parcel stays in the van beside two boxes. At ten, the van stops outside the building. The courier lifts the parcel out of the van and walks to the front door. At ten past ten, the parcel is at the door with the courier. Nina opens the door and takes the parcel into the hall. At a quarter past ten, it is on a small table in the hall. Nina checks the label before she opens it.

Six stages in words

1 On the shelf in the depot. 2 Moving into the van. 3 In the van during the journey. 4 Moving out of the van. 5 At the front door. 6 On a table in the hall. The numbered diagram shows these same stages; arrows show movement.

Six parcel stages: on a depot shelf, into a van, in the van, out of the van, at the door and in the hall.
Follow the numbered parcel journey. Arrows show movement; captions describe each stage.

Check meaning before grammar

Ask Where is it? for a location. Ask Where does it go? for a destination or movement. At the door does not mean through the door. Into the hall tells you the parcel crosses from outside to inside.

Twelve checks

Your turn 0 of 12 answered

Answer on paper, then open the explanations below. Enable JavaScript to check answers here.

1 Where is the parcel at seven?

Choose one answer.

Answer and explanation

On a shelf in the depot

The first tracking update places it on a shelf in the depot.

2 What does the label say?

Choose one answer.

Answer and explanation

Flat 4

The story explicitly says the label says Flat 4.

3 Who puts the parcel into the van?

Choose one answer.

Answer and explanation

The courier

At eight, a courier takes it from the shelf and puts it into a van.

4 Where does it stay during the journey?

Choose one answer.

Answer and explanation

In the van

During the journey it stays in the van beside two boxes.

5 What happens at ten?

Choose one answer.

Answer and explanation

The van stops outside the building.

The story gives this as the ten o'clock update.

6 Choose the phrase showing movement from inside the van to outside.

Choose one answer.

Answer and explanation

out of the van

Out of describes crossing from inside to outside.

7 The courier walks ___ the front door.

Choose one answer.

Answer and explanation

to

To identifies the destination after walks.

8 At ten past ten, the parcel is ___ the door.

Choose one answer.

Answer and explanation

at

At identifies a position at the door, not a movement.

9 Nina takes the parcel from outside ___ the hall.

Choose one answer.

Answer and explanation

into

Into shows crossing from outside to inside the hall.

10 Where is the parcel at a quarter past ten?

Choose one answer.

Answer and explanation

On a table in the hall

The final update puts it on a small table in the hall.

11 Which event comes immediately before the parcel is at the door?

Choose one answer.

Answer and explanation

The courier takes it out of the van and walks to the door.

The movement from the van to the door happens before the ten-past-ten location update.

12 Which sentence reports only a location?

Choose one answer.

Answer and explanation

The parcel is in the hall.

Is in gives a state or location. Takes into and lifts out of describe movement.

Write three delivery updates

Your turn · self-review

Clear messages

Write one or two sentences for each point. Compare facts and prepositions with the models. Open writing uses self-check, not automatic grading.

Practice only. Your writing stays on this page; it is not submitted or saved.

  1. Model answer and explanation

    The parcel is in the van beside two boxes.

  2. Model answer and explanation

    The courier takes the parcel out of the van and walks to the front door.

  3. Model answer and explanation

    The parcel is on a small table in the hall.

Self-check: Did I choose the correct stage? Is my sentence a location or a movement? Did I use on for a surface, in for an inside position and into or out of for crossing a boundary? Could the reader draw the same scene from my words?

One more transfer

Describe moving a safe everyday object from a desk to a bag. Model: The notebook is on the desk. I put it into my bag. Now it is in my bag. Use a real object if that helps you check the meaning.

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