Prepositions

 Grammar Updates:

Prepositions exercise  --- 91

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Complete the following sentences using appropriate prepositions.

1. She was happy when she got the job. But six months …………………….. she was fired.

2. I prefer the seaside …………………. the mountains.

3. She stopped talking about her illnesses and went ………………… . to tell us about all her other problems.

4. He is inclined ………………………. lose his temper.

5. Children raised by single parents may have difficulty …………………… . forming stable relationships themselves.

6. A crocodile starts life ………………… .. an egg.

7. She was surprised …………………… .. his mistake.

8.  The Managing Director began his address …………………… .. the shareholders by summarizing the results for the year.

9. There tends ………………….. be jealousy when a new little brother or sister comes along.

10. I am going …………………… . a business trip next week.

🟢Answers🟢

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1. She was happy when she got a job. But six months later she was fired.

2. I prefer the seaside to the mountains.

3. She stopped talking about her illnesses and went on to tell us about all her other problems.

4. He is inclined to lose temper.

5. Children raised by single parents may have difficulty in forming stable relationships themselves.

6. A crocodile starts life as an egg.

7. She was surprised at his mistake.

8. The Managing Director began his address to the shareholders by summarizing the results for the year.

9. There tends to be jealousy when a new brother or sister comes along.

10. I am going on a business trip next week.

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Prepositions  --- 92

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Read the following sentences:

🔹There is some water in the bottle.

🔹He is fond of his daughter.

🔹He fell off the ladder.

🔸In sentence 1, the word in shows the relation between two things – water and bottle.

🔸In sentence 2, the word of shows the relation between the adjective fond and the noun daughter.

🔸In sentence 3, the word off shows the relation between the verb fell and the noun ladder.

These words which are used before a noun or a pronoun to show its relationship with another word in the sentence are called prepositions. The noun or pronoun which follows a preposition is called its object. Note that pronouns used after a preposition should be in the objective case.

🔹He is fond of her. (NOT He is fond of she.)

A preposition may have two or more objects.

🔹Between you and me there are few secrets. (Here the pronouns you and me are the objects of the preposition between.)

Kinds of prepositions

There are different kinds of prepositions.

🍁 Simple prepositions

These are words like at, in, for, to, with, on, off, out, etc.

🔹He is in the office.

🔹She sat on the bench.

🔹She is angry with him.

🍁 Compound prepositions

These are words like above, before, behind, below, across, among, around, beside and between. Compound prepositions are generally formed by adding the prefix ‘a-‘ or ‘by-‘ to a noun, an adjective or an adverb.

🍁 Phrase prepositions

These are groups of words that serve as prepositions. Examples are: according to, along with, because of, in front of, by means of, on behalf of, in accordance with, in addition to, with reference to and in spite of.

🔹Owing to his ill health, he retired from business.

🔹He succeeded by dint of perseverance and hard work.

🔹She stood in front of the mirror.

🔹I can’t get along with him.

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Relations shown by prepositions  --- 93

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Prepositions show various kinds of relations. The most important among them are the following:

🍁Place

🔹She ran across the street.

🔹The boy fell among the thorns.

🔹We were at the foot of the hill.

🔹The thief was hiding behind the cupboard.

🍁Time

🔹I have a meeting in the afternoon.

🔹You must return before sunset.

🔹Wait till tomorrow.

🔹We waited for hours.

🍁Method and manner

🔹The letter came by post.

🔹He cut the cake with a knife.

🔹They fought with courage.

🔹They succeeded by hard work.

🍁Reason and Purpose

🔹She died of malaria.

🔹He trembled with anger.

🔹Smoking is injurious to health.

🍁Possession

🔹He is a man of principles.

🔹Mumbai is the financial capital of India.

🔹I saw a boy with red hair.

Direction and Motion

🔹He fell into the well.

🔹He climbed up the tree.

🔹She walked towards the market.

🔹The moon moves around the earth.

🍁Objects of prepositions

🔹The object of a preposition may be a noun, a pronoun, a gerund, an infinitive or a noun clause.

🔹The house was built near a river. (Noun)

🔹She was talking to him. (Pronoun)

🔹We were prevented from entering the house. (Gerund)

🔹What would you like to do besides watch a movie? (Infinitive)

🔹I am content with what I have.  (Noun clause)

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Correct use of some prepositions  --- 94

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Prepositions may be small words, but they are very important ones and their correct use shows your mastery of the language. Here are some hints about the correct use of some prepositions.

🍁Beside and besides

Beside means ‘by the side of’. Besides means ‘in addition to’.

🔹They have a house beside the sea. (by the side of the sea)

🔹He stood beside me. (by my side)

🔹He plays the violin besides the piano and the guitar. (He plays three instruments.)

🔹Besides being a good actor, he is also a good singer. (= In addition to being a good actor, he is also a good singer.)

🍁Since and for

Since should be used with a point of time in the past. It is used with a present perfect tense. For is used only when you refer to a period of time.

🔹He has been absent since Tuesday. (NOT He has been absent for Tuesday.)

🔹I have been ill since last week.

🔹He has been absent for three days. (NOT He has been absent since three days.)

🔹I have been ill for two weeks.

🍁Between and among

Between is used to refer to two or three separate people or things. Among is used when the reference is to a group of people or things which we do not see separately.

🔹She sat among the children.

🔹She sat between Susie and Ann.

🔹This is a custom which exists among the Hindus.

🔹He has a house between the river and the woods.

🍁By and with

By is used to refer to the doer of the action. With is used to refer to the instrument with which the action is performed.

🔹The spider was killed by the boy.

🔹The boy killed the spider with a stone.

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Correct use of prepositions – part II  --- 95

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🍁In and At

In is usually used with large places – countries, districts, large cities etc. At is generally used for small and unimportant places like villages, small towns etc.

🔹We shall meet him at the club this evening.

🔹His brother lives in Paris.

Notes: This rule is not very rigidly followed. In is sometimes used with small places. At, however, is seldom used for big places.

🍁On, in, at and by

At shows an exact point of time; on shows a more general point of time and in shows a period of time.

🔹I have a meeting at 4 pm.

🔹The train leaves at 2 o’clock.

🔹I was born on a Monday.

🔹I was born on April 21st.

🔹I was born in January.

🔹We will visit them in the summer.

🔹It is very hot in the day but quite cold at night.

By shows the latest time at which an action will be finished. So it is usually used with a future tense.

🔹I will be leaving by 6 o’clock.

🔹I hope to finish the work by next week.

🍁On and upon

On is generally used to talk about things at rest. Upon is used about things in motion.

🔹She sat on a chair.

🔹He jumped upon his horse.

🍁In, within

With reference to time, in means at the end of a certain period; within means before the end of a certain period.

🔹I will finish writing this book in three days. (at the end of three days)

🔹I will finish writing this book within three days. (before the end of three days)

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