TOPIC: Prepositions
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
I should be able to:
1. Identify types of prepositions.
2. Use appropriate preposition after nouns, verbs and adjectives.
KEY TERMS: grammatical words, content words, object/complement of preposition.
STARTER
Choose the correct option
1. _____ my blue dress, I have a white one. (besides, beside)
2. We ______ karate for hour everyday until we perfected it. (practice, practise)
MEANING OF PREPOSITION
Prepositions tell us where or when something is in relation to something else.
Prepositions often tell us where one noun is in relation to another (e.g., the coffee is
on the table beside you). But they can also indicate more abstract ideas, such as
purpose or contrast (e.g., We went for a walk despite the rain).
TYPES OF PREPOSITIONS
Prepositions indicate direction, time, location, and spatial relationships, as well as
other abstract types of relationships.
Direction: Look to the left and you’ll see our destination.
Time: We’ve been working since this morning.
Location: We saw a movie at the theater. Space: The dog hid under the table.
Unnecessary prepositions
Avoid using preposition after words such as:
- We discussed (not discuss about) the issue of unemployment.
- The book comprises (not comprises of) five chapters.
- The book is comprised of five chapters.
- We entered (into) the classroom.
Use object pronouns after prepositions
Using a subject pronoun (I, she, he, we, they, who) after a preposition is
grammatically incorrect. Examples
Incorrect – This is between he and I.
Incorrect – Can Katie go with they?
Incorrect – You went to the dance with who?
This is between him and me.
Can Aisha go with them?
You went to the dance with whom?
Preposition after Certain Words
1. Accuse of
2. Accustomed to
3. Absorbed in
4. Good at
5. Prefer to
6. Conform to
7. Consist of
8. Depend on
9. Different from
10. Fail in
11. Desist/abstain from
12. Abide by law/ rules
13. Guard against
14. Translate into
15. Result in
16. Indifferent to
17. Insist on
18. Guilty of
19. Suspect of
20. Married to
21. Succeed
22. Similar to
23. Satisfied with
24. Superior to
25. Angry with
26. Cure of
27. Congratulate on
28. Die of
29. Deprive of
30. Complain about
31. Dressed in
32. Arrive at, in
33. Related to
34. Repent of
35. Covered with
36. Preside over
37. Surprised at
38. Live on
39. Interested in
40. Leave for a place
41. Guard against
42. Angry with sb/ at sth
43. Arrive at
44. At night, in the afternoon
CLASS ACTIVITY
1. The whole village is infested ……………rats.
2. It is not wise to be inimical ……………..a neighbor.
3. He has been charged ………….theft.
4. Can you confide …………….that person who has betrayed his friends many a
time?
5. The accused has been exonerated ……………..the blame.
6. One should have freedom …………….action ………….one’s field …………work.
7. Unless one has aptitude …………….one’s work, it is not possible …………one
to succeed.
8. He has a strong desire to return……………his country.
9. He is not eligible …………the post.
Answers
1. The whole village is infested with rats.
2. It is not wise to be inimical to a neighbour.
3. He has been charged with theft.
4. Can you confide in that person who has betrayed his friends
many a time?
5. The accused has been exonerated from the blame.
6. One should have freedom of action in one’s field of work.
7. Unless one has the aptitude for one’s work, it is not
possible for one to succeed.
8. He has a strong desire to return to his country.
9. He is not eligible for the post.
ASSIGNMENT
1. The Red Church is adjacent………..the eye hospital.
2. The meeting has been adjourned ………………. a week.
3. He felt alien …………….his own people.
4. I am not allured ………………..riches.
5. He attributed his failure……………hard marking.
6. Hunting of wild animals has been prohibited …………..law.
7. The drowning child was rescued ……………..a boatman.
8. The bereaved mother was overwhelmed. …………..grief.
9. His uncle deprived him ………………..all he had.
10.
11. He quarrelled with me ………………..a trivial matter.
12. I had no knowledge ……………..this accident.
13. He is very sincere ……………me.
14. The crew fell short ……………food.
15. He felt ashamed …………..himself.
16. He hurried home ………….school.
17. It is difficult………………me to say what will happen next.
18. I was going to my friend’s house …………………the way I met his father.
19. She longs …………. her father’s arrival.
20. He deals ……………..cloth.
21. He has reputation ……………honesty.
22. The patient is now free. …………danger.
23. He has a special liking …………mathematics.
24. We are proud ………………his deeds.
25. What is the time…………. your watch?
26. This is the book I was talking …………..
27. My father prevented me ………………going there.
28. He put the purse…………his pocket.
29. I am interested …………chess but I am not very good …………….it.
30. I have been living ……………. this street …………………ten years.
