14 AGOUST prepositions

Prepositions

Prepositions are words of groups of words, normally used before a noun or pronoun to express a relationship between one person/event etc. and another:

• She walked into the operating theatre.
• He seemed strangely out of breath.

Prepositions may relate to space, time cause, origin, purpose, source, agent, instrument, possession, topic or abstract ideas.

• They arrived at midnight
• He's done it for his own reasons.
• The shirt is made of cotton
• We live in hope.

Refer to section 8 of the Appendix (19th july)for a list of expressions with above, over, beneath, below, under, at, by, between, among, in, on, out of.

a) Use an expression with above, over, under, below or beneath to complete each sentence

• He's too young to be allowed in this bar. He's --------- above over under belowbeneath
• Nobody would ever suspect her. She's --------- above over under belowbeneath
• There'll be no trouble about repairing the television if it goes wrong. It's --------- above over under belowbeneath
• Don't let those children get too wild! keep them --------- above over under belowbeneath
• He's taller than most people. He's of --------- above over under belowbeneath.
• The main thing is, don't hurt him --------- above over under belowbeneath, keep him safe.
• That's rather unfair. You're hitting --------- above over under belowbeneath.
• I'm afraid I can't work for anyone else. You see, I'm --------- above over under belowbeneathto my present employers for two years.
• He whispered the answer. “yes” he said, --------- above over under belowbeneath
• Someone who robs an old lady of all her savings is --------- above over under belowbeneath, and deserve to be punished.
• Use one of the --------- above over under belowbeneathprepositions to complete this sentences.
• It's very frosty this morning. The temperature must have dropped --------- above over under belowbeneath.
• Shall we discuss the problem after lunch, --------- above over under belowbeneath?
• He's a freelance film director, and travels all --------- above over under belowbeneath making his films.
• The village is well --------- above over under belowbeneath, and at risk of being flooded if the sea wall is breached by a particularly high tide.
• Doctors think heart attacks are sometimes brought on by being --------- above over under belowbeneathat home or at work.
• You'll have to tell me the truth. Stop trying to pull the wool --------- above over under belowbeneath!
• If you don't bargain with the market traders, you'll be paying --------- above over under belowbeneath for their goods.

b) Match each expression with at on the left with its approximate paraphrase.

At a loss	unoccupied, with no purpose
at short notice	going very fast
at any rate	deep down inside (a person)
at present	no matter what it takes
at a loose end	without much advance warning
at once	fighting another country
at heart	immediately
at hand	unsure what to do
at first sight	taking the most hopeful view
at times	near, ready, available
at war	sailing, on a ship
at all costs	in danger
at sea	the first time (I) saw (her)
at best	anyway
at risk	occasionally
at high speed	now.

c) Complete the sentences with the correct preposition, choosing from between, among, out of, and over.

1. Bob's been ------ between among out of over work for six months now.
2. ------ between among out of over you and me. Smith hasn't got much of a future in the firm.
3. That book's too high up on the shelf. It's just ------ between among out of over my reach.
4. She's ------ between among out of over jobs at the moment, so she's struggling to make ends meet.
5. Unfortunately the catering committee can never agree ------ between among out of over themselves.
6. I went on waving until the car was ------ between among out of over sight.
7. We'll discuss the affair ------ between among out of over a cup of tea.
8. It's no good trying that snack machine- It's ------ between among out of over order.
9. The boys were hiding ------ between among out of over the bushes in the garden.
10. There's a footpath ------ between among out of over the canal and the main road.
11. No, I certainly won't give permission. It's ------ between among out of over the question!
12. I can only admire his conscientiousness. It's ------ between among out of over and above the call of duty.
13. I'm afraid those sandals are ------ between among out of over stock at the moment, madam.
14. General Gibson settled in quite happily ------ between among out of over the Polynesian natives.
15. I'm hoping to be reimbursed for my travelling expenses, otherwise I'll be rather ------ between among out of over pocket.
16. The lift wasn't working, so she was ------ between among out of over breath by the time she reached the top floor.
17. A prize was awarded to Fawzia, ------ between among out of over others.
18. Children, put your coats on if you want to play ------ between among out of over doors.
19. The photo's ------ between among out of over focus, unfortunately, but you can still make out the figure in doorway.
20. This information is rather ------ between among out of over date, so we can't use it in our new brochure.

D) Complete each sentence with the correct preposition.

1. ------ in on second thoughts, I'll have the lentil soup after all.
2. Giles was mortified to discover that he had sent Cordelia a Photograph of his ex-girlfriend ------ by at mistake.
3. The results will be published ------ in on due course.
   
4. “Could I possibly use your phone?” Oh, ------ by in all means.”
5. The intrepid women explored the remotest part of the sierra ------ by on horseback.
   
6. ------ in on all likelihood, we will never know the real reason.
   
7. kindly sign the contracts in triplicate and send back to head office ------ by on return.
   
8. Nobody helped him. He managed it all ------ by on his own
   
9. The company is keeping its head above water this year, but it will have to become more efficient ------ in on the long run
   
10. The proposal looks good ------ in on paper, but there may be snags in its practical application.
    
11. The victims of the industrial accident should, ------ by at rights, be compensated by the factory owners.
    

E) Complete the passage by putting a suitable preposition in each space

1) the whole, Flora was content with her life. 2) day she was a librarian in a large city library, but 3) her spare time she lived in a world of dreams. Her secret, all-devouring passion was reading – novels 4) particular – and she had read almost all the classics that the library had 5) stock. She read voraciously, 6) her lunch hour, her tea break, and the long evenings 7) home. She would even read 8) her way home, walking slowly 9) her book open.
The small flat where she lived 10) herself was piled high 11) books. Se knew fer favourites 12) heart, empathising with the characters and thinking 13) them as real people. 14) short, she had found that books fulfilled her emotional needs better than people did, and 15) any case, she had now completely forgotten how to relate to people other than characters in novels.