ENG6: Prepositions P.6

What is a preposition?

A preposition is a word that is usually (but not always) placed before a noun or a pronoun to show the relationship between a noun or a pronoun and other words in a sentence.

Prepositions are used to show; place, time, agency.

Prepositions of place include; here, above, across, along, at, after, before, behind, below, beside, beyond, by, in, near, off, out, under, on, etc.

e.g.    I have put it on the box.

We met at the dance yesterday.

He went round the house.

Prepositions of Time: These include; after, at, around, before, between, beyond, in, on, by, during, from, of, since, for, until, till etc.

e.g.    He visited me on Sunday.

We slept till six o’clock

They will meet at midday

Activity 1

Use the most suitable preposition to complete the sentences below.

PREPOSITIONS OF AGENCY (agent)

These are prepositions for saying that a person or things make something happen. e.g.

1. He killed him with a knife.
2. Your success has been achieved by your own effort.
3. The house fell down due to heavy rain.

with, by and due to are prepositions.

Others include; through, owing to, by means of etc.

Use: by, with, due to, through.

PREPOSITIONS IN PAIRS.

Some of the prepositions in pairs.

1. into and in

into – shows motion – Pour this water into a jag.

in – shows position – That book is in the box.

2. at and in

at –  used for a smaller place. – He stays at Entebbe port.

in –  used for a bigger place. – He stays in Uganda.

3. between and among

between – for two people – The twins shared between themselves.

among – for more than two persons. – The triplet shared among themselves.

4. by and with

by – used for person or agent. The chair was broken by John.

with – used for an instrument. – He killed him with a knife.

5. beside and besides.

beside – means near. – the cat is sitting beside the bed.

besides – means over and above.

I have two pens besides this one.

6. In and within

in – shows ending time. – I shall be back in time.

within – shows before ending time. – I shall be back within a week.

7. On and upon

On – shows position – The lion sat on the table.

Upon –  shows motion. – The lion jumped upon the goat.

8. below and under.

below – means lower than – His height is below two feet.

under –  means in and covered by – The snake is under the bed.

9. on and above.

on –  shows contact – The book is on the table.

above –  shows position – The clouds are above our heads.

10. till and until.

There is no difference between till and until. They are both used to refer to time e.g.

We wanted at the station till midday.

We wanted at the station until midday.

Choose the correct preposition from the brackets to complete each sentence.

1. Please, look _________ this picture. (on, at)
2. We can’t go _________ bus on account of the bus strike. (by, to, in)
3. He was ill for a week and _______ that week his mother never left his side. (during, on)
4. Patriots have often died ___________ beliefs. (for, from, of)
5. Both parents were deaf ________ their son’s request. (to, for)
6. His building was valued _________ four thousand dollars. (on, at, for)
7. I shall not talk to you __________ you pay me back. (until, since)
8. All my sisters are suffering _________ measles. (from, of, in)
9. The house was broken into ________ the thieves. (with, by)
10. We failed to see him because he had covered himself ______ the blanket. (below, under)
11. He always sits ___________ his mother. (beside, besides)
12. My sister and I shared the cake ______ ourselves. (between, among)
13. He has poured all the water _________ the flask. (into, in)
14. Please, get me my book, it is _______ the table. (on, above)
15. Goats are good at jumping ________ buffaloes. (on, upon)

Fill in a correct preposition.

POSITION OF ADVERBS IN A SENTENCE.

Position of adverbs in a sentence.

Adverbs can follow the direct object of a sentence.

Examples.

• I drive the car carefully.
• She slammed the door angrily.
• He talked to him softly.
• The boy fell down suddenly

Where there is no direct object, the adverb can follow the verb it refers to.

Examples.

-Mary did well in the exams.

-The door opened slowly.

-The magazine is published weekly.

-She normally comes late.

Note:  Adverbs are not positioned between a verb and a direct object.  They are positioned either at the beginning, middle or at the end of a sentence.

Examples.

1. Last week, I bought a new dress

Or.  I bought a new dress last week.

2. The headteacher seldom comes to our classroom.
3. You are probably right
4. How often do you wash your clothes?

Adverbs of time and duration.

These are commonly placed at the beginning of a sentence, clause or immediately after the linking word e.g

(a)  Last year, he addressed the school in vernacular.

(b)  For over five hours, he watched cartoons.

Adverbs of place.

These occasionally come at the beginning of a sentence or clause e.g

• Here is the book you are looking for.
• There was nobody in the classroom when I arrived.

Adverbs of frequency.

These indicate how often an event occurs e.g  always, often, usually, generally, rarely sometimes, seldom, never, ever, probably etc.

Put the adverbs in the right places.

1. The boy left the dormitory at night stealthily)
2. We are here when the demonstrations take place in town. (usually)
3. Her mother cooks a meal in the evening .(usually)
4. She has been nervous. (always)
5. Do you read upside down? (usually)
6. I have had a long illness in my life. (never)
7. We do tests every day. (daily)
8. Something is burning. (definitely)
9. I feel cold in our house. (never)
10. They are against me. (always)
11. It is difficult. (sometimes)
12. They think that we have got bread.(probably)
13. I buy them in boxes. (usually)
14. He doesn’t refer to a dictionary. (often)
15. Our letters are sent by e-mails. (seldom)
16. He has gone to town. (already)
17. I think he will get well. (never)
18. My father comes to check on me. (daily)
19. The account is true. (partly)
20. He goes to school early. (always)
21. The meeting took place in the main hall. (yesterday)

Adverbs (just and already)

Just and already are used with the present perfect tense to talk about something that has just happened a while ago.

Read the following examples:

The teacher slapped the boy while ago.

The teacher has just slapped the boy.

Already is used with both the present and past perfect.

Read the following examples

Kabugo’s wife has gone away. —- Kabugo’s wife has already gone away.

Your niece has just eaten her food. —– Your niece has already eaten her food.

Activity 7:

 rewrite the following sentences using  both ..just… and … already…..

1. My son went to school a while ago.
2. Our father bought a car a few days ago.
3. Our cousin got married recently.
4. His grandfather passed away a few minutes ago.
5. Diana introduced her fiancé a week ago.
6. Your nephew went away a while ago.
7. The baby started sleeping a while ago.
8. The plane left. They reached the airport.
9. Daddy ate supper. He went to sleep.
10. Kato swallowed three flies. Then he closed his mouth.