Grammar Exercises prepositions

Exercise 15. Fill in the gaps with the proper preposition of time.

1. I like to watch TV _____ the evening.

2. My favourite program is on _____ 8:30 ______ Wednesday evening.

3. My ESL class begins ______ noon, so I am always at school _____ the afternoon.

4. My birthday is _____ winter. Actually, I was born _____ January ____ 1983.

5. _____ my birthday, I usually have a party.

6. I will see you _______ exactly two weeks.

7. Carlos arrived in Canada _____ April 2^nd, 1999.

8. _____ a rainy day I like to stay at home and read a book. ]

9. _______ the 1980s he worked in the movie industry.

10. _______ lunch time my friends and I usually go out.

11. A lot of people like to visit friends and family _______ Christmas time.

12. ______ the moment I am very busy, but I will be able to see you ___ next week.

13. Life _______ the 21 century is fast.

Exercise 16. Fill the prepositions in.

1. They are getting married ___ Friday ______ 6 o’clock ____ the evening.

2. _____ midnight they heard the shrill sound of the sirens.

3. We seldom travel ______ winter.

4. Let’s stay here ________ the storm is over.

5. ________ tomorrow evening I will have finished my essay.

6. He hasn’t felt well ______ a long time.

7. They never go out ______ night.

8. We’ll be ready to leave ______ an hour.

9. _______ the storm, all the lights went out.

10. I will wait for you ________ tomorrow morning.

Prepositions of location:

AT used to show a location or destination at a POINT:

• public places

• work places and stores

• events

I’ll meet you at the lobby.

He’ll wait for me at the bank.

I’ll meet you at the church.

We arrived at the theatre on time.

I met her at the Christmas party.

Bill is at the dentist.

You can buy this at any super market

In used to show location or destination in an area:

• cities, towns

• larger areas

• places that can be divided into smaller units

• containers

Their cottage is in Kingston County.

The children were playing in the yard.

They arrived in Canada/Toronto/North America on Monday.

There is a fireplace in the living room.

Their wedding was held in an old church.

Is there any beer in the fridge?

The keys are in my bag/pocket.

ON used for location on a SURFACE:

• roads, streets

• things that resemble a line (e.g. rivers)

There is a book on the table.

There is a new roof on the house.

He put his head on my shoulder.

He had a stain on his shirt.

They live on the Humber River.

Exercise 17. Fill the proper prepositions in.

1. I’ll meet you _____ the Statler Hotel.

2. If you want to reach that shelf, you have to stand _____ a chair.

3. You will find some stamps ______ the drawer of the desk.

4. We live _____ Toronto, ____________ 157 Bloor Street.

5. The most important stories of the day are ______ the front page of the newspaper.

6. Please, play ______ the house; it is too cold outside.

7. The tax office is _____ the second floor.

8. We will wait for you ______ the lobby of the hotel.

9. Turn left _____ the intersection of Bloor and Bedford.

10. He was standing _____ the street corner.

ABOVE, OVER, UNDER, BELOW

above and over = higher than

The snow was so high it came over/above our knees.

We saw a flag flying over/above the house.

There are dark clouds over the entire city.

Below and under = lower than

You’ll find the box in the cupboard under/below the sink.

She was wearing a shirt under her sweater.

The whole basement was under /water.

FROM

• (moving) away

• origin

• what substance is used to make something

• difference

He moved from Toronto to Hamilton.

He was absent from class.

She is from Taiwan.

Bread is made from flower, water, and yeast.

Chinese food is very different from Canadian food.

Note: LEAVE, ENTER, ATTEND, DISCUSS are verbs which do NOT take a preposition.

I left Japan last August.

He entered the room.

She has been attending college for two years.

We discussed the problem.

BUT!!!

She left Japan for Toronto in August. (‘for’ is used with ‘leave’ for destination)

Exercise 18. Fill the prepositions in.

1. He is studying _____ the University of Toronto.

2. The plane flew _____ the town.

3. The boy hid the money _______ a rock in the garden.

4. I met Bill _____ the Pearson Airport ______ Toronto.

5. They are flying ______ Paris ______ Toronto, and they will arrive _____ Toronto tomorrow.

6. After Toronto, they will have a holiday _____ the south, so they will leave ______ Mexico next week.

7. She put the bedspread ______the bed.

8. I put the book _____ the box _____ the table ______ the living room.

9. He took an envelope ______ the drawer ______ his desk.

Other uses of AT, IN,ON

AT is used for:

• specific temperatures, speeds, ages

The temperature was at 25 degrees.

He drove at 120 kilometres per hour.