GRAMMAR & RULES & EXERCISES
COLLECTED BY"GUELLIL MABROUK"
Contents (click below links).................................pro. English/high education
I/exercises
Unit One: articles and NounsII/answers key
Unit One: articles and Nouns
Unit Eight: Prepositions
“Prepositions” are used in English before nouns to indicate the following sorts of meanings:
1) time
Luis arrived in the United States in June 2002.
He started school on August 29th.
His first class began at 9 o’clock am.
2) place
Maria has lived in New York for two years.
She lives on Beverly Road.
She lives at 116 Beverly Road.
We are going to the park at one o’clock.*
* Note that the preposition “to” is used with verbs indicating motion, such as go, walk, run, drive, ride, etc.
3) reason
You must work hard for success.
4) manner
I go to school by subway.
5) comparison
Some people value money more than friendship.
6) contrast
Despite being sick, I went to work today.
7) possession (belonging to)
Who is the owner of this car?
8) quantity
I need a pound of butter.
Grammar Exercise
Make up ten sentences with the following sorts of prepositions, followed by nouns:
1. time: in, on, at, about, after, around, before, by during, for, from … to, since, until
2. place: in, on, at, above, against, along, among around, behind, below, beside, between, by, close to, down,
far from, from … to, in back of, in front of, inside, into, near, next to, off, out, out of, outside, over under, up
upon, within
3. reason: because of, due to, for
4. manner: by, as well as, as, in (for example “in a new way”), like, such as, through, with, without
5. comparison: as many as, as much as, different from, less than, more than, similar to, the same as
6. contrast: despite, in spite of
7. possession: of
8. quantity: of
Verbs and expressions with “be” used with prepositions
Many verbs in English are used with prepositions, such as the following examples:
I am looking at the blackboard.
I am listening to the teacher.
I am writing an essay about my native country.
Also, many expressions with “be” are used with prepositions, such as the following examples:
I am used to American food.*
(or we can say “I am accustomed to American food.)
Children are usually afraid of the dark.
I am interested in Eastern religion.
I used to be responsible for my younger brother.*
I am tired of doing the same thing every day.
We should be thankful for all the good things in our life.
* Note the difference in meaning between the expressions “I am used to something” (meaning “I am
accustomed to something.”) and “I used to do something” (meaning “I did it in the past but don’t do it any
more.”).
Two/three word verbs
Sometimes a verb + preposition has a meaning that is different from the normal meaning of the verb, as in
the following examples:
Please turn on the TV.
(meaning “make it start”)
Please turn off the TV.
(meaning “make it stop”)
Please turn up the volume.
(meaning “make it louder”)
Please turn down the volume.
(meaning “make it lower”)
How are you getting on in your work?
(meaning “making progress”)
How are you and your girlfriend getting along?
(meaning “having a good relationship”)
John is really getting on in years.
(meaning “getting older”)
I’d like to get in on that business deal.
(meaning “become a part of”)
Students often look up to their teachers.
(meaning “admire”)
We should try not to look down on anybody.
(meaning “see as inferior”)
Older brothers often try to look out for their younger siblings.
(meaning “take care of” or “be responsible for”)
I plan to look into this problem.
(meaning “study” or “try to understand”)
You can look up the definition of this word in the dictionary.
(meaning “find”)
Grammar Exercise
Try to fill in the correct prepositions in the following paragraphs.
1) Indeed, it is very interesting to know ________ mother-daughter relationships in other families.
Being a girl myself and having a good mother, I still could not deal ________ her sometimes. It’s OK, I guess,
to have bad times as long as there is understanding and love ________ you and your mom. If we take a look
________ the texts “Girl” by Jamaica Kincaid and “Two Kinds” by Amy Tan, we see how the mothers are
trying to be overprotective, tough, so that their daughters can be better _______ them. Care or even the
expression ________ “tough love” is good; however, it is a bad thing when mothers try too hard to make
daughters become someone they want us to be. These texts are full ________ examples similar ________
what we all have been ________.
2) Most women ________ this century have a voice nowadays. Now we have more jobs that were
categorized just ________ males before. After World War I, women were given new opportunities. They
stopped being categorized only ________ domestic chores. Women also started to vote and started to get
jobs ________ the government. They also started movements to make their voices heard. Even though we
have had all these advances, there are still oppressed women ________ the world. There are women who
are still ________ the control ________ their husbands. One reason may be ________ the economic
subsistence of their children. For example, I know a man ________ the name of Sonny who is very
responsible ________ his wife and son. However, he is very possessive. He thinks that he is the father
________ his wife. He wants to control her. He always tries to have power ________ any woman that he
meets. He is a macho man. One time when I was ________ their house, my friend was talking ________ the
phone and he was listening ________ her conversation ________ the other phone. It is not right for men to
have power ________ women.
3) I am an only child ________ my family, so I have thought _______ if I had a brother or sister, how
my life would be. Maybe I would not feel lonely when my parents go _______ work; maybe I would not feel
helpless when I suffer ________ some problems. However, having brothers or sisters is both good and bad. I
remember that my friend told me that her older brother took care _______ her a lot. He would cook
________ her when their parents were not ________ home, teach her when she had some questions
________ her homework, and he bought a laptop ________ her when she attended college. Having an older
brother or sister is good ________ the family because they will take care ________ their younger brothers
and sisters, and help them solve some problems. Even though parents have more ideas and experience to
help their children, they have less time to stay ________ home because ________ their work. So the older
brother or sister will be a good teacher. They can offer some ideas ________ their younger brother or sister,
and share their experience ________ them.
Grammar Observation Exercise
Notice the use of prepositions in the following sentences (These are not errors, but examples of correct use
of prepositions by students):
1. My father had to travel to Eastern Europe because of his business.
2. My father is very smart, like my mom.
3. The mother gives rules to her daughter, but despite that, she is not trying to force her
daughter to do what she doesn’t want to do.
4. Unlike the daughter in “Two Kinds,” the daughter in “Girl” isn’t angry at her mother.
5. By taking care of the mother, the daughter in the poem didn’t have her own private
life.
6. How about remembering a person for being a good person?
7. In 2002, I met a good person, who cared about me.
8. We fell in love with each other.
9. He was serious about our relationship.
10. We could not imagine our life without each other.
11. In 2005, he died in a car accident.
12. At that time, I felt like my life ended too.
13. I had no interest in my life.
14. Sometimes, I think that he is not dead, that he will come and pick me up.
15. But now, he can only be with me in my mind.
16. Is it fair that such a young guy passed away?
17. We have to be thankful for everything that we have.
18. The relationship between father and children should be friendship.
19. Why do you treat me like a stranger?
20. My father is different from other traditional Chinese fathers.
21. Human life ends with death.
22. The process of acceptance varies among people.
23. After a while, the bad feeling goes away.
24. Because of difficult experiences, people can become stronger.
Proofreading Exercise
Correct the errors in the use of articles, nouns, verbs, punctuation and sentence structure, and word forms in
the following essay (The types and numbers of errors are indicated at the end of paragraphs):
I have a younger sister, she is thirteen now, eleven years younger than me. Yes, I was eleven when
my sister was born, and to tell you the true, I hated her in the beginning. I was the only child in a family for
eleven years, also I was first granddaughter for my grandparents, and first niece for all my uncles and aunt.
I was very spoil child. My mom and dad were doing everything for me. I had all that child could possibly
wish for. But not only my parents, my grandparents spoil me too. Also, my uncle, who didn’t have kids of
his own at the time, spoiled me a lot. He was buying me presents almost every week: expensive toys and
clothes; also, he was taking me to the parks, cafes, movie theaters. Of course, by the time I turned eleven, I
got used to idea that I’ll get whatever I’ll ask for.
(a-6, sg/pl-1, v-6, p-3, wf-2)
So you can imagine that occurrence of another child in my family didn’t make me happy. Certainly,
she was little one now, and like all infants, she need a lot of attention. But I didn’t want to understand that,
all I saw was that all the attention was on my sister, everybody was talking about her, playing with her, and
that made me anger. My dad would take me to the movies on weekends, like he used to before, even
though my mom needed him home. He did this because if he didn’t, I had hysterics. I hated my sister for
stealing my place in the family.
(a-2, v-2, p-2, wf-1)
Then a few years passed, I got older and started to like my sister. I actually found that it is fun and
interesting to play with her. I felt myself like an adult, who can teach her some useful, interesting things. I
was taking her to the movies, parks, almost everywhere I went with my friends. She was sharing her little
secrets with me, it was so touchingly. I became for her something between older friend and a mother. She
would tell me things she couldn’t tell my mom, like about the boy she liked in school, or the fight between
her and her friend.
(a-3, v-4, p-1, wf-1)
My sister is thirteen now, I can’t say we are very close now. It is just that we are from two different
generations, and see many things different. Especially because she is growing up in a different country
(She was seven when our family immigrate to the United States). But I love her very much anyway.
In conclusion, I would like to say that we can’t choose our relatives, that why we have to learn to love
and accept them.
(a-1, v-2, p-3, wf-1)
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