Prepositions: PART 01

WHAT IS A PREPOSITION?

Prepositions are words that describe relationship between other words in a sentence so the reader can understand how the pieces of the sentence fit. A preposition connects part of a sentence to a noun/noun phrase. This noun is called the object of the preposition. Prepositions are usually short words, and they are normally placed directly in front of nouns. In some cases, you’ll find prepositions in front of gerund verbs.

Important Tips...

• It's an integral Part of speech
• Mark special relationships 

( usually of space and time) between persons, objects and locations. Example: The book is on the table. The train will arrive at 10:00 pm.

• They also answer the WH questions. Sometimes prepositional phrases might express an idea of who and why
• Prepositions are often combined with other words and are called prepositional phrases.
• Prepositional phrases modify other words in the sentence.
• Structure of a Prepositional Phrase:
  Preposition +( modifier- determiner/ adjective) object ( noun)

Functions of prepositions

• Position/Location
• Time/When something happened?
• Possession
• How? The way something is done
• Movement

Preposition of Place/Position/Location

A preposition of place/position/location is a preposition which is used to refer to a place where something or someone is located. There are only three prepositions of place, however they can be used to discuss an almost endless number of places.

EXAMPLE

Chart list of all prepositions of place/ location/ place, how it's used and example

Simple Video demonstration of Preposition of Place/ Position/ Location

EXERCISES AND ACTIVITIES 

01. Study the pictures given below and complete the sentences given.

1. The rat is ………………. the door.
2. The rat is ………………. two books.
3. The rat is ………………. the telephone booth
4. The rat is ………………. the sofa.
5. The rat is ………………. the table.
6. The rat is ………………. the bench.
7. The rat is ………………. the television.
8. The rat is ………………. the television.
9. The rat is ………………. the television.
10. The rat is ………………. the carpet.
11. The rat is ………………. the black board.
12. The rat is ………………. the chair.
13. The rat is ………………. the theater.
14. The rat is ………………. the cinema.
15. The rat is ………………. The zoo.

02. The classroom ghost: prepositions of place 

Inform your students that you have some bad news; there seems to be a mischievous classroom ghost. Things are not the same as they were when you left the room yesterday. Some items are now in different positions, but you can’t remember what was where, and you need their help.

This activity takes some preparation. You will have to move some things around. For example, you could place some books under a student’s chair, put a marker pen on the window sill, put the clock on the teacher’s chair, put the CD player behind the door, and so on.

Put students into pairs to make a note of what the ‘ghost’ has moved around, and ask them to use ‘prepositions of place’ to make sentences.

For example:

The bin is in the wrong corner. It should be behind the door.
The books are under Francesca’s chair. They are usually on the shelf.

This is great fun for all ages. You could even assign a secret ghost (one student) to make a few more changes to the classroom objects for the following day, and then review again with your students the next day to check what they remember.

We will meet again with the next lesson term. Thank you and happy learning