English Advanced Grammar Exercises – Prepositions

A. Circle the correct option.

1   My sister was born at ……….. .

      a the afternoon

      b 20th November

      c home

2   It will be difficult for me to do both things in ……….. .

      a only three days

      b the same time

      c Tuesday

3   Jan and Carla live in a beautiful house on ……….. .

      a the end of a valley

      b the Alps

      c the road to Zurich

4   My cousin’s getting married in ……….. .

      a the end of the month

      b a month’s time

      c 29th April

5   Maggie’s going to the dentist this morning because she had really bad toothache in ……….. .

      a last night

      b the night

      c night

6   The winner is the person who has the most money at ……….. .

      a the end of the game

      b 30 minutes’ time

      c their bank account

7   The museum is closed on Wednesday afternoons and on ……….. .

      a Mondays

      b December

      c lunchtime

8   The First World War ended on ……….. .

      a 1918

      b November 1918

      c Monday 11th November 1918

9   Matt’s due to arrive at ……….. .

      a about 4.00

      b the morning

      c Thursday night

10   I hate having to get up early in ……….. .

      a Sundays

      b winter

      c my day off

B. Match the sentence beginnings to the correct endings.

a   until after midnight.

b   near each other.

c   by now.

d   over the garden fence.

e   among the best in the country.

f   inside the house.

g   under my jacket.

h   throughout the winter.

i   apart from the wet weather.

j   through the night.

C. Complete the story with the correct prepositions. Sometimes more than one preposition is possible, but you should use a different preposition in each space.

One day, a young boy was working 1…………. a field 2…………. his village. He worked 3…………. a shepherd boy, protecting the sheep, but 4………….  only the sheep as company he soon became bored. To entertain himself, the boy suddenly shouted, ‘Help! Help! A wolf is killing all the sheep!’ The people from the village ran 5…………. the field to help the boy, but he just laughed and said, ‘Hahaha! There is no wolf! I was only joking!’ The next day, and the day 6………….  that, the boy repeated his joke. Each time, the villagers ran to help, and each time they found the boy sitting 7…………. the sheep and saying, ‘Hahaha! I was joking again. Of course there is no wolf!’ 8………….  now the villagers were very angry. Then the next day, a wolf really did start killing the sheep, so the boy again shouted, ‘Help! Help! A wolf is killing all the sheep!’ This time, 9…………. the boy’s cries, the villagers thought he was joking again, and 10…………. the other days, they didn’t run to help him. So the wolf killed all the sheep.

MORAL: If you tell lies, no one will believe you when you tell the truth!

D. Rewrite each sentence so that it has a similar meaning, using the preposition in brackets.

1   We had a long journey to make, so we set off early. (ahead of)

      …………………………………………………………

2   Maya is really good at volleyball and is an excellent tennis player too. (as well as)

      …………………………………………………………

3   I know I’ve got a good salary, but it’s a terrible job if we think about job satisfaction. (in terms of)

      …………………………………………………………

4   Not checking your answers carefully caused most of your mistakes in the test. (due to)

      …………………………………………………………

5   Because she worked hard during the year, Julia was offered a promotion. (as a result of)

      …………………………………………………………

6   The weather forecast said it might snow later today. (according to)

      …………………………………………………………

7   The police put up a sign warning people not to go near the edge of the cliff. (away from)

      …………………………………………………………

8   We were the only people in the park, if you don’t include an old man and his dog. (apart from)

      …………………………………………………………

9   Jim had to brake suddenly when a cat ran across the road as he was driving. (in front of)

      …………………………………………………………

10   Pasta is definitely one of my favourite meals, and pizza is too, of course! (along with)

        …………………………………………………………

E. Complete each sentence in an appropriate way.

1   We decided to go out, despite ………………………………. .

2   After ………………………………., they needed a long holiday!

3   As a result of ………………………………., Andy was in a really bad mood.

4   Janet stayed at home all weekend, apart from ………………………………. .

5   Besides ………………………………., you should also visit the castle.

6   Sally never goes anywhere without ………………………………. .

7   Dan had six months of Spanish lessons before ………………………………. .

8   To get to ………………………………., you have to go through ………………………………., under ………………………………., past ………………………………., and across ………………………………. .

F. Write at least six true sentences about yourself, using a different preposition from the box in each sentence.

Example: I have to wait until July for exam results.

………………………………………………..

………………………………………………..

………………………………………………..

………………………………………………..

G. Circle the correct option.

1   My cousins live ………… a big house in the country.

      a in     b into     c at

2   He didn’t sleep very well – the rain was dripping through his roof all ………… the night.

      a over     b along     c through

3   The new shopping centre is in the city centre, ………… the train station.

      a close     b near     c next

4   ………… the cold weather, we decided to go for a walk.

      a Despite     b Against     

      c In terms of

5   ………… from Hodja and his chicken, the market was completely empty.

      a Apart     b Besides     c Except