English Advanced Grammar Exercises – Verbs + prepositions; prepositional verbs

A. Match the questions to the correct replies.

a   Some jazz music. It helps me to relax.

b   Us, I think!

c   My wallet. Have you seen it?

d   About two hours.

e   Silver. Do you like it?

f   A small one, with only two bedrooms.

g   My parents and my younger brother.

h   Warsaw. The capital of Poland.

B. Circle the correct option.

1   She fell in ………. with the dress as soon as she saw it in the shop, and begged her dad to buy it.

      a happiness b attraction

      c love              d like

2   It’s a good idea in theory, but it’s going to be hard to put it into ………. .

      a practice      b trial

      c test              d examination

3   Stefania’s decision to give up her job came as a ………. to all her colleagues,

      a concern      b delight

      c pleasure     d surprise

4   It sounds like a great job, but bear in ………. that you’ll need to work very long hours.

      a consideration

      b thought

      c account       d mind

5   My little brother is really naughty, and he’s always getting into ………. at school.

      a problem     b trouble

      c punishment

      d disturbance

6   Without going into ………., the trip was a complete disaster.

      a fact              b detail

      c information

      d list

7   If you take into ………. stopping for lunch on the way, the journey should take about four hours.

      a thought      b allowance

      c reminder    d account

8   It came as a ………. to my parents when I told them I wanted to leave school.

      a nightmare b shock

      c horror         d right

C. Complete the sentences with the correct prepositions.

1   I nearly bought a new car the other day but in the end I decided ……………… it.

2   The secret to dealing ……………… stress is to recognise the symptoms as quickly as possible.

3   I offered to give Louise a lift to work but she insisted ……………… walking.

4   Do you know ……………… any good places to eat near here?

5   Our company makes lots of different things but we specialise ……………… electrical instruments.

6   The service in the hotel was so bad that I wrote to the manager to complain ……………… it.

7   Do you know who this umbrella belongs ………………? I found it in one of the classrooms.

8   I ran ……………… David in town this afternoon. I hadn’t seen him for ages.

D. Complete each sentence b so that it means the same as sentence a, using a form of the verb in brackets and the correct preposition.

1   a   What can I do so that the birds don’t steal all the berries off the tree? (stop)

      b   How can I ……………………………………….

2   a   Giorgia told Cristina that Alex had a really bad temper. (warn)

      b   Giorgia ………………………………………. really bad temper.

3   a   Michelle told Jackie that she thought she had stolen her purse. (accuse)

      b   Michelle ………………………………………. her purse.

4   a   The police have said that people can’t park in front of the building. (ban)

      b   The police ………………………………………. in front of the building.

5   a   The author used real-life events as the basis of her book. (base)

      b   The author ………………………………………. real-life events.

6   a   We’d like to say thanks to our families and friends. We appreciated all their support. (thank)

      b   We’d like to ………………………………………. all their support.

7   a   As a result of several injuries, Williams didn’t have a long career as a professional tennis player. (rob)

      b   Several injuries ………………………………………. a long career as a professional tennis player.

8   a   The teacher said ‘Well done’ to Tom when he won first prize in the school competition. (congratulate)

               b   The teacher ………………………………………. first prize in the school competition.

E. Write the verbs from Box A next to the correct numbers 1-6 in the table.

Now write the expressions from Box B in the correct sections of the table.

F. Complete these proverbs with your own ideas, using prepositional verbs.

1   A cat likes to eat fish, but it will not go into the water.

2   Look after your own house before you ………………………………………

3   An empty stomach will not ………………………………………

4   Before the water drains away, ………………………………………

5   When a blind man leads, ………………………………………

G. Circle the correct option.

1   If you want your children to look ………… you when you’re old, take good care of them when they’re young.

      a to     b after     c over

2   If we take the cost of the train tickets ………… consideration, it could be an expensive weekend.

      a for     b to     c into

3   The museum has a modern alarm system to prevent anyone ………… stealing the exhibits.

      a from     b of     c for

4   Take care not to ………… fire to yourself when you’re putting out a fire.

      a put     b start     c set

5   Lorraine’s friends all ………… fun of her new hairstyle.

      a made     b took     c did