Advanced Grammar for IELTS: Prepositions

Nehasri Ravishenbagam

24 min read

Updated On Jul 19, 2024

Advanced Grammar for IELTS: Prepositions – Diagnostic Test, Grammar Explanation & Practice Exercises

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Advanced Grammar for IELTS: Prepositions – Diagnostic Test, Grammar Explanation & Practice Exercises

Most of the times mistakes happen in the IELTS exam because of using prepositions incorrectly. Prepositions are the words that usually stand before nouns. It shows the relationship between the word in the sentence as well the word which is the object of a preposition. Prepositions are of three types they are:

Prepositions of time (since, at, on, in, before)
Preposition of place (under, below, above, besides)
Other prepositions (by, with, without, off, about)

Before you begin, check out our latest IELTS Grammar books for a higher band!

Diagnostic Test: Prepositions

Tick (✓) the correct answer.

Example:

The animal spun around suddenly and hissed violently ______me.

a. to

b. by

c. at ✓

We used to be able to hear the sonic boom of Concorde as it flew____the house.

a. above

b. over

c. on top of

Is the rank of sergeant_____the rank of corporal in the British army?

a. underneath

b. behind

c. below

The Grand Bazaar_____Istanbul is the largest covered market in the world.

a. at

b. in

c. by

The Council is building a new office______the car park of the Multiplex cinema.

a. at

b. behind

c. after

The zookeeper was amazing – he calmly walked_____the lion and took the bag out of its mouth.

a. near

b. up to

c. towards

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Your appointment with the consultant is at 6.30______the evening of the 11th.

a. in

b. at

c. on

The new soap opera on BBC2 is starting_____tomorrow.

a. at

b. –

c. on

The walking tour will be leaving promptly_______time in order to cover the itinerary.

a. on

b. in

c. at

Louis was unable to name one person_____all his acquaintances that he could truly call a friend.

a. between

b. under

c. among

The hotel’s bedding is made only______the finest cottons and linens.

a. of

b. in

c. with

Well, _____my opinion, our neighbors could be a lot noisier and more disruptive than they actually are.

a. from

b. according to

c. in

Despite______no rain for weeks, the garden appears to be flourishing.

a. have

b. that we have had

c. having

Check out: IELTS Grammar

Six of these sentences contain mistakes with prepositions in bold. Tick (✓) the correct sentences, then find and correct the mistakes.

Example:

The house was undamaged in the floods, except the carpets. ==> except for

We had to put up with her moaning for the whole journey up to Glasgow!
Harriet advanced to her position in the company by means some strategic friendships
The post office is behind just the petrol station. You can’t miss it.
Why don’t you go towards that police officer and ask him the way?
The divorce became much more expensive and messier because of that solicitors became involved.
From what they said on the weather forecast yesterday, we’re in for a good weekend.
Apart from to dismantle the lighting, the band took only fifteen minutes to pack up.
I’ve been offered the job in Helsinki for that I applied.

Grammar Explanation: Prepositions

Prepositions are a common cause of confusion for learners, often because each preposition has a number of different uses. This unit looks at the uses of a range of prepositions, and the difficulties they can present.

Introduction

Basic Information

A preposition describes the relationship between two or more things. It can link nouns, verbs or adjectives before the preposition with a noun or pronoun after it:

Now, let’s move on to item six on the agenda.
Be careful. The hem of your dress is dragging along the floor
John’s got an appraisal tomorrow. He’s really anxious about it.

Prepositions can be one word only, eg. of, throughout, or more words, e.g. because of:

We got fewer dollars this week because of the drop in the exchange rate.

Prepositions and Adverbs

There is no difference in form between prepositions and many adverbs, but there is a difference in use: a preposition has an object but an adverb does not. Compare:

Did you ever travel before the war, Dad? (preposition)
I have a strange feeling that I’ve been here before. (adverb)

We can modify prepositions with adverbs (the adverbs in the example are in bold):

The pub is almost at the end of the street, just before the traffic lights.

Meaning and Use

Position

Vertical Relationships
above	after	below	beneath
down	on	on top of	over
under	underneath	up

Above and over have similar meanings, as do below and under. We usually use above or below:

The refuge is in the hills above the town.
The temperature was below freezing last night.

But we use over or under in the following cases:

When one thing covers another:

The clouds hung low over the hills.
He disappeared under the water.

When horizontal movement is suggested: Are we going to fly over the Alps?

With prices, ages, speeds, distances, and quantities, where we mean more than or fewer. less than:

X The conference was very badly attended: below two hundred people came.

✓ The conference was very badly attended: under two hundred people came.

We use above or below to talk about ‘level’ or ‘rank’:

Is the position of Managing Editor above or below that of Editorial Director?

It is also possible to use after in this sense:

His opinion is second only after the Managing Director’s.

Note the use of up and down:

John lives a few houses further up/down the hill from us.

We generally use beneath in idiomatic phrases:

Your behaviour towards my new husband was really beneath contempt!

Horizontal Relationships
against	along	alongside	around
at	beside	between	by
in	near	next to	on
on the left/ right of

We use at with a point in space, e.g. at the bus stop, at 8 Baker Street;

We use on with a surface or a line, e.g. on the table, on the river, on Oxford Street;

We use it with something that surrounds, e.g. in the wood.

We use different prepositions depending on how we see a place. Compare:

The group will meet at 7.30 at the sports center. (= either inside or outside)
The group will meet at 7.30 at the sports center. (= inside)

Note: Also: at the corner of the street (= a point) but in the corner of the room (= inside).

We usually use in with countries, cities or towns.

We use on with streets, roads, avenues, etc.,

We use at with the names of squares if we think of the ‘address’, and in if we think of the square as ‘surrounding’ us:

X The film premiere this year will take place on Leicester Square at London.

✓ The film premiere this year will take place at Leicester Square in London.

The trees in Leicester Square don’t look very healthy.

We use at when we refer to gatherings of people: at a party, at a conference.

We use beside and alongside to express proximity along a line:

Warehouses were built beside /alongside the motorway.

Facing Relationships
across	after	before	behind
facing	in front of	opposite	over

We use in front of or behind to describe the spatial relationship of two things, one after the other on a line and facing the same way:

A is in front of B, B is behind A.

In front of and behind can also be used for metaphorical, not literal, position:

Christopher is really behind his brother in terms of academic development.

Before and after can refer to position in some contexts:

Karen’s nephew appears before I in front of the magistrates this afternoon.
You ‘ll be called first as my name is after yours on the list.

Opposite, facing, across and over have the meaning of on the other side of but with across and over we have to state on the other side of what, e.g. a road, a river:

I’ll meet you in the café opposite I facing the theatre. (= on the other side of the road)
I’ll meet you in the café across lover the road from the theatre.

Note: The difference between opposite / facing and in front of is that the items on the ’line’ are not facing in the same direction, as in the diagram above, but are facing each other:

A is facing/ opposite B. A and B are facing /opposite each other.

Check out: English Pronunciation in use Intermediate pdf

Movement and Direction

Vertical Movement
down (to)	off	on
onto	over	up (to)

We use these prepositions for movement up or down:

Keep to the right as you go down the stairs.
Look at Johnny’s knee – he’s just fallen off his bike.

We get on or off a bus, plane, train, boat and bike but into and out of a car.

We can use over for a movement up and then down an obstacle:

The burglar leaped over the garden fence as he ran away from us.

Passing Movement
across	along	down	over
past	through	up

We use along for movement In a line, eg. along a river/ road:

You can spend a pleasant afternoon strolling along the canals in Amsterdam.

We also often use up and down with roads and rivers (meaning ‘along’):

Go up the road to the corner, and the cinema is on the left.

We use across for movement from one side to the other of something on a ‘surface’, e.g. across the river/ road/field. We use through for movement inside something, e.g. through a room/ tunnel:

You walk across the playing field to the wood then you go through the wood …

Over is similar to across (one side to the other) but it incorporates the idea of above:

Are we going to fly over the Alps on the way to Italy?

We use past for a movement from one side to the other of something, next to it:

I was startled by a huge bird that flew past my window this afternoon.

Movement in One Direction
around	at	away from	down
down to	from	into	onto
out of	to	towards	up
up to

We can use both to and at after certain verbs, e.g. throw, shout. To suggests that the recipient of the action is willing but at that he/she is not willing:

Can you throw that book to me, please ? (I am willing.)
Don’t throw stones at the cat! (The cat is unwilling.)

We can use up to or towards when we approach someone or something, but we use only up to if we actually reach the person/thing:

X Do you think I can go towards him and ask for his autograph?

✓ Do you think I can go up to him and ask for his autograph?

✓ The scientist moved quietly towards the group of grazing animals.

We can use up (to) and down (to) for movement north or south within a country:

We’ve just come down to Canberra from Darwin.

We can express a circular movement with (a)round:

We drove (a)round the roundabout three times before we took the correct exit.

We can also use the prepositions of movement in a less literal way:

A system of charges has been introduced into the Health Service.

Time

Point in Time
at	in	on

We use at with times, special periods (e.g. celebrations) and in some phrases: at five to seven, at Christmas, at night, at the weekend (US English on the weekend)

We use in with parts of the day, months, seasons, years, centuries, etc.: in the evening, in December, in 1999, in the winter, in the twentieth century

We use on with days and dates, including special days: on Thursday, on (the morning of) the 31st of October, on Christmas Day

We sometimes omit the preposition if we use about or around, to be less specific:

Let’s meet at the station (at) about six; there’s a train at ten past.
We can supply the materials (on) around Thursday next week.

In US English and informal British English, we can also omit on before days:

Great news! The travel agent can get us on a flight that leaves Wednesday

We do not use the prepositions at, on or in immediately before adverbs or adverbial phrases such as today, tomorrow, last / this/ next week:

X The new soap opera on BBC2 is starting on tomorrow.

✓ The new soap opera on BBC2 is starting tomorrow.

Before or After
After	Before	By	Past

We can use after or past to mean ‘later than’:

There’s no point in going to the party now; it’s after / past eleven o’clock.

We use before to mean ‘before a time’, and we use by to mean ‘before or at a time’:

Applications must be submitted before 30th November. (= on the 29th or earlier)
Applications must be submitted by 30th November. (= on the 30th or earlier)

Note: The adverbial phrases in time (with time to spare) and on time (at the right time, often fixed) have different meanings:

The wedding car arrived on time but the bride wasn’t ready. (= time to spare)
I want to arrive right on time at the church. It’s not done for the bride to arrive before the groom. (= not early or late)

Duration
as from/ of	between	during	for
from.. till/ until/ up to	in	inside	since
through (out)	until/ till	up to	within

We can use a number of different prepositions to talk about duration:

As of next Monday, we will have to suspend flexible working arrangements until further notice.
The long flowing style – of hair and clothes – was fashionable during/ through(out) much of the seventies.
This volcano hasn’t erupted since 1935.
The motorway widening was successfully completed within/in/inside four months.

British English uses from … to to express the start and endpoints of a period of time, but US English uses through:

I’ll be staying at the Hilton from Friday to Monday.
I’ll be staying at the Hilton Friday through Monday.

Other Meanings

Reason
because of	due to	for	from
out of	owing to	through

The 10.00 service to Bath has been canceled due to /owing to staff shortage.
Huge numbers of people in the Third World die from starvation every day.
Many parents sacrifice their own material wealth out of the desire to give their children everything.
The fire started through careless disposal of a cigarette end.

Means
by	by means of	in
via	with

We use by or with to introduce an instrument:

Negotiations were held by phone between the client and his solicitor.
The victim was killed by a bullet to the head/ with a sawn-off shotgun.

We also use by for the agent (or originator) of something:

It’s a painting by Van Gogh. He completed it during his stay in Arles.

Note the difference between by and of here:

It’s a painting of Van Gogh. It’s actually not a very good likeness of him.

We use in when we refer to the means we use to achieve something:

Complete the form in pencil. He prefers to paint in watercolor.

Purpose
for	towards

I want an opener that can be used for opening bottles of beer as well as wine.
We’re saving all of this extra income towards a round-the-world trip next year.

Comparison
against	as	besides	between
contrary to	than	(un) like

We use against, beside and contrary to to make a contrast:

Look at this year’s sales figures against last year’s; they’re so much better.
Besides her sister, Laura was positively plain.
The Davis Cup final was won by the French team, contrary to expectations.

We use between to differentiate (usually the difference between):

You won’t be able to tell the difference between butter and this spread.

We can use like to make a comparison, but we use as to express a role:

She behaves like a director, but she’s really only a secretary.
Speaking as a director of the company, I believe we should sell the shares.

Inclusion and Exclusion
among	as well as	besides	between
beyond	inside	instead of	out of
outside	under	within	without

We usually use between with only two objects and among with more than two:

For women, the distinction between work and leisure is less clear-cut.
The terminals are among the biggest single development sites in Europe.

Note the uses of the following prepositions which have the meaning of exclusion:

Are there any issues remaining besides that of the roof repairs?
I’m afraid that changes to the curriculum are beyond I outside I out of our control.

Exception
apart from	barring
but for	except (for)
save

Everyone is invited to the conference dinner, except (for)/apart from/save those who have bought ‘day’ tickets only.

Except and except for can both be used after phrases containing determiners such as all, every, no:

Julian did very well in all his exams except (for) geography.
Except for one question on calculus, Julian got all the maths questions right.

However, when the prepositional phrase contradicts the main idea of the sentence, we use except for:

Trulli emerged from the wreckage of the car uninjured except for a broken thumb.

We use but for to mean ‘if not for’:

The house would have been destroyed but for the quick thinking of the firefighters.

Contrast
Despite	for all	in spite of

Despite/In spite of/ For all his grand ways, he was really no better off than the rest of us.

Material
from	of	out of	with

We use different prepositions when we describe the material from which something is made (made (out) of, made from, made with)

We use of when the original material is still visible:

a dress made of silk
a jacket made of leather
a table of the finest mahogany

We use from when the original material has been transformed:

ice cream made from strawberries
toilet rolls made from recycled paper

We use with when we refer to a filling or an ingredient:

vine leaves stuffed with rice
rice pudding made with cream

We use of in metaphorical phrases:

a man of iron
a heart of gold

Benefit: for/ for the sake of/ on behalf of

On behalf of our shareholders, I’d like to thank all of you who voted in favor of the merger.
I think we should move to the country for the sake of the children.

Reporting: according to

We do not use according to to report our own feelings or opinions:

X Holograms aren’t a real art form, according to me.

✓ According to many art critics, holograms aren’t a real art form.

✓ Holograms aren’t a real art form, in my opinion.

Prepositions: Practice Exercises with Answers

Solve these tests on prepositions to get a band 9. Answers are given at the bottom.

Q 1.

Rewrite the sentences. Put the words in brackets in the correct order.

The people in the earthquake zone were encouraged to [area/away/from/get/the] while there was still time.
Water will be made available [and/crisis/for/hospitals/schools/the/throughout].
The acting and the costumes were excellent, [as/but/for/plot/the], it was ridiculous!
It must have been raining really hard. All [are/through/passers-by/soaked/the].
This year’s award for excellence in the industry will be collected (behalf/of/on/winner/the) by the chairman of the Design Foundation
The rescuers pulled the dog [a/by/from/means/of/rope/the/well].
Can you pass me the pasta pan? It’s [cupboard/of/on/right/the/top].
The journey time has been reduced [hours/just/three/to/under].
‘You’re late. You weren’t on the train that was derailed, were you?’ ‘No, [one/after/the/mine/just/was]
Didn’t you recognize her? She was sitting [almost/beard/man/opposite/the/the/with].

Q 2.

Underline the best alternative in bold.

Our son, James Christopher, was born in/on the morning of 2nd March.
Don’t forget that your final assignment must be handed to your tutor – /on next Monday.
The soldiers didn’t arrive at the village on/in time – the rebels had already burned the remaining houses.
Don’t be late for the Philharmonia concert – you know they always start dead on/in time.
There has been no sign of the birds until/since nightfall.
David Mamet’s latest play will be showing on Broadway October up to/through December.
The payment of your electricity bill is now four weeks overdue. If we do not receive payment on/ by 31^st July, we shall refer the matter to the court.
As he opened the shop at 7.30 in the morning, Mr Charles was attacked by/with a baseball bat.
The definitive photograph of/ by Marilyn Monroe is the one where she is standing over an air vent.
Alexander Graham Bell worked as/like a teacher for much of his life.
It was impossible to find anything of importance between/among the dead man’s papers.
It is the duty of governments today to take seriously the threat of global warming, in spite of/ for the sake of future generations.
Except/ Apart for a few less experienced individuals, all of the recent applicants were taken on.
This publication is made of/ from paper from sustainable forests.
Letters of application for this post should be completed in/with handwriting.

Q 3.

Complete the following article with the most appropriate prepositions. The preposition may consist of more than one word. The exercise begins with an example (0).

End of the road

It was late afternoon when we drove (0)_into_the little town. We had driven (1)____400 kilometers in the morning and most of it had been (2)____thick fog. We were tired and decided to find a hotel – we didn’t know how far it might be to the next town. We parked, got (3)____the car and stretched – a walk would be very welcome. We left our luggage (4)____the car boot and walked (5)_____the already empty car park to a narrow but fast-flowing stream. A five-minute stroll (6)_____a tree-lined avenue (7)_____the stream took us (8)_____the town square. It was a beautiful old square with a fountain (9)_____the middle and arcades (10)_____three sides. We looked up at terraces of interesting-looking restaurants (11)_____the arcades and then back down at entrances to fascinating little shops (12)______them.

We had no idea where to look for a hotel or a pension in this sleepy town, so we walked (13)_____an old man sitting (14)______a bench by the fountain. He pointed us in the direction of a narrow alleyway and told us we’d find the best hotel (15)_____the little road. It seemed unlikely, but we followed his advice and sure enough, (16) the other end of the alleyway, (17)_____two picturesque old houses, was a sign saying ‘hotel . Just (18)______the hotel, (19)_____the other side of the street, was a house covered in the most colorful flowers, and I immediately hoped that we might be able to see the house from our bedroom window. (20)______the hotel reception, a cool, dark room with a bar (21)______one corner, we asked about a room. Our satisfaction was complete when we realized that even the best room in the hotel was (22)_____$50.

We looked at the room, decided to take it and went down to the lounge, where we stopped for a delicious cappuccino. Soon dusk was falling, so we handed the room key (23)______the receptionist and told him we’d be back with our luggage in ten minutes. As we walked (24)_____the narrow streets, we discussed what we would do the next day and how long we’d stay in the little town. Imagine our horror when we arrived (25)_____the car park to find it completely empty – our car and all of our luggage had been stolen!

Q 4.

In most of the lines of the following text, there is one word or phrase missing. For each line 1-14, indicate where the word should be (use /) and write the missing word in the spaces on the right. Some lines are correct. Indicate these lines with a tick (✓). The exercise begins with two examples (0 and 00).

One of the changes in entertainment in recent years has been the arrival of ✓
alternative comedy. In this type of comedy, performers work with/is considered … what…

to be taboo or controversial. It’s a very strong kind of humor, the main aim
which is the desire to shock people out their comfortable complacent lives and
make them think about it is Important in life today. Some of the most common
subject areas that alternative comedians work are politics, sex, and religion.
Alternative comedy takes place mainly in adult clubs and comedy venues;
because of them that it questions and threatens the establishment, public TV
channels have been reluctant to give it much air time, except try to boost ratings
occasionally among certain audience sectors. In fact, whenever alternative
comedy has appeared on prime time TV, viewers with children have complained
about being somehow corrupted by the nature of the humor. Of course, this
kind of comedy is not intended for children at all, nor is it really the older,
established families with children that it is aimed at. Fortunately for alternative
comedians, the section of society it is intended – younger people who themselves
question the values and priorities of society – continue to support it.

Q 5.

Underline the correct word or phrase in bold. In some cases, both may be correct.

No, you’re not looking at a scene (1) from/out of a James Bond movie! The futuristic buildings in this photo really exist. They are part of the Eden Project – one of the most spectacular (2) in/ of the Millennium projects.

The Eden Project is located (3) at/ in Cornwall, England, is a former clay pit (4) above/over 50 meters deep. It consists of two enormous domes, a large open area, and a visitor center. The Eden Project functions (5) as/like a ‘storeroom’ for a huge number of plants from (6) across/ all over the world. The two collections of domes house plants and trees (7) from/for the tropical and temperate regions (8) of/ in the world, while the open area accommodates more local species.

The Eden Project is much more (9) as/ than a storeroom, however. It is a center (10) for/ on education, art, and science, showing us ways in (11) which/that plants are vital to the world’s existence, and promoting understanding of the delicate balance (12) between/ among using and conserving plant life. As well as (13) offer/ offering a visitor attraction (14) to/ for people of all ages, the Eden Project provides a focus both for scientific research and for education, (15) including/ inside exciting experiences for children, such as walking (16) through/ in a rainforest (17) outside /without leaving England.

In the year 2000, the Eden Project was in the final stages (18) at/ of construction. (19) Contrary to/Unlike most projects of this scale, the Eden Project opened its doors to visitors (20) for/during that building stage. (21) For/For several months visitors were able to experience the challenges that lie (22) under/behind the building of such a project and get a taste of (23) what/which was to come. (24) From/ ln spring 2001 this living theatre opened fully to the public and for (25) under/ below £10, everyone can now experience the diversity of the world’s plants.

Q 6.

Prepositions are missing from the following three stories. Use the prepositions in the box above each story to fill the gaps.

according to	across	between	by
from	in	on	to

A BAD EXPLORER

A man (1)____Kentucky, USA, had a dream that would take him away from the rolling hills of his home state. The dream: to row (2)____the icy Bering Strait (3)_____Alaska and Russia, (4)_____a bathtub! Unfortunately, the dream was not completely fulfilled. (5)_____the explorer. ‘I took four gallons of peanut butter along, but (6)_____the morning of the fourth day, it had gone solid. (7)_____late afternoon, although the sun was still high, the sea went rather thick. The next morning I was frozen in.’ No problem. He abandoned the bathtub and walked (8)______land.

at	behind	in	instead of
into	like	under	with

Some Stupid Thieves

(9)_____the town of Vang, Norway, a group of professional thieves were carrying out a carefully planned robbery. Everything was going (10)_____clockwork. They broke into a company (11)_____night, located the safe and set up some explosives that would blow the door of the safe off, allowing them to get to the money inside. After setting the fuse, they ran (12)_____the next room, crouched (13)_____the wall and waited for the explosion. It came a few seconds later. The safe door was blown off So was the roof. In fact, the entire building collapsed, trapping the robbers, still crouching in the next office, (14)______the rubble of the destroyed building. There had been just one problem they had not foreseen: (15)_____money, the safe had been filled (16)______dynamite.

about	against	along	at
between	during	in	in
into	of	off	on
on	on	on	with

Self-Help Crime Prevention

A Western businessman living (17)_____Japan had been warned (18)_____pickpockets in the Tokyo subways. These notorious thieves operated (19)_____the crowded rush hour. They had a habit (20)_____grabbing wallets just as the subway doors were closing, leaving the victim helpless (21)_____the train while they disappeared with the loot.

One morning the businessman was (22)____his usual subway stop when the train pulled in. He got on, and sure enough, just as the train doors were about to close, he felt a man rub (23)______him. In a panic, the businessman reached for his wallet. It was gone! He looked up as the doors began to close and saw that a man had just got (24)_____the train. The man was looking at him triumphantly.

Thinking fast, the businessman pushed his hands (25)_____the closing doors and grabbed the thief’s jacket. The doors closed, with the thief still (26)_____the platform but (27)_____the lapels of his jacket trapped (28)_____the tight grip of the businessman. As the train began to pull away, the expression (29)_____the thief’s face changed. He began screaming as he ran (30)_____the platform with the train. Finally, he held onto a post and his lapels tore away from his jacket. As the train moved (31)______the tunnel, the businessman was satisfied that at least he had frightened the thief.

When he reached his office, he called his wife to get his credit card numbers so he could cancel them. ‘But honey,’ she said, ‘I’ve been waiting to call you. You left your wallet (32)______the dressing table when you went to work today.’

Answer Key for Diagnostic Test

b
c
b
b
b
c
b
a
c
a
c
c
✓
by means of
just behind
up to
because of the solicitors’ involvement/because (of the fact that) solicitors became involved
✓
Apart from dismantling the lighting,
that I applied for/for which I applied