Knowledge of Prepositions Impresses IELTS Examiners

Most teachers of English as a second or a foreign language consider prepositions as the most difficult to master. It is no wonder why only few books comprehensively discuss them. In this post, I will introduce you to a table of prepositions made by two experts of the field (Murcia and Freeman, 2010).

This table will allow learners to familiarize these short yet controversial words in the English lexicon. It is impossible to memorize all their functions, so it is advisable that students get the real experience with these grammatical items through reading a wide range of text and observing how native or fluent speakers use them in their speeches.

Considering IELTS writing, reading, speaking, listening and reading skills, this table will help candidates improve their band score. Prepositions may be small words, but they could greatly change a sentence’s meaning.

Both in IELTS Reading and IELTS Listening, prepositions are an important marker. They could signal what the missing word would be (for instance, in the sentence completion test).

In IELTS Speaking and IELTS Writing, most examiners get annoyed with the incorrect use of prepositions. Showing a good command with prepositions would lighten up an examiner’s day and makes his or her assessment task easier. In IELTS Writing, especially, accurate and sophisticated use of prepositions would definitely increase the band score.

 

Prep.	Space	Time	Degree	Other (includes idiomatic usages)
at	point/intersect: meet at the cornertarget:Look at John./Throw the stone at the wall.general area: Meet me at the theater.	We met at 1:00.It rains at night there.	Water freezes at 0°C.	He works at keeping in shape.She’s good at dancing.
about	all around: He ran about the yard.	approx: about 1:00	approx:about $1about 70 degrees	concerning: a book about mathematics
above	higher than: above the picture (on the wall)		above $5above freezing point.above average	above suspicionabove reproach
against	contact: to lean against the wall	conflict: to work against the clock	conflict: two against four	internal: against one’s willexternal: against all odds
around	state: The fence is around the house.action: The children run around the yard.	approx: around 1:00	approx: around $2around 4 miles
before	in front of: before the mastHe stood before us.	earlier than: before 1960before the accident
below	lower than: below the surface		below zero, below average
between	at an intermediate point in relation to two entities: between the house and the street	between 1 and 2 o’clock	between 100 and 110 lbs.	between you and me
by	nearness: chair by the desk	no later than: by 5 P.M.	reduplication- (gradual increase): little by little; inch by inch degree of failure: miss the target by a mile; miss the rain by 3 minutes	without help: do by oneself
for	goal: set out for Alaskadistance: for 7 miles	duration: for 7 years	exchange: buy for $4	reason: California is famous for its wines.goal/purpose: fish for trout
from	a starting point: We traveled from N.Y. to L.A.origin: man from New York	work from 9 to 5	from 60 to 80 degreesfrom 5 to 7 dollars	source: paper is made from woodcause: wet from the rain
in	enclosure: The man is in the room.	in a period: WW II ended in 1945.future appt.: Come in 10 minutes.		currency: Pay me in dollars.language: Write/say it in English.
of	names of geog. loc. or institutions: the city of N.Y.the state of Texasthe Univ. of Calif.	before: a quarter of ten	fraction, portion: one of the boys	posses./assoc.: a friend of minesource: a table made of wood
on	contact: on the wallalong: on the Po; I live on this street.	day,date: on Sundayon Nov. 9th		communication: on the radio; on TV/the tellyconcerning: a book on magic; a lecture on modern art
over	state of being above (with or without contact): carry a sweater over his shoulder; the roof over our headsaction above: jump over the fence	spanning time: over the weekend	more than: over an hourover $2over 0°C	communication: over the radion, TV
through	penetrate: through the window; through the forest	duration: through the years		endurance: through thick and thin
to	direction: go to the movies	until: work from 9 to 5before: a quarter to eleven	He is wise to that extent./He is wise to such an extent that	accompany: dance to the music
toward(s)	in the direction of: walk toward the wall	toward nothing	the temperature moved steadily toward 0°C	toward a lasting peace
under	below (state): be under the housebelow (action); crawl under the house	less than: in under an hour	under $1under 10 menunder 70 degrees	condition: under duress (stress)
with	alongside, near: even with the wall	together: He grew wiser with the years.He rises with the chickens.	equal standing or ability: rank with the best; run with the fastest	in regard to: pleased with the giftmanner: spoke with ease

 

 

Now test your knowledge. Read the article below and fill in each blank with the appropriate preposition.

Note: not all answers are found in the table, so try to use your “second language intuition” in answering. You may also do some research or consultation with a native speaker/expert.

Atheism Rises, Religiosity Declines In America

Kimberly Winston

(RNS) Religiosity is on the decline ___ (1) the U.S. and atheism is on the rise, according to a new worldwide poll.

The poll, called “The Global Index of Religiosity and Atheism,” found that the number ___ (2) Americans who say they are “religious” dropped ___ (3) 73 percent ___ (4) 2005 (the last time the poll was conducted) to 60 percent. At the same time, the number ___ (5) Americans who say they are atheists rose, ___ (6) 1 percent to 5 percent.

 

The poll was conducted by WIN-Gallup International and is based ___ (7) interviews ___ (8) 50,000 people ___ (9) 57 countries and five continents. Participants were asked, “Irrespective of whether you attend a place of worship or not, would you say you are a religious person, not a religious person, or a convinced atheist?”

The seven years ___ (10) the polls is notable because 2005 saw the publication of “The End of Faith” by Sam Harris, the first in a wave of best-selling books on atheism by Christopher Hitchens, Richard Dawkins, Daniel Dennett and other so-called “New Atheists.”

“The obvious implication is that this is a manifestation of the New Atheism movement,” said Ryan Cragun, a University of Tampa sociologist ___ (11) religion who studies American and global atheism.

Still, Cragun does not believe the poll shows more people are becoming atheists, but rather that more people are willing to identify as atheists.

“___ (12) a very long time, religiosity has been a central characteristic of the American identity,” he said. “But what this suggests is that is changing and people are feeling less inclined to identify as religious to comply ___ (13) what it means to be a good person ___ (14) the U.S.”

Another possible factor may be the number ___ (15) atheists within organized efforts by American atheist groups to encourage those who do not believe in God to say so publicly. The Out Campaign, a project ___ (16) the Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science, was launched in 2007 and has since been endorsed by several national atheist groups.

The current poll confirms a declining religiosity — both at home and abroad — that’s been detected in other polls. The 2008 American Religious Identification Survey found that 15 percent of Americans said they have no religion — different from being a “confirmed atheist,” but nonetheless up from 8 percent ___ (17) 1990.

Barry Kosmin, the principal investigator for the ARIS report, said he’s skeptical of the new study.

“The U.S. trends are what we have found and would expect, but the actual numbers are peculiar to say the least,” he said. “The drops in religiosity seem too sharp for the time period — people just don’t change their beliefs that quickly. Most of the trend away ___ (18) religion has demographic causes and demography moves ‘glacially.'”

Specifically, he points ___ (19) the poll’s finding that Vietnam, while showing a sharp 23 percent drop in religiosity since 2005, also shows no atheists. “Eight million Communist Party members but zero atheists?” he said. “That statistic makes me very doubtful ___  (20) the accuracy of the survey overall and some of the international comparisons.”

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com

Note: You should take advantage of the link above to the Huffington Post. It contains great articles with which you can develop English language reading skills and widen your vocabulary.

Answer

in           of            from       in           of

from     on           with       from      between

of           for          with       in            of

of           in            from      to            of

 

 
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To your IELTS success!

Don Enricuso
Pass IELTS Higher