Read A Workbook to Communicative Grammar of English Online
Authors: Dr. Edward Woods,Rudy Coppieters
A Workbook to Communicative Grammar of English (16 page)
Task two **
(a)
Which of these place expressions are NOT adverbials?
(b)
Classify the adverbials on the basis of grammatical structure.
The most important words for indicating place are prepositions.
•
‘
at -type
’ prepositions
indicate a point in space:
to, at, from, away from
such a remote spot
•
‘
on -type
’ prepositions
indicate a line or a surface:
on, on to, off, across, over, along, through
the river
•
‘
in -type
’ prepositions
indicate an area or a volume:
in, into, out of, through, inside, outside, within
the prison compound.
Task one **
Complete the following sentences and text, using each of the above prepositions at least once.
1.
The discredited politician lived ______ Grantchester, a small village just ______ Cambridge.
2.
The pilot came aboard three miles ______ Vancouver Island and steered the freighter safely _______ the harbour.
3.
The high road ______ Kingsbridge ______ Plymouth passes ______ three
small villages.
4.
Today we are trekking ______ dense forests ______ the island of
Mindanao.
5.
It was in 1799 that Wordsworth moved ______ Dove Cottage with his sister Dorothy, but lack of space caused them to move ______ it again in 1808 ______ larger premises.
6.
______ the parliament building, gazing out ______ the Ottawa River, one has a fine view of the twin city ______ the far shore – Hull.
7.
Walk straight ______ the field, go ______ a gate and continue ______ the edge of the next field.
8.
Very little is known about what is going on ______ the country, except that most civilians are staying well ______ war zones.
9.
As soon as I had arrived _____ Axminster railway station, I stepped ______ the train ______ the platform, got ______ my car and drove off ______ Charmouth ______ the coast of Dorset.
10.
On Tuesday 15 August, Scase was ______ York Station beginning his watch by half-past eight in the morning. He had travelled ______ York the previous evening and had taken a room ______ a dull commercial hotel close ______ the station. He could have been lodged ______ any provincial city. It never occurred to him to visit the Minster or to stroll ______ the cobbled streets ______ the city walls.
(from P.D. James,
Innocent Blood
, p. 123)
Task two **
Complete the following sentences, using prepositional phrases which act as acceptable place adverbials in the context.
1.
One of the rodeo riders lost his balance and fell ……….
2.
Two people escaped from the burning building by jumping ……….
3.
The commuters were relieved to see that the London train was at last pulling ……….
4.
Looking outside, I could see two pigeons perched ……….
5.
To get to the other side of the river you only have to walk ……….
6.
Firefighters had already rescued the driver but two passengers were still trapped ……….
7.
It is safer to sail ………. than to go further out to sea.
8.
Billy wanted to play in the neighbours’ garden, so he simply climbed ………..
9.
Instead of visiting the old town centre we just drove ………
10.
Eastern Docks have been blockaded, so ferries will have to leave ………. Docks this time.
11.
I thought Barbara was married because she was wearing a ring ……….
12.
People who want to socialize often have some drinks ……….
7.9. Overlap between types of prepositions
The preposition ‘
at
’ is preferred to the preposition ‘
in
’
•
for smaller towns or villages when they are seen as places on the map: live
at
Chatham.
•
for buildings when they are thought of as institutions: be
at
school.
The preposition ‘
at
’ is preferred to the prepositon ‘
to
’ with verbs such as
aim, throw, point, shout
, etc. when the following noun phrase indicates a target: shout
at
the intruder.
The preposition ‘
on
’ is preferred to the preposition ‘
in
’ when a surface is meant, rather than an area or a volume: to sit
on
the grass.
Task **
Fill the gaps with one of the following prepositions:
at, in, into, on, to
.
1.
Cornelius Vanderbilt was born ______ Staten Island in 1794.
2.
Would you please stop yelling ______ me like that?
3.
Jack the Ripper killed at least seven prostitutes ______ the East End.
4.
Do you still have an account ______ Barclays Bank?
5.
Local youths were playing football ______ the freshly mown grass.
6.
After taking a degree ______ Oxford, Thomas Hughes trained as a barrister.
7.
The orangutan still lives in the wild ______ Borneo.
8.
The PM and the Home Secretary are meeting ______ No.10, Downing Street.
9.
One tourist threw a bath-towel ______ the girl who was scrambling up the embankment.
10.
Thousands of troops are pouring ______ eastern Congo again.
11.
The ferry had to dock ______ Plymouth for urgent repair work.
12.
Several bodies were found ______ the collapsed building.
Position is a relation between two objects and can be indicated by a range of prepositions, including the following pairs:
in front of ~ behind
;
above ~ below
;
over ~ under
;
on top of ~ underneath
.
The prepositions
by
and
beside
can be synonymous with
at the side of
or
near
. Other sets of prepositions which are related in meaning are [a]
between, among
and
amid
, and [b]
about
and
(a)round
. The preposition
opposite
means
facing
.
There are corresponding prepositional adverbs which are identical or related in form:
in front ~ behind
;
above ~ below
;
overhead ~ beneath
;
on top ~ underneath
.
Task one ***
Complete the following sentences, using a phrase beginning with one of the above prepositions.
Example:
Secret meetings normally take place
……….
⇒
Secret meetings normally take place
behind closed doors
.
1.
An eyebrow is a line of hair ……….
2.
A basement is a room or area ……….
3.
If you want to get warm again, just sit ……….
4.
A national border is a dividing line ……….
5.
Nobody could see the bullet-proof vest the officer was wearing ……….
6.
The passage was so narrow that the candidates had to line up and stand ……….
7.
If you do not know the itinerary, just follow the vehicle ………..
8.
A party of tourists accompanied by a guide would tend to trail ………. after some time.
9.
When somebody lives right across the street, they occupy the house ……….
10.
When you are surrounded by professionals doing the same work, you are ……….
11.
When a town is besieged, there are enemy soldiers all ………
12.
When piling up things, you normally put the last object ……….
Task two **
Add the most appropriate prepositional adverb where necessary, using each adverb just once:
above | around | behind | below | in between |
in front | on top | opposite | overhead | underneath |
1.
Most of the divers had resurfaced but one or two were still trapped.
2.
During the occupation of the area only the old and sick stayed.
3.
Dozens of B-52s and other warplanes were flying that morning.
4.
Young children travelling in cars are not normally allowed to sit.
5.
I was awakened by a persistent stamping of feet produced by the people living.
6.
Before putting the pizza in the oven just sprinkle some Parmesan.
7.
The man sitting leaned forward and suddenly grabbed me by the shoulders.
8.
I lifted the carpet to find out what had been hidden.
9.
Hours after the tragedy groups of relatives and friends were still standing.
10.
On this side of the road are several detached houses, with a few remaining plots of land.
Many prepositions of place indicate different aspects of motion:
•
motion towards
:
into, onto, to, towards
, etc.
•
motion away from
:
away from, out of
, etc.
•
passage and direction
:
across, along, down, over, past, through, up
, etc.
•
circular motion
:
about, around
.
Task ***
Replace the transitive verbs in the following sentences by ‘simple’ verbs followed by a preposition indicating motion.
Example:
The host
preceded
his guests while showing them around
.
⇒
The host
went/walked
in front of
his guests while showing them around
.
1.
Several people I did not know
entered
the room.
2.
Lady Snodgrass slowly
descended
the stairs.
3.
The plane
circled
the church spire several times.
4.
Hundreds of troops were
approaching
the garrison town.
5.
Aid workers wanted to
leave
the area as fast as they could.
6.
The lorry
passed
the local supermarket.
7.
Two elderly tourists were
climbing
the hill.
8.
Small groups of infantrymen had already
penetrated
enemy lines.
9.
On their way back the hikers
followed
the river.
10.
It took me less than a minute to
cross
the Golden Gate Bridge.
11.
People were allowed to
board
the high-speed train at 8.45.
12.
The crippled man was unable to
negotiate
the stile leading to the next field.
The meanings of space and motion can be combined in various ways:
•
viewpoint
(speaker’s position) often expressed by prepositional phrases used as post-modifiers: the town
beyond
the lake, the garage
past
the stadium
•
place meaning resulting from motion
: The horses are
over
the fence.
•
pervasive meaning
: all
over/through
the building/
throughout
Germany.
Place prepositions are often used in more abstract, metaphorical senses:
out of
danger,
under
suspicion,
over
ten miles,
beyond
recognition, etc.
Most place prepositions correspond in form and meaning to prepositional adverbs: We stopped the bus and got
off
. Some prepositional adverbs have special uses: They travelled
on
.
Task one **
Replace all of the underlined part by the most appropriate preposition in sentences 1–7. Use alternative expressions in sentences 8–10.
Examples:
One suspect was seen
in the vicinity of
the water tower
.
⇒
One suspect was seen
near
the water tower
.
Two burglars
had
already
got into
the vault
.
⇒
Two burglars
were
already
inside
the vault
.
1.
Who is the man
standing
on that ladder?
2.
Jane was phoning a woman
who lived on the other side of
the Atlantic.
3.
It would be nice to see the vineyards
on the other side of
those hills.
4.
I could just make out the shed
which was partly hidden by
the shrubs.
5.
The petrol station is just
at the bottom of
the road.
