CBSE Class 9 - English (Comm.) Workbook - Prepositions (Unit 8)

PREPOSITIONS

1. Read the following passage on New Zealand.

New Zealand is a Mecca for nature lovers. Throughout most of New Zealand's geological history, it was a bird's paradise. The islands were once part of the southern super - continent Gondwana from which they broke off around 80 million years ago before mammals had evolved and spread.

(courtesy : Terra Green Sept 2008 issue 06)

Answer:

The underlined words express a relationship usually of space or time between the words with which they stand. Such 'Positional' words which are used before nouns (pre-position) are called ___prepositions_____

2. Identify the functions of the prepositions in each of these sentences.

Answer: 

1. George Washington served as the Commander-in-Chief during the American Revolutionary War. (Time)
2. The assassin shot the leader with a gun. (Means)
3. Pratap bequeathed his property to charity. (Cause)
4. Manoj was awarded a certificate for his good conduct. (Reason)
5. The roof is covered with fire-proof sheets.(Material)

3. Fill in the blanks with suitable prepositions.

Answer:

1. The magician made the girl disappear __before__ my own eyes. ('before' here means 'in front of')
2. He climbed __up__ the ladder.
3. There is a super market _near/near to/next to__ our house.
4. The train was late ___by______ 3 hrs. 

4. Group the prepositions in the box below to indicate their use as prepositions of place (P), movement (M) or time (T). There may be more than one category for each.

Answer:

between   __Place__	past     _Time___	before    _Time__
along       _Movement_	on       _Place___	until      _Time__
since       _Time_____	behind _Place___	beside   _Place__
up           _Place_____	round  _Movement_	out of    _Place__
among    _Place_____	for       _Time___	at          _Place, Time__
in front of _Place____	across  _Movement_	under    _Place__
after         _Time_____	through _Movement__	during   _Time___

5. A student from a lower class asks you to help her illustrate for her class, the use of different prepositions.

In groups of four, choose one of the following lists of prepositions and draw simple pictures to illustrate their meaning.

Time	Place	Movement
since	on	through
at	in	along
until	behind	across
for	beside	down
after	above	down

Answer: A few are illustrated below:

Prepositions of Location

6. Picture Dictation - Try it yourself

7. This description is taken from a well-known film. Can you guess which one?

A man in a red cape and blue tights is flying over a city. On his chest is the letter S. Below him a large crowd is pointing up at him.
Imagine a scene from a play, film or TV show you have seen.
Describe (a) where things and people are, and (b) any movement. Follow the example.
Show your description to your partner. Guess each other's play or film.

Answer:
Before us is the Salesman’s house. We are aware of towering, angular shapes behind it, surrounding it on all sides. Only the blue light of the sky falls upon the house and forestage; the surrounding area shows an angry glow of orange. As more light appears, we see a solid vault of apartment houses around the small, fragile-seeming home. An air of the dream dings to the place, a dream rising out of reality. The kitchen at center seems actual enough, for there is a kitchen table with three chairs, and a refrigerator. But no other fixtures are seen. At the back of the kitchen there is a draped entrance, which leads to the living room. To the right of the kitchen, on a level  raised two feet, is a bedroom furnished only with a brass bedstead and a straight chair. On a shelf over the bed a silver athletic trophy stands. A window opens onto the apartment house at the side.

(an excerpt from 'The Death of a Salesman')

8. Study the map and the key given below carefully, and complete the sentences that follow.

Key

1. Lalnagar
2. Sarkor
3. Timpur
4. Rampur (Capital)
5. Marwah
6. Chickoor
7. Strange Like
8. Neverest Hills
9. Nafran
10. Lakshmanpur

Complete the following

_Lakshmanpur_	| is	| half-way along the west coast of Halsi Island.
Rampur	| is situated	|
	| lies _on/at__	| on the south coast of the island, north of _Strange Lake_
	| is located	|

(Note the use of words like along, north of etc.)

Now describe the position of the other eight places, using some of the words in the box. 

at	along	among
to	next to	opposite
on	between
in	above
by	below
over
under

Answer:

1. Lalnagar lies at foot of Neverest Hills.
2. Sarkar is located in the North of  Neverst Hills.
3. Timpur is situated on the banks of River Exe
4. Rampur lies on the south coast of the island, north of Strange Lake.
5. Marwah is located along the deltas of River Exe, south of Bir Forest.
6. Chikoor is situated next to Bir Forest towards east side.
7. The Strange Lake lies below Lalnagar next toTimpur.
8. Neverst Hills are located above Lalnagar and just below Sarkor.
9. Nafran  is situated between Timpur and Chickoor.
10. Lakshmanpur lies half-way along the west coast of Halsi Island.

9. Look at the map below.

You have invited three friends to a party at your house. Write three separate notes, giving them directions from 1, 2 and 3 to your house. You may use the words in the box.

You may use:                    
 along
 up to
 at
 up
 down
 as far as
 past
 opposite
 in front of
 next to
 straight across       
 go
 turn
 walk
 take

The directions from (1) are given here as an example

Go down Diwan Marg and turn right down Antonio Avenue. Walk as far as the traffic lights then turn right into Mount Road. Turn first left into The Crescent and my house is on the left.

Answer:
Directions from ❷: From Station, go down Osborne road upto High street roundabout and then walk down Mount road till you reach the traffic lights. Turn left to the Crescent and skip first two left turns and walk along the park upto its end. My house is on the right opposite to park end.

Directions from ❸: Go down Pen Lane and turn right to High street. Walk as far as the crossing and turn left and take a walk towards October Drive. In front of you there is park. Walk straight and cross October Drive,  turn right and walk along the park to its end. When you reach the Crescent, turn left and walk along the park upto its end. My house is on the right opposite to park end.

10. Please do it yourself.

Prepositions of Time

after          at                                      before                               between
by             during                               for                                    from
on             past                                   since                                 throughout
to              towards                             until                                  within

11. You have recently been to a wedding. A British pen friend asks you to describe it. Using the words in the box, describe the different stages. Write only the body of the letter below.

Answer: 

Dear Abby,
        How are you doing? Last week I got a chance to attend a North Indian marriage. If you happen to be in India and do not attend Indian marriage, you a miss a lot! A big fat Indian marriage is a show which never fails to entertain! All you can say, it full of music, dance, fun and family ties. Usually it is multi-tier events which last for a week. Throughout theses events you have exotic food, sweets, dances and music. I reached the groom's house a day before the wedding. The house was fully decorated with flowers and garlands. It was illuminated with lights. The bridegroom's family has been busy for many weeks preparing for the events. The groom himself has been shopping since he got engaged. By evening the Ladies Sangeet started which is followed by dinner. Boys were busy outside the house with loud music and dance. No body complained at such events until it was past two midnight. Next day was the final day of the celestial knot. On that day, there was lot of hustle and bustle. Everybody from groom's family was busy to materialize this majestic occasion. By evening all were ready to march towards the bride's house with band baja and barati. The venue was a marriage hall not very far but it took us nearly two hours. During this procession, everybody was dancing with joy. The marriage venue was splendidly decorated and illuminated. Bride's relatives welcomed us. The groom was escorted to a stage where after few rituals bride joined him. The bride was looking gorgeous wearing a lovely red attire and heavy jewelry.   Both exchanged garlands and sat on the grand sofa at the stage side by side. Dinner was served with sumptuous dishes. After dinner, almost all the guests except near relatives left. Later bride and his groom sat beside the holy fire and performed various Hindu rituals and tied their knot. At dawn, the bride's relatives saw her off with tearful eyes.
I'll share the video and pictures with you. Till then ... good bye!

yours friend
XYZ


12. Link the words from the different columns to produce meaningful sentences. One has been completed as an example. If you wish, write out the correct sentences in your notebook.

He went  She is ill  They're so much               The Prince came  The poor animal is  That's enough  The style is  They met  My house is not  He's not

for        by     in      on   out of    at

love.    work.    hospital.    foot.    the moment.        chance.    air.    pain.    date.    sale.

e.g. He went on foot.


Answer:

1. She is ill in hospital.
2. They're so much in love.
3. The Prince came by air.
4. The poor animal is in pain.
5. That's enough at the moment.
6. The style is out of date.
7. They met by chance.
8. My house if not for sale.
9. He's not at work.

13. Verbs and Prepositions
       Fill in the gaps with suitable prepositions

Answer:

1.  You're right. I agree ___with___ you.
   (✏ Agree with a person, Agree to a proposal)
2. The conclusions are based __on____ extensive research.
3. He arrived _at__ Delhi airport at 2 am and then arrived __in__ the city at 4 am.
   (✏ Arrive at a place/site/building, Arrive in city/country)
4. He angrily shouted ___at___ the pupil.
   (✏ 'at' refers to a direction e.g. shout at, glance at etc.)
5. "Remember the party!" she shouted __to__ her friend.
   (✏ 'to' refers to a person/listener.)
6. A differs __from___ B in a number of ways.
   (✏ differ from anything, differ with a person on a subject.)
7. He applied __for__ the teaching job but was turned down.
   (✏ 'for' indicates purpose/reason.)
8. She replied __to__ his last letter.
9. They apologized __for__ breaking the vase.
10. Do you believe __in___ ghosts?

14. Adjectives and Prepositions

Look at the table below. Decide which of the adjectives in Column A commonly go with which preposition. Tick the table as shown. (There may be more then one tick for each adjective)

Answer:

A	at	to	about	for
Worried			✓	✓
good	✓			✓
bad	✓			✓
surprised	✓
happy	✓	✓		✓
sensitive		✓
puzzled	✓
married		✓
clever	✓
suitable				✓
curious		✓	✓
due		✓
qualified				✓
famous				✓

15. Use the adjectives and prepositions from the box above to fill in the gaps below. Add eight sentences of your own.

Answer:

1. Mary is bad __at____ Maths.
2. Fruit is good __for_____ you.
3. Ram was married __to_____ Beena for 10 years. They were very happy.
4. This tool is more ___suitable_ __for___ planing wood.
5. What good news! I'm so __surprised__ __at___ you.
6. He's _worried__ _for__ her; she looks ill.
7. She's ashamed _of_ her bad behaviour.
8. They are fond _of_ dancing.
9. He was absent _from___ the Science Club yesterday.
10. He is sensitive _to_ criticism.
11. I am puzzled at the kind of choices they offer.
12. He is clever at playing guitar.
13. The cancellation was due to the rain.
14. Mumbai is famous for its Pav Bhaji.
15. I am curious to know what happened to her after the accident.
16. You should not worry about where the money has gone.
17. I am happy to assist you.
18. Do you qualify for the pension scheme after you retirement?
19. During spring season, many are sensitive to pollens allergy.
20. Give what you are good at.

16. Think of a person in your class, and use adjective + prepositions from 14 to describe him/her in about two or three sentences. Don't give a name.

Answers:

1. She's good at Maths.
2. She's keen on hiking.
3. She's fond of dancing.
4. She belongs to a family of doctors.
5. Her sister is married to an IAS officer.
6. She's always curious about other people's affairs.