Q1.
Complete the story using the correct prepositions.
around, after, before, in, above, on, among
My father has a habit of keeping his spectacles ......................... random places. Last week, he could not find his spectacles and looked ......................... the house. We checked the big box that reached ......................... our waists. My father looked for the spectacles ......................... the newspapers kept ......................... the table. He continued searching for two hours ......................... finally giving up. He sat down on the bed ......................... giving one final look to the room and said with a sigh, ‘Looks like it is time to get a new pair.’
Answer
A preposition is a small word that tells us where something is or when something happens. Here is the completed story, with the answers in bold.
My father has a habit of keeping his spectacles in random places. Last week, he could not find his spectacles and looked around the house. We checked the big box that reached above our waists. My father looked for the spectacles among the newspapers kept on the table. He continued searching for two hours before finally giving up. He sat down on the bed after giving one final look to the room and said with a sigh, ‘Looks like it is time to get a new pair.’
Now the reason for each one:
| Blank | Answer | The little rule |
|---|---|---|
| 1. keeping his spectacles ___ random places | in | Use in when something is inside a space or a place. |
| 2. looked ___ the house | around | Use around for looking on all sides, from place to place. |
| 3. the big box that reached ___ our waists | above | Use above for something higher up, not touching. |
| 4. looked for the spectacles ___ the newspapers | among | Use among when something is mixed in with many things (three or more). |
| 5. newspapers kept ___ the table | on | Use on for something resting on top of a surface and touching it. |
| 6. searching for two hours ___ finally giving up | before | Use before for the earlier action. He searched first, then gave up. |
| 7. sat down on the bed ___ giving one final look | after | Use after for the later action. The look came first, then he sat down. |
Two pairs worth remembering:
in = inside something · on = resting on top of something · above = higher up, with a gap.
among = in the middle of many · between = in the middle of two.
in = inside something · on = resting on top of something · above = higher up, with a gap.
among = in the middle of many · between = in the middle of two.
Check it yourself: All seven words in the box are used, and each one is used only once. If you have a word left over, one of your blanks is wrong.