This website or its third-party tools use cookies which are necessary to its functioning and required to improve your experience. By clicking the consent button, you agree to allow the site to use, collect and/or store cookies.
Please click the consent button to view this website.
I accept
Deny cookies Go Back

Pass IELTS Higher

Advice and tips to pass IELTS with band scores 7 and above

  • About
  • Members
    • Login
    • Become a Community Member
    • Your Account & Profile
    • Access Your Writing Assessment and Coaching Packages
    • Library Downloads
    • IELTS Help Sheets
      • Task 2 Writing Organisation and Cohesion
      • Grammar – Past Participle – 1
      • Typical IELTS Spelling Mistakes
      • Typical IELTS Student Errors
    • Online Lessons (48)
      • Reading Lessons (11)
      • Writing Lessons (18)
      • Listening Lessons (8)
      • Speaking Lessons (11)
    • Cambridge IELTS Test Book 4 Reading Practice – General Training
  • IELTS Resources
    • IELTS Reading 101
    • IELTS Writing 101
    • IELTS Speaking 101
    • IELTS Listening 101
    • IELTS Articles
      • IELTS Reading
      • IELTS Task 1 and Task 2 Writing
      • IELTS Listening
      • IELTS Speaking
      • IELTS Grammar
      • IELTS Tips
    • IELTS Test Prepcast
    • Cambridge IELTS 4 – General Training Answer Book
  • Writing and Coaching
    • Writing Assessment (Single)
    • Writing Assessment (4 Pieces)
    • Writing Assessment (12 Pieces)
    • Mock Speaking Tests
    • One to One Coaching
    • Community Membership

Knowledge of Prepositions Impresses IELTS Examiners

by Don Enricuso

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

 

 
I hope you found this information useful. If you did and would like more, sign up with Pass IELTS Higher and join over 4000 people who receive new information from www.passieltshigher.com as soon as it is published.

To your IELTS success!

Don Enricuso
Pass IELTS Higher

 

Comments

  1. minoo says

    September 2, 2012 at 7:40 PM

    great, I really needed more information about prepositions. thanks

    Reply
  2. Don Enricuso says

    September 3, 2012 at 3:30 AM

    Hi Minoo!

    It’s fulfilling to know that you find this helpful.

    Regards,
    Don

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Get your writing assessed and corrected - click here

Coaching with IELTS Andrea

Mock IELTS Speaking Test

Our Books are available on Amazon, SCRIBD, Barnes and Noble, iBooks, Kobo and many more

IELTS_FNL2_READING_125-166

Buy IELTS Reading

IELTS_FNL2_LISTENING_125-200

 Buy IELTS Listening

IELTS Writing Task 1 (Academic)

 IELTS Writing Task 1

IELTS Writing Task 2

 IELTS Writing Task 2

Cambridge IELTS 7 Reading Practice Tests Explained

 Cambridge IELTS 7 Reading

IELTS Speaking

 IELTS Speaking

Find it Here

Recent Posts

  • How to use punctuation correctly to increase your IELTS Bandscore
  • IELTS success at passieltshigher.com
  • IELTS Task 1 – Changes in a diagram (Band 7+)
  • How to get Band 7+ in your IELTS Task 1 Process Writing
  • Improve your use of the passive voice to help achieve your IELTS Band 7 or 8

Post Categories

  • IELTS Articles
  • IELTS Grammar
  • IELTS Intensive Preparation
  • IELTS Listening
  • IELTS Reading
  • IELTS Speaking
  • IELTS Task 1 and Task 2 Writing
  • IELTS Tips
  • News

Get your writing assessed and corrected - click here

Coaching with IELTS Andrea

Mock IELTS Speaking Test

Our Books are available on Amazon, SCRIBD, Barnes and Noble, iBooks, Kobo and many more

IELTS_FNL2_READING_125-166

Buy IELTS Reading

IELTS_FNL2_LISTENING_125-200

 Buy IELTS Listening

IELTS Writing Task 1 (Academic)

 IELTS Writing Task 1

IELTS Writing Task 2

 IELTS Writing Task 2

Cambridge IELTS 7 Reading Practice Tests Explained

 Cambridge IELTS 7 Reading

IELTS Speaking

 IELTS Speaking

Register Free to download the Library

... and begin your IELTS Test Preparation!

Get the Library Here

  • Facebook
  • Google+
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Login
  • Your Profile

© 2021 STMP Associates Ltd.

Privacy Policy