CBSE Class 8 English Grammar Preposition

A preposition is a word placed before a noun or pronoun to show its relation with
some other word in the sentence.

1. He works hard in the hope of standing first.

2. We met at night.
3. The book is on the table.
4. We stay at home during the holidays.
5. I will be there by ten O’ clock.
6. It has rained for three hours.
7. He pointed to the tree.

In the above sentences, the italicised words in. at. on. by. for and to are
preposi¬tions. The nouns that come after them are called their objects. Thus, ‘hope’
is the object of ‘in’ ; home is the object of at: holidays is the object of ‘during’. ‘Ten is
the object of ‘by’; hours is the object of for’ and tree is the object of to.
The Prepositions generally serve three important purposes :

(a) Indication of Time

(b) Indication of Place
(c) As a part of the Verb

The Preposition

(A) Indicating Time

Time is indicated mainly by at. on, in. during, by. and for.
1. At
(i) At is used for a point in time :
We shall meet at 6 O’clock.
He came at midnight.
Similarly, at dawn, at sunset, at the end, at the beginning etc.
(ii) At is used before festivals :
We have a holiday at Diwali.
Similarly, at Holi, at Christmas, at New year etc.

2. On
(i) On is used for a particular day, whether it is a date (e.g. 5 June, Feb. 14th), a
day (e.g. Monday, or a special da
(ii) On is used for a particular part of such days as described above.
I will come on the night of 10th July.
We will meet on Friday afternoon.

3. In
(i) In is used before a period of time : in the winter, in July, in the year 2005, in the
morning, in the evening.
I first met him in 2005.
Cricket is in played in India winter.
(ii) In is also used to show the total length of time taken to complete an activity or
operation.
This train will get you from Delhi to Chandigarh in four hours.

4. During
When an action or a situation continues for sometime, during is used before that
specified period.
We enjoyed ourselves during the vacation.
People work during the day.

5. By
(i) By is used to denote the ultimate point by which something was or is to be
completed.
I have to complete the work by Monday.
The applications should reach by 14 February.
(ii) By is used with day and night where it means during.
He travelled by day and slept by night.

6. For
For is used before a time phrase to denote that so much time has passed during
which an action or a situation continued.
I have not seen him for two years.
We waited for an hour but he didn’t turn up.
Important Points
(i) The prepositions at, on and in are not used if the noun giving time has an
adjective with it.
He met me last Sunday.
We will come again next Diwali.
We go for a walk every morning.
I will be twenty next June.
(ii) Yesterday, today and tomorrow do not take a preposition.
I will come again tomorrow.

You met me yesterday.

He is arriving today.

Exercise 1
(Solved)

Fill in the blanks with appropriate prepositions :

1. Diwali is …….. 10 November.
2. Gandhiji lived ………. the English rule.
3. They finished work ………. sunset.
4. Gandhiji was born …………. 1869 and died ……… 30 January, 1948.
5. I will call at your house sometime ……… he evening.
6. Shankar’s birthday is ………. 3 March.
7. The train leaves Delhi ………. 3.00 pm and reaches Chandigarh …….. 7.00 pm.
8. He should be here ………. now.
9. Please come to my office at 11.00 am ………. Tuesday afternoon.
10. Parmod will see you …………. Monday ………. 11.00 am.

Answers:
1. on
2. during
3. by/before
4. in, on
5. in
6. on
7. at, at
8. by
9. on
10. on, at

Exercise 2
(Solved)

Fill in the blanks with prepositions in the following sentences :

1. You must reach there ……… week-end.
2. The robbers entered the house ………. the night.
3. The exhibition will be opened ……… 10 am ………. Friday.
4. The interested candidates should report for interview latest ………… 3 June 2007.
5. He came to my house ……… my absence.
6. The examinations will commence ……….. April 1 ………. 9.00 am.
7. Send your reply ……. March 3, the latest.
8. We are having a variety show ………… Saturday.
9. Are you coming to see us ………. Diwali ?
10. A gale got up ………… night and did much damage.

Answers
1. by
2. during
3. at ; on
4. by
5. in
6. on ; at
7. by
8. on
9. at
10. at

(B) Indicating Place

1. Residence (Countries, towns etc.)
(i) When the reference is general, use in
Many people live in cities/villages/suburbs/deserts/countries/towns
But
He lives at the seaside.
He lives on an island.
Note. 1. Village, suburb, desert, country and town are imagined as closed entities
and hence the preposition in (i.e., inside).
On the other hand seaside means near the sea and hence the preposition at ; Island
is imagined as something open and so the preposition on.

2. Residence (Houses etc.)

(i) For the general reference use in :
I live in a small house.
She lives in a bungalow.
Do you live in a flat or in a mansion ?

(ii) For a house with a name or address use at:

Mrs Gandhi lives at 10 Janpath.

(iii) For the names of streets and roads use in :

He lives in Mayur Vihar.
I live in Sector-14.

3. Place of Work
(i) If it is a building, use in :
His father works in a bank.
But
In case the place of work is not a building use on :
Ram works on a farm.

(ii) If the name of the place of work is given, use at:

He works at the Public Library.

(iii) For a particular department, use in :

He is a teacher in the Department of English

Exercise 3
(Solved)

Supply the correct preposition in the following :

1. Does he live ……….. the town, or ……….. the country ?
2. Have you lived …………… Kharkhoda long ?
3. I have always wanted to live ……….. a bungalow.
4. Mr. Sharma lives ………….. Model Town ………….. Delhi.
5. He lives ……………. 194 Kali Bari Kolkata.
6. My father works …………. an office.
7. My uncle lives ………….. a mansion …………….. a village a few miles from
Mumbai.
8. James was brought up …………. a farm but at the age of 11 he was sent to work
a small town.
9. His father is the manager …………….. the local bank.
10. How long have you been ………….. Delhi ?

Exercise 4
(Solved)

Fill in the blanks with proper prepositions from the box :

beside, besides, between among, since, for by, with.

1. He was standing ………….. her.

2. I write ………… a pen.
3. I have not seen him …………. he left for England.
4. It has been raining hard ………… the last 3 days.
5. India beat Bangladesh ………… an innings.
6. Distribute the fruit ………. the students.
7. The two friends will settle it ………… them.
8. ……….. being a teacher, he is also a poet.

Exercise 5
(Solved)

Correct the following sentences :

1. The interview will be held between 2 to 4 p.m.
2. The house was besides the river.
3. I have been waiting here since two hours.
4. He walked across the park among the flower beds.
5. He was killed by an axe.
6. I shall be there on 4 p.m. at Friday.
7. He fell in the well.
8. He sat upon a chair.
9. He jumped on the horse.
10. The land was ploughed by the help of a tractor.

Exercise 6
(Solved)

Rearrange the following into meaningful sentences :

1. I like / the winter / the summer / the country / the town / spend / to / in / in / and
2. in / long / Sonepat / you / have / lived / how ?
3. always / thought / she / she / a bungalow / would like / live / to / in
4. lives / seaside / his father / at / in / lives / he / while / Baker street
5. his father / a farm / a bank / in / on / works / he / and
Exercise 7
(Solved)

The following passage has not been edited. There is a word missing in each line of
the following passage. Write the missing word along with one word that comes
before it and one that comes after it. Do not forget to underline the missing word.
For a long time neither them spoke. The (a) ______
lamp burned and a leak in one (b) ______
comer thatch water fell into a (c) ______
vessel the floor beneath. After a (d) ______
while Ratan rose and went off the (e) ______
kitchen prepare the meal. Many new (f) ______
things to think had entered her little brain. (g) ______

Exercise 8
(Solved)

The following passage has not been edited. There is an error in each of the following
lines. Write the error along with the correction in your answer sheet. Do notforget to
underline the correction.
Years went down, and the Giant grew very old (a) ______
and feeble. He could not play about any long, (b) ______
so he sat with a huge chair and (c) ______
watched the children in their games. (d) ______
One winter morning he looked out in his window. (e) ______
In the farthest corner from the garden was (f) ______
a tree quite covered in lovely white blossoms. (g) ______
Silver fruit hung down in the branches (h) ______
and below it stood the little boy he had loved. (i) ______

Exercise 9
(For Practice)

Supply the correct preposition in the following :

1. Mr and Mrs Sharma stay ………….. the seaside for a week.
2. I’d prefer to work ……………. a factory rather than a farm.
3. Ram Lai is a typist ………… the New Courts.
4. He has got a post …………. the office …………. a large steel works.
5. He has a job …………… the dockyard.
6. He is a lawyer ………… a small town.
7. He teaches English ………….. the High School.
8. Do you live …………… a glass house ?
9. He has gone to live …………… Simla.
10. He told me that he lived ……….. 36 Royal Gardens.

Exercise 10
(For Practice)
The following passage has not been edited. There is a word missing in each line of
the following passage. Write the missing word along with one word that comes
before it
and one that comes after it. Do not forget to underline the missing word.
The little boy could not run. His eyes were
so full tears that he did not see (a) ______
the Giant coming. The Giant put him into (b) ______
the tree. And the tree broke at once blossom, (c) ______
and the birds came and sang it, and (d) ______
the little boy flung his arms the Giant’s neck. (e) ______