Page 74 - Grammar for Great Writing B

Common Errors

Common Error 5.1 Is the preposition correct?

with
One problem for living downtown is that there are not usually many places to park on the streets.

RemembeR: When you read, notice how prepositions are used. When writing, if you are unsure of
which preposition to use, look in a dictionary or on the Internet.

ACTIVITY 5 Common Error 5.1

Read each sentence. Underline the correct preposition (or Ø for no preposition) in parentheses.

1. The brightness (for / of / with) the night stars and especially the Milky Way depends on the amount of
street lighting (at / in / on ) the area.

2. The biology labs are usually closed (in / on / since ) the weekends, but someone has to come in at
some point to feed the animals.

3. Essay exams can be very useful tests (by / for / to ) history teachers to find out if students can explain

why a certain event happened (at / in / on) a certain year.

4. The number of teenage smokers has not changed significantly (since / in / Ø ) the last five years.

5. When one person becomes legally married (for / to / Ø ) another, those people have new legal
obligations (for / in / to ) the rest of their lives.

6. The judge told the defendants that they would hear the decision of the court (in / after / Ø ) exactly
two months.

7. The Great Depression (at / in / on ) the United States was (between / during / Ø ) the years (at / in / of )
1929 and 1939, which means it was a decade of economic despair.

8. Although that area used to be one of the resting points for the migrating butterflies, they stopped
coming there (before 20 years / 20 years ago / from 20 years).

64 Unit 5 Writing with Prepositions

Copyright 2018 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s).
Copyright 2018 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s).
Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it.
Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it.
Copyright 2018 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. WCN 02-200-203
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