Prepositions

A preposition is a word that shows the relationship between its object and another word in the sentence. A preposition must always have an object. A prepositional phrase starts with a preposition, ends with an object, and may have modifiers between the preposition and object of the preposition.

Here is a list of common words that can be used as prepositions: about, above, across, after, against, along, among, around, at, before, behind, below, beneath, beside, besides, between, beyond, by, concerning, down, during, except, for, from, in, inside, into, like, near, of, off, on, out, outside, over, past, since, through, to, toward, under, until, up, upon, with, within, and without.

These words can be used as other parts of speech. What part of speech it is depends on how it is used in that sentence. Actually, many of the common words used as prepositions can also be used as adverbs. Words are prepositions if they have an object to complete them. To decide which it is say the preposition followed by whom or what. If a noun or a pronoun answers the question, the word is a preposition.

Example: The boy stood up and ran down the street. Up what? There is no object; therefore up is not a preposition. Down what? Street answers the question; therefore, down is a preposition. Down the street is the prepositional phrase starting with the preposition down and ending with the object street with a modifier the in between.

Find the prepositional phrases in the following sentences.

Jim painted a picture on the wall of the house.
I like to lie in the shade of the apricot tree and think of the jobs for the day.
The dog jumped over the mound behind the barn and ran into the street.
All pupils will need a note from home with parental permission.
For miles around you could see nothing except junk.

Even if, even though

1. You use “even if“ or “even though” to show that a particular fact does not make the rest of the statement untrue.

e.g. He enjoys sailing even if the weather is rough.
I wouldn’t sell that flat even if you gave me a million dollars!



2. Even though is a stronger form of although.

e.g. Even though the captain was badly injured, he managed to save several of the crew from drowning.

NOTE: Notice the difference between even if and even though:

(i) ‘Even if ] he loves her, he can’t marry her.’
(ii) ‘Even though ]

(i) even if = ‘I don’t know whether he loves her …’
(ii) even though = ‘I know he loves her, but in spite of this …’

Red Fire Ants

In Taiwan experts have said that it might take three years to completely remove red fire ants from the capital, Taipei. Red fire ants give a painful sting which causes blisters and can sometimes result in death.

It's vicious and aggressive. When it stings you, the sharp burning sensation can last for an hour and within four hours a white blister appears. The Red Fire Ant comes from Brazil. It has spread through New Zealand, Australia and the United States.

In recent days red fire anthills have been found in the centre of the capital, and the authorities have been spurred into action. Taiwan's Premier has urged people not to panic and advised them how to protect their children. He warns it could take years to eradicate the pests. He describes this as a war of attrition.

The ants are blamed for losses of five-billion dollars in the United States each year and more than six-and-a-half-billion in Australia. Extra stocks of pesticide have been ordered by Taiwan's government. It hopes to contain the spread of the insects by the end of the year. Complete eradication, which some doubt is even possible, is likely to take much longer.

Useful words and Expressions:
Blister a painful swelling on the surface of your skin
Vicious violent and cruel
Sensation a physical feeling
Spread moved outwards to cover a large area
Anthills mounds of earth formed by ants when they are making a nest
Authorities official organisations or government departments
Spurred encouraged to do something
Premier the leader of a country's government
Urged strongly encouraged someone to do something
Eradicate destroy or remove completely
Attrition to weaken an enemy by continually attacking it
Pesticide chemical used to kill harmful insects
Contain keep a situation under control

Batman at Buckingham Palace

A man dressed as the comic hero Batman broke into the Queen’s official residence in London to grab some publicity for a group which represents the rights of fathers. He used a ladder to climb the wall of Buckingham Palace and stayed on a window ledge for about five hours.

This is the latest in a string of high profile stunts by activist fathers demanding more access to their children. But it could cause the biggest stir yet. The man, named as Jason Hatch, managed to evade Palace security and climb onto a ledge next to the main balcony, where the Royal Family greets the crowds on special occasions. Dressed as the Caped Crusader, he unfurled a large banner which said Super Dads of Fathers For Justice, and waved at passers-by. Another campaigner, David Pyke, was dressed as Batman's sidekick Robin.

The police threw a cordon around the entire area - and brought in a crane, which after lengthy negotiations was used to bring Mr. Hatch down. The incident, which was broadcast live on television, is hugely embarrassing for Palace security - at a time of heightened concern over the threat of terrorism. Although she was not at the Palace, it’s likely the Queen will not be amused!

Useful words and Expressions:

broke into entered somewhere illegally
grab something take something dramatically
a string events of a similar nature that happen one after another
high profile stunt something done to get a lot of publicity
activist someone who does things to bring about political change
access the opportunity or right to see someone
biggest stir the greatest effect
evade keep away from (someone)
passers-by people who are walking past something
sidekick someone who helps another person (e.g. an assistant)
cordon a line of police or vehicles which stops people from entering or leaving an area
lengthy negotiations long discussions to find a solution to a problem
heightened concern increased worry
terrorism the use of violence for political reasons

Listen to your Intuition

“I knew that was going to happen!” How many times have you said those words?

We all possess something called ‘intuition’. It’s an inner ‘knowing’ which can help us make decisions and even prevent us making mistakes! Do you remember those dreaded multiple-choice tests in school? How many times did you get the answer wrong because you changed it from your original answer. You probably soon figured out that you should always go with your first instinct.

Your brain, like a giant computer, stores all the data that was ever put into it. Unfortunately, most of us can only recall about 10% of it at any given time. You have experienced having a piece of information ‘right on the tip of your tongue’. The data is in your head but you can’t get at it when you need it. Some time later it probably pops up when you are no longer trying to remember it.

Well, sometimes that kind of information will pop up as a warning or in answer to an unasked question. We often call it a gut feeling or a premonition. Do you listen to it or just ignore it?

It’s very easy, in hindsight, to see where you could have prevented a problem by listening to your hunches.
But how can you learn to use your intuition to evoke warnings before it is too late to act on it?

Firstly, learn to listen to your intuition by spending some quiet time alone when you have a big decision to make. Secondly, never doubt your own common sense. When your inner voice says “watch out,” learn to take heed.

Useful words and Expressions:
Intuition – the unexplained feeling that something is true, even when there is no evidence for it
Figure out – solve a problem or understand a situation
Go with - follow (or keep to) a decision that has been made
Instinct – the natural way that a person or animal behaves or reacts
Pop up – if something/someone ‘pops’ up they appear unexpectedly
Gut feeling - is a feeling based on instinct or emotion rather than logic
Premonition – a feeling that something is going to happen (often an unpleasant thing)
Hindsight – understanding an event after it has happened
Hunch – a belief in something even though you have no evidence for it
Evoke – to cause an idea or emotion to occur
Common sense – natural ability to make good judgments
Watch out – a warning to be careful of danger or difficult circumstances
Take heed - listen / take notice