One of the toughest things for any student to master when learning English has to be prepositions. Those small little words found in-between our nouns, verbs and adjectives. A small change here and there can make all the difference. For years I studied Japanese grammar and always found the choices of に、へ、は、が、を、and と (to name a few) to be challenging but English has so many more. Jerry was kind enough to write the following dialogue and removed most of the prepositions, see if you can figure out the blanks. Ask your teacher if you have any trouble.
Please use – on, in, at, for, to, of, with, over, into
______the last six weeks or so ______ Smith’s 英会話 Hirakata, per Adrian’s advice, I have been working ______ prepositions in class ______ almost all ______ the students that I teach. It seems that regardless of level everyone has a bit of weakness ______ this area. It’s not uncommon ______ every student to struggle, so I try ______ make sure that I tell the students that I teach not ______ be too concerned ______ how well they do, but rather be more concerned with trying, and especially_____ be concerned with practicing, reading or going over their notes ______ class, and although it’s very important ______ work ______ prepositions _____ class, it’s very important to work on them _____ home. I have also told them that when I first came _____ Japan I would sometimes speak ______ many different Japanese people ______ English, and that if I did hear any errors the errors that stuck out the most ______ me were prepositions. I never wanted any of the people that I spoke _____ to be upset so I never got _______ a big conversation about prepositions ______ them. I hope that the students that I teach understand that I know English can be tough _____ times, but that if you work a little bit _____ your free time each day it can really make a difference ______ your English skill and also help you to learn more quickly. I have even noticed that _____ just the past six weeks that the students that have put ______ some extra work ______ their free time have greatly improved. Homework really does help.
Note to self: Do your homework.
Adrian and Jerry
I can only agree that prepositions, along with articles and plurals, are the most difficult parts of English grammar for Japanese students. I have also prepared a number of exercises for my students to do, and I come back to these areas regularly, even for advanced students. Thanks for this help for our students.
John
Hi Adrian!
I agree. Today I saw that one of my students had printed your post out to do the exercise. Thank you very much! Keep up the great work!
Derek (^.^)/
SSE Tsukaguchi