Basic classroom tests OEGCB test21

•

TEST 21 • prepositions

Level 1

Oxford English Grammar Course Basic

Name 

●
1 Time. Put in by or until.
1
2
3
4
5
6

In my country you can’t drive
you’re 18.
I’m working here
the end of the month.
You must come home
6 o’clock as we’re eating at 7.
The front door of the hotel is unlocked
midnight. Then you have to ring the bell to get in.
She isn’t starting school
next September.
You must leave your hotel room
11 o’clock.

●
2 Time. Put in for, during or while.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7

Please don’t talk
the film.
Please don’t make a noise
I’m asleep.
Can you wait
five minutes?
I’ve only known Sue and Joe
a short time, but I really like them.
I saw the Eiffel Tower
I was on holiday in Paris.
Eddie is going to work in a café
the summer.
Grandma usually sleeps
an hour
the afternoon.

●
3 Place. Put in at, in or on.
1

2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9

It’s very cold
my bedroom.
I’m standing
the bus stop. Can you see me?
I didn’t see Mary
work. Is she ill?
The clock
the kitchen wall is showing the wrong time.
Something very sad happens
the end of the film.
I got
the bus and sat down.
The answer is
page 140. Look
the top of the page.
Do you think this dress looks good
me?
I couldn’t find any paper
my pockets so I wrote her phone number

my hand.

●
4 Place. Choose the correct prepositions.
 on

▲

the table. (above, behind, on)
There were lots of plates
1 I don’t drive, so I’d like to live in a flat
a bus stop. (against, near, under)
2 The teacher stood
Marianne and looked at the answers she was writing. (above, against, behind)
3 This bed is too big to go in the middle of the room - let’s put it
the wall. (against, behind, under)
4 It was raining, so we sat
a tree. (behind, near, under)
5 My flat is very noisy because I live
a railway station. (above, by, between)
6 ‘Where’s the supermarket?’ ‘It’s
the bank and the café.’ (above, against, between)
7 She lives in a small flat
a restaurant. (above, against, between)
8 You can park in the car park
the school. (against, behind, between)
9 I’ll be waiting for you
the ticket office. Don’t be late! (against, by, under)
10 I think my keys are
the armchair. Can we move it? (between, by, under) 

➔
Oxford English Grammar Course • Basic   TEST 21 • prepositions  © Michael Swan and Catherine Walter  PHOTOCOPIABLE


▲

  out of
his house and got  into
his car. (across, into, out of, off, round)
He walked
1 Mary got
the taxi and walked
the bank. (along, off, out of, into, up)
2You can’t cross the road here. Go
the steps and walk
the bridge. (down, over, up, through)
3Go
the railway bridge, then turn left
New Street. The supermarket is on your right.
(from, into, off, round, under)
4 The dog ran
the hill, jumped
the water and swam
the river.
(across, along, down, into, through)
5As soon as we arrived in London, we got
the train and walked
the main entrance
the station. (off, out of, round, past, through)
6We were going too fast, so we drove

the cinema and went
the corner into Gordon Street.
How do we get back to the cinema from here? (across, along, past, round, under)

●
6 Mixed structures. Put in for, from, to, at, in, off, on, through or under.

I often go to Paris  at
the weekend. It takes two hours and fifteen minutes to get 1
2
London
Paris by train. If you leave London 3
9 o’clock 4
the morning,
5
6
you will arrive
Paris
12.20. (This includes a one-hour time-difference between the
United Kingdom and France.)
You get 7
the Eurostar train at St Pancras Station, which is 8
central London. The train
goes very fast and travels 9
the tunnel that goes 10
the Channel 11
only
12
13
thirty minutes. The train arrives

the Gare du Nord, which is a big station
the city
centre. When you get 14
the train, you can have lunch 15
one of the restaurants near
the station. 16
there, it’s easy to get 17
the métro (subway). You can be at the Louvre,
the Champs Elysées, or the Eiffel Tower 18
less than thirty minutes. 19
winter, the last
20
train leaves Paris
9.15 p.m., so there’s lots of time for shopping and eating!

●
7 Mixed structures. Put in suitable prepositions. (More than one may be possible.)
▲

 at/near
Oxford Station?
Does this bus stop
1 I couldn’t see the screen at the cinema because the person
me was very tall.
2 I put a chair
the door to stop it from opening.
3 Let’s meet
the main entrance. It’s the one with a big clock
the door.
4 I don’t like walking

the park at night.
5 I never have coffee
night, but I drink three or four cups
the day.
6It isn’t far to the bank. You need to drive
this road
ten minutes and you’ll
see it
your left .
7Wait
the traffic lights turn green. Then drive
the post office and park the car
next to the café.
8 I stood
Julie and the man who was shouting at her. ‘Leave her alone!’, I said.
9 I’m arriving
the 15.30 flight from Berlin. I’ll phone you as soon as I get
the plane.
10 ‘I’m in a hurry. Can we leave
5 o’clock?’  ‘OK, I’ll be ready
five minutes.’

●
8 Mixed structures: All these sentences are wrong. Correct them.
 to

▲

I have to get in the station by 5 o’clock or I’ll miss my train. 
1 Are you playing football in the park on the weekend? 

2 There’s an engagement ring on my finger because Greg and I got engaged on last Tuesday. 
3 I can talk to you in half an hour; meet me to the café behind the library. 
4 Go into the door on your right; Mr Brown’s office is at the top of the stairs on the second floor. 
5 You need to get out of the pool now as it closes by 5 o’clock on Saturdays. 
6 I got off of the train at the wrong stop and had to wait for an hour on the platform. 
7 Take those plates off from the table and put them on the shelf above the fridge. 
/ 75

Oxford English Grammar Course • Basic   TEST 21 • prepositions  © Michael Swan and Catherine Walter  PHOTOCOPIABLE

Level 1

●
5 Movement. Choose the correct prepositions and put them in the correct places.