Prepositions and Conjunctions
ICSE Class 6 · English · Chapter 7
What this chapter covers
- Prepositions of time, place and direction
- Correct use of prepositions
- Words followed by prepositions
- Coordinating conjunctions
- Subordinating conjunctions
- Correlative conjunctions
Key points
- A preposition is placed before a noun or pronoun to show how it is related to another word.
- Use at for exact times, on for days and dates, and in for months, years, seasons and parts of the day.
- Use at for a point, on for a surface and in for a space with limits.
- Prepositions of direction, such as to, into, towards and across, show movement.
- In shows position and into shows movement inwards; between is for two and among for more than two.
- Since is followed by a starting point and for by a length of time.
- A pronoun after a preposition takes its object form: me, him, her, us, them.
- Many words take a fixed preposition (afraid of, good at, listen to); discuss, enter and reach take none.
- A conjunction joins words, groups of words or sentences.
- Coordinating conjunctions (FANBOYS) join parts of equal importance.
- Subordinating conjunctions join a dependent part to the main part; do not pair although with but, or because with so.
- Correlative conjunctions work in pairs, such as either ... or and neither ... nor; put matching words after each half.
Questions answered
What is a preposition? Give one example in a sentence.
A preposition is a word placed before a noun or pronoun to show how it is related to another word. Example: "The pen is on the desk."
Fill in the blanks with at, on or in: (a) We have a holiday ___ Friday. (b) Birds sing ___ the morning. (c) Meet me ___ 4 o'clock.
(a) on (b) in (c) at
Correct this sentence: "The cow walked in the shed."
"The cow walked into the shed." The cow moved from outside to inside, so into is needed.
Fill in the blanks: (a) Tara is good ___ chess. (b) Please listen ___ me. (c) I am fond ___ dogs.
(a) at (b) to (c) of
Correct this sentence: "We discussed about the picnic."
"We discussed the picnic." The verb discuss takes no preposition.
Name the kind of conjunction in each sentence: (a) I called him, but he did not answer. (b) I will wait until you come. (c) Both Amit and Raj play hockey.
(a) coordinating (b) subordinating (c) correlative
Correct this sentence: "Although she was tired, but she kept walking."
"Although she was tired, she kept walking." Although and but should not be used together.
Choose the correct verb: "Neither the boys nor their father (is / are) at home."
The correct verb is is, because it agrees with father, the noun closer to it.