Part 1
Interactive exercise
Replace the missing prepositions and adverbs in this extract from the story. You will need to use:
of (10 times) in (7) at (5) to (3) on (3) by (2) and into, down, out, onto, ahead, during, outside, through, off, from and behind once each.
The top deck of the bus was empty. They sat down in the seats at the front, and looked out onto the wet street ahead of them.
The pavements, so busy with life during the day time, were more or less empty. Outside a kebab shop, a group of teenagers stood in the shelter of the building, their backs illuminated by the bright lights shining through the window; but the brightly lit windows of most other shops were showing their contents to no-one but a few passengers in passing vehicles.
After the bus turned left into London St., the pavements got darker as shops gave way to houses, their curtained windows hiding private worlds from the inquisitive looks of passers-by. There was less traffic too.
On Parton Hill, the bus got stuck behind a heavy lorry. Then, at Opie’s Corner, the traffic came to a stop.
“What’s going on there, I wonder?” said Mick.
In front of them at least three police cars were stopped at the roadside, and another was in the middle of the road. Their flashing blue and red lights lit up a group of people standing in the wet, and apparently looking at something on the pavement in front of a shop.
Part 2
Replace the missing prepositions in this extract from the story.
Instead of trying to look through the window, Sophie looked at it, and watched the red, blue and white light break into a thousand dancing and trickling spots.
Eventually the traffic began to move on, and a moment later, Opie’s Corner, with its lights and its police cars, had disappeared into the night behind them.
“Come on” said Mick. “Next stop!”
They got off at the foot of Blenden Road, and began walking up the last hundred yards towards the Hotel.
“Gee this box is heavy!” exclaimed Mick.
It was just a quarter to ten as they turned off Blenden Road and through the gates of the Hill Park Hotel. It was an old manor house that had once stood well outside the town, but was now surrounded by suburban streets. It still stood, however, in spacious grounds.
Inside the gates, the driveway curved off to the left, through a group of trees; they could see the lights of the hotel in front of them, across the grass; but under the trees it was very dark. Drops of water were falling heavily off the wet branches.
“I don’t like this!” said Sophie. “Someone could jump out from behind one of those trees!”
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