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He walked on the grass (i.e., a lawn).
He walked in/through the tall grass (i.e., in a field).
Teach and test prepositions using a modified cloze technique. I met John 1 ... the corner of Fifth
Avenue and 48th Street 2 ... 9.30. He had come 3 ... foot, whereas I had come 4 ... subway. We both
wanted to buy books 5 ... New York. One bookstore had news of a sale painted 6 ... the front window. We
decided to go 7 ... that bookstore.
Key: 1 on; 2 at; 3 on; 4 by; 5 in; 6 on; 7 into.
Practising preposition in certain syntactical positions, i.e. in grammatical structures in which they are
used, is very useful.
Some verbs can have two objects: an indirect object (the person receiving sth or for whose benefaction
sth is done) and a direct object (the thing that someone gives).
Kate gave me this cassette.
I'll send my cousin a present. We bought all children an. ice cream, The same can be expressed with a
different pattern.
Kate gave the cassette to someone else.
I'll send a present to my cousin.
We bought ice creams for all the children.
Two problems arise here: (1) the problem of word order, i.e. whether or not the object movement is
permissible, whether or not the indirect object may be placed near the end of the sentence;
(2) by what preposition the indirect object being placed at the end of the sentence may be preceded, by
the preposition "to" or "for."
No preposition is used with the indirect object preceding the direct object. The choice of the
preposition "to" or "for" depends on the predicate-verb. We can use the "to" pattern with the so-called
"dative" verbs: bring, give, hand, leave, lend, offer, owe, pass, pay, post, promise, read, sell, send, show,
teach, take, tell, throw, write.
Jill paid the money to the cashier.
Jill paid the cashier the mon.. Or:
We showed the photos to Simon.
We showed Simon the phptos_ Or:
Let me read this item of news. to you.
Let me read you thisjtem of news.. Or:
We can use the "for" pattern with an indirect object with the so-called "benefactive" verbs: book,
bring, buy, build, cook, choose, fetch, find, get, leave, make, order, pick, prepare, reserve, save.
They found a spare ticket for me. Or: They found me a spare ticket.
I've saved a seat for you. Or: I've saved you a seat.
I'm making a cake. for our guests. Or: I'm making our guests a cake;
The position of the object at the end of the sentence marks the
new and important information. Compare:
— Kate gave me this cassette for my birthday. But I have it.
— Never mind. You'll have to give it to some one else then. The duchess was rich. She gave her
daughter a million pounds. The duchess was very old. She gave her money to complete strangers.
Some verbs can have different meanings:
I'll get this to him (dative) = "deliver."
I'll get this for him (benefactor) = "take, obtain."
To develop the students' sense of when indirect object movement
is appropriate or inappropriate, group the students in pairs to
manipulate and discuss sentences consisting of words written on cards