A

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Amidst the mists and coldest frosts, With stoutest wrists and loudest boasts, He thrusts his fist against the posts And still insists he sees the ghosts. Are our oars oak? Around the rugged rocks the ragged rascal ran.

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Betty and Bob brought back blue balloons from the big bazaar. Betty better butter Brad's bread. Betty Botter bought some butter, "But," she said, "this butter's bitter. If I bake this bitter butter, It will make my batter bitter. But a bit of better butter That would make my batter better." So she bought a bit of butter, Better than her bitter butter, And she baked it in her batter, And the batter was not bitter. So 'twas better Betty Botter Bought a bit of better butter. A big black bug bit a big black bear, made the big black bear bleed blood. A bitter biting bittern Bit a better brother bittern, And the bitter better bittern Bit the bitter biter back. And the bitter bittern, bitten, By the better bitten bittern, Said: "I'm a bitter biter bit, alack!" Black bug's blood.

The blue bluebird blinks. The bootblack bought the black boot back. A box of biscuits, a batch of mixed biscuits. Brad's big black bath brush broke.

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Can you imagine an imaginary menagerie manager imagining managing an imaginary menagerie? Cedar shingles should be shaved and saved. A cheap ship trip. Chop shops stock chops. Comical economists. Cows graze in groves on grass which grows in grooves in groves. Crisp crusts crackle crunchily. The crow flew over the river with a lump of raw liver.

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Don't pamper damp scamp tramps that camp under ramp lamps. A dozen double damask dinner napkins. Draw drowsy ducks and drakes.

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Ed had edited it. The epitome of femininity.

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Fat frogs flying past fast. A fat thrush flies through thick fog. Flash message! Flee from fog to fight flu fast! Fred fed Ted bread, and Ted fed Fred bread. Freshly fried flying fish, freshly fried flesh. Friendly Frank flips fine flapjacks.

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Gertie's great-grandma grew aghast at Gertie's grammar. Girl gargoyle, guy gargoyle. Give me the gift of a griptop sock: a drip-drape, ship-shape, tip-top sock. Give Mr. Snipe's wife's knife a swipe. Good blood, bad blood. Greek grapes.

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How much wood would a woodchuck chuck If a woodchuck could chuck wood? He would chuck, he would, as much as he could, And chuck as much wood as a woodchuck would If a woodchuck could chuck wood.

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I cannot bear to see a bear

Bear down upon a hare. When bare of hair he strips the hare, Right there I cry, "Forbear!" I can think of six thin things and of six thick things too. I correctly recollect Rebecca MacGregor's reckoning. If a Hottentot taught a Hottentot tot To talk ere the tot could totter, Ought the Hottenton tot Be taught to say aught, or naught, Or what ought to be taught her? If to hoot and to toot a Hottentot tot Be taught by her Hottentot tutor, Ought the tutor get hot If the Hottentot tot Hoot and toot at her Hottentot tutor? If one doctor doctors another doctor, does the doctor who doctors the doctor doctor the doctor the way the doctor he is doctoring doctors? Or does he doctor the doctor the way the doctor who doctors doctors? If Stu chews shoes, should Stu choose the shoes he chews? I'm not the pheasant plucker, I'm the pheasant plucker's mate. I'm only plucking pheasants 'Cause the pheasant plucker's late. Inchworms itching. I need not your needles, they're needless to me; For kneading of noodles, 'twere needless, you see; But did my neat knickers but need to be kneed, I then should have need of your needles indeed. Irish wristwatch. I saw Esau kissing Kate. I saw Esau, he saw me, and she saw I saw Esau. I slit the sheet, the sheet I slit, and on the slitted sheet I sit.

Is this your sister's sixth zither, sir? I thought a thought But the thought I thought Was not the thought I thought I thought.

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Knapsack straps. Kris Kringle carefully crunched on candy canes.

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A laurel-crowned clown. The Leith police dismisseth us. Lesser leather never weathered wetter weather better. Lily ladles little Letty's lentil soup. Listen to the local yokel yodel. Lovely lemon liniment.

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Many an anemone sees an enemy anemone. The minx mixed a medicinal mixture. Mixed biscuits. Mix, Miss, Mix! Moose noshing much mush. Mr. See owned a saw.

And Mr. Soar owned a seesaw. Now See's saw sawed Soar's seesaw Before Soar saw See, Which made Soar sore. Had Soar seen See's saw Before See sawed Soar's seesaw, See's saw would not have sawed Soar's seesaw. So See's saw sawed Soar's seesaw. But it was sad to see Soar so sore Just because See's saw sawed Soar's seesaw! My dame hath a lame tame crane, My dame hath a crane that is lame. The myth of Miss Muffet.

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Nine nice night nurses nursing nicely.

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The ochre ogre ogled the poker. Of all the felt I ever felt, I never felt a piece of felt Which felt as fine as that felt felt, When first I felt that felt hat's felt. Old oily Ollie oils old oily autos. Once upon a barren moor There dwelt a bear, also a boar. The bear could not bear the boar. The boar thought the bear a bore. At last the bear could bear no more Of that boar that bored him on the moor, And so one morn he bored the boar That boar will bore the bear no more.

One-One was a racehorse; Two-Two was one, too. When One-One won one race, Two-Two won one, too. On mules we find two legs behind And two we find before. We stand behind before we find What those behind be for.

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Pacific Lithograph. Peggy Babcock. Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers. Did Peter Piper pick a peck of pickled peppers? If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers, Where's the peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked? Pick a partner and practice passing, for if you pass proficiently, perhaps you'll play professionally. Plague-bearing prairie dogs. A pleasant place to place a plaice is a place where a plaice is pleased to be placed. Please pay promptly. Pope Sixtus VI's six texts. Preshrunk silk shirts. Pretty Kitty Creighton had a cotton batten cat. The cotton batten cat was bitten by a rat. The kitten that was bitten had a button for an eye, And biting off the button made the cotton batten fly. A proper cup of coffee from a proper copper coffee pot.

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Quick kiss. Quicker kiss.

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Red leather, yellow leather. Red lorry, yellow lorry. Ruby Rugby's brother bought and brought her back some rubber baby-buggy bumpers.

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Sam's shop stocks short spotted socks. Sarah saw a shot-silk sash shop full of shot-silk sashes as the sunshine shone on the side of the shot-silk sash shop. The sawingest saw I ever saw saw was the saw I saw saw in Arkansas. Say this sharply, say this sweetly; Say this shortly, say this softly; Say this sixteen times in succession. Selfish shellfish. Shelter for six sick scenic sightseers. She sells seashells on the seashore. The shells she sells are seashells, I'm sure. She stood on the balcony inexplicably mimicking him hiccuping, and amicably welcoming him home. She was a thistle sifter and sifted thistles through a thistle sieve. Shredded Swiss cheese. Shy Shelly says she shall sew sheets. Silly Sally swiftly shooed seven silly sheep. The seven silly sheep Silly Sally shooed Shilly-shallied south.

These sheep shouldn't sleep in a shack; Sheep should sleep in a shed. Sinful Caesar sipped his snifter, seized his knees, and sneezed. The sinking steamer sank. Sixish. Sixish. Sixish. Six sharp smart sharks. Six shimmering sharks sharply striking shins. Six short slow shepherds. Six sick slick slim sycamore saplings. Six slippery snails slid slowly seaward. Six sticky sucker sticks. The sixth sick sheik's sixth sheep's sick. Six twin-screwed steel steam cruisers. A skunk sat on a stump and thunk the stump stunk, but the stump thunk the skunk stunk. Sly Sam slurps Sally's soup. The soldiers should have shooters on their shoulders. Some shun sunshine. Strange strategic statistics. Strict strong stringy Stephen Stretch slickly snared six sickly silky snakes. "Surely Sylvia swims!" shrieked Sammy, surprised. "Someone should show Sylvia some strokes so she shall not sink." Sure the ship's shipshape, sir. Susan shineth shoes and socks; Socks and shoes shines Susan.

She ceases shining shoes and socks, For shoes and socks shock Susan. Swan swam over the sea. Swim, swan, swim! Swan swam back again. Well swum, swan!

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That bloke's back bike brake-block broke. Thieves seize skis. Three free throws. Three gray geese in the green grass grazing. Gray were the geese and green was the grass. Three twigs twined tightly. Tim, the thin twin tinsmith. Toy boat. Toy boat. Toy boat. A tree toad loved a she-toad Who lived up in a tree. He was a two-toed tree toad But a three-toed toad was she. The two-toed tree toad tried to win The three-toed she-toad's heart, For the two-toed tree toad loved the ground That the three-toed tree toad trod. But the two-toed tree toad tried in vain. He couldn't please her whim. From her tree toad bower With her three-toed power The she-toad vetoed him. A truly rural frugal ruler's mural.

A tutor who tooted the flute Tried to tutor two tooters to toot. Said the two to the tutor: "Is it harder to toot or To tutor two tooters to toot?" Twelve twins twirled twelve twigs. Two toads, totally tired. The two-twenty-two train tore through the tunnel.

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Unique New York.

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Vincent vowed vengence very vehemently.

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We surely shall see the sun shine soon. What noise annoys a noisy oyster? A noisy noise annoys a noisy oyster. What time does the wristwatch strap shop shut? When a twister a-twisting will twist him a twist, For the twisting a twist, he three twines will entwist; But if one of the twines of the twist do untwist, The twine that untwisteth untwisteth the twist. Which switch, Miss, is the right switch for Ipswich, Miss? Which witch wished which wicked wish? Which wristwatches are Swiss wristwatches? While we were walking, we were watching window washers wash Washington's windows with warm washing water.

Whistle for the thistle sifter. White eraser? Right away, sir!

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You've no need to light a night-light On a light night like tonight, For a night-light's light's a slight light, And tonight's a night that's light. When a night's light, like tonight's light, It is really not quite right To light night-lights with their slight lights On a light night like tonight.

Most preposition usage is essentially conventional, even quirkish at times, and many preposition choices actually have no inherent or discernible logic of their own. For instance, it s not easy to discern any logical difference between in, on, and at as prepositions of place and location, and this is why so many nonnative English speakers take a long time to master their proper usage. Achieving this mastery, in fact, requires committing to memory the specific prepositions needed according to established usage, and it s a task that becomes even more tedious and difficult in the case of the prepositional phrases and prepositional idioms. The common run of prepositions usually establishes a space or time relationship between ideas within a phrase, clause, or sentence, and they can be divided into five groups: 1. The prepositions of place and location: in, at, and on 2. The prepositions of motion: to, toward, in, and into 3. The prepositions of movement and direction: to, onto, and into 4. The prepositions for specific points of time: on, at, in, and after 5. The prepositions for periods or extended time: since, for, by, from to, from until, before, during, within, between, and beyond. Rules for Usage: PREPOSITIONS THAT ESTABLISH RELATIONSHIPS IN SPACE The prepositions in, at, and on for indicating place and location. The general rule is to use in for an enclosed space, at for a point, and on for a surface. Here are some specific guidelines for their use in American English: Use in for spaces: They always meet in a secret room [in a suburban hotel, in a parking lot, in a farm, in a ricefield]. Use in for names of specific land areas: She lives in a quiet town [in Tagaytay, in Cavite, in Southern Tagalog, in the island of Palawan, in the Philippines, in Southeast Asia]. Use in for bodies of water: That kind of fish thrives in freshwater [in the river, in the lake, in streams, in the sea]. Use in for lines: The registrants are in a row [in a line, in a queue]. Use at to indicate points: You ll find us at the entrance [at the taxi stand, at the supermarket, at the intersection]. Use at for specific addresses, as in She lives at 40 Lilac St. Use on for names of streets, roads, avenues, and boulevards: Her apartment is on San Pablo Street [on Ortigas Avenue, on Santolan Road, on Roxas Boulevard].

Use on for surfaces: There s a large stain on the floor [on the wall, on the ceiling, on the roof]. The prepositions in, at, and on for indicating location.

Use in in these cases: The children are in the kitchen [in the garden, in the car, in the library, in the class, in school]. (The article the is mandatory except for the fourth and last example.) Use at in these particular cases: She was at home [at the library, at the office, at school, at work] when we arrived. Use on in these particular cases: They are on the plane [on the train, on the boat]. Some locations, though, don t need a preposition between them and the verb: They sleep downstairs [inside, outside, downtown, upstairs, uptown]. Rules for Usage: PREPOSITIONS THAT ESTABLISH MOTION AND DIRECTION The prepositions of motion to, toward, in, and into. These four prepositions link the verbs of movement move, go, transfer, walk, run, swim, ride, drive, fly, travel, and many more to their object destination. All of these verbs, except transfer, can take both to and toward. We must keep in mind, however, that to is used to convey the idea of movement toward a specific destination, while toward is used to convey movement in a general direction that may not reach a specific destination: Please take me to the bus station. (The speaker obligates the listener to specifically take him to a particular place.) The speedboat headed toward the harbor. (The speaker indicates only a movement in a general direction.) We can actually interchange into and in more or less freely when used with verbs of motion. There are exceptions, though. We can only use in (or inside ) when the preposition is the last word in the sentence or occurs right before an adverbial of time ( today, tomorrow ), manner ( quickly, hurriedly ) or frequency ( once, twice ). Examples: The woman went into the manager s office. The woman went in twice. The woman went in. The new tenants moved into the apartment yesterday The new tenants moved in hurriedly. The new tenants moved in.

We can also use into as the last word in a question: What sort of trouble have you gotten yourself into? But we should use in if the question is said in this form: What sort of trouble are you in? In/into also has two unique uses with the verb move. The first is when move in is followed by a clause indicating purpose or motive: The hunters moved in for the kill. The soldiers moved in for the attack. In both examples, in is part of the verb phrase, so we cannot use into. The second case is when we use into with move to convey the idea of simple movement: The firemen moved into the burning building. The prepositions of direction to, onto, and into. These prepositions correspond to the common prepositions of location: to for at, onto for on, and into for in. Each is defined by the same space relations of point, line, surface, or area as in the prepositions of location. To, the basic directional preposition, signifies orientation toward a goal. If that goal is physical, like a specific destination, to conveys the idea of movement in the direction of that goal: The troops returned to their base. Toward, of course, also works as a directional preposition, and means about the same thing as the directional preposition to. If the goal is not a physical place, as in an action, to simply puts the verb in the infinitive form to express a particular purpose: She sings to earn extra money. She cut her hair to show her displeasure. The directional prepositions onto and into are, as we know, compounds formed by to with corresponding prepositions of location: on + to = onto, to signify movement toward a surface, and in + to = into, to signify movement inside a finite three-dimensional space or volume. When used with many verbs of motion, however, on and in already have a directional meaning. We therefore can freely use them instead of onto and into. Note that on and onto work equally well in the following sentences: The cats fell on [onto] the floor. The whales washed up onto [on] the beach. The girl jumped into [in] the river. You will notice, however, that always, the compound locational prepositions onto and into convey the consummation of an action, while the simple locational prepositions on and in indicate the subject s end-position as a result of the action. Let s look at some examples. Consummation of action: The boy fell onto [to] the ground. Position of subject: The boy is on the ground.

The sailor dived into [to] the pool.

The sailor is in the pool.

Now we discover something interesting: directional prepositions actually serve to convey the idea of cause, while locational prepositions serve to convey the idea of effect. This, in fact, is as near a rule of thumb as we can get in dealing with these two kinds of prepositions. We cannot leave this subject, of course, without discussing at as a preposition of motion and direction. Being the least specific of the prepositions in space orientation, we can use at in a good number of ways. To mark a verb of motion directed towards a point: She arrived at the airport late. aimed at the hostage-taker with precision. To indicate direction: The man leaped at the thief to subdue him. warning. Rules for Usage: PREPOSITIONS THAT ESTABLISH RELATIONSHIPS IN TIME The prepositions for specific points in time: on, at, in, and after. The marksman

She jumped at me without

On is used with the days of the week: We are going out on Monday [on Tuesday, on Sunday]. On is used for specific dates (optional in informal usage): The trade fair will start on March 12, 2003 [on March 12, on the 12th of March, on the 12th ]. At is used with clocked time: She picks her son from school at 4:30 p.m. At is used with the following times of the day: noon, sail for Palawan at noon [at midnight, at sunrise]. night, midnight, sunrise, sunset : We

At is used with certain major holidays (without the word Day ) as points of time: The family always gets together at Thanksgiving [at Christmas, at Easter, at Halloween]. In is used with the following times of the day: morning, roses in the morning [in the afternoon, in the evening]. afternoon, evening : She waters her

In is used with dates that do not carry the specific day: The Spanish explorer reached the Philippines in March 1521. In is used with months, years, decades, and centuries as points of time: The famous writer was born in April [in 1946, in the 1940s, in the 20th century]. In is used with the seasons as points of time: He promised not to leave her in autumn [in summer, in

spring, in winter]. After is used with events that happen later than another event or point of time: The overseas worker came home only after the holidays. The prepositions for periods or extended time: since, within, between, and beyond. for, by, from...to, from...until, during,

Since is used with an event that happens at some time or continuously after another time or event: She has not watched a movie since last month. They have been producing noodles since the war. For is used with particular durations: Our president will be abroad for three weeks [not for long, for most of next month]. By is used with an act completed or to be completed by a certain time: She expects to finish writing the book by April [by then, by the second quarter]. From...to is used to refer to the beginning and end of an activity or event: The weather was stormy from Wednesday to Friday. From...until is used to refer to the beginning of one period to the beginning of another: Our sales rose continuously from Christmas until right before Holy Week. During is used to refer to a period of time in which an event happens or an activity is done: She had coffee during the morning break. Between is used to refer to an action taking place between the beginning and the end of a period: You must get the job done between now and Friday. Within is used to refer to an action that must take place or be completed within a given period: You must get the job done within the week. Beyond is used to refer to a period of time after a particular event has taken place or a particular time has elapsed: Beyond the mid-1990s all of our offices had shifted to word processors. Prepositions for specific time frames. In is used with the three basic time frames: past, present, future : He was a kindly man in the past. She is doing nothing in the present [ ...at present is the preferred usage at present]. In the future, change the oil of your car regularly. In is used with prescribed time periods: The project must be completed in a month [in a year, in five years].

In the previous posts we came to know about some of the basics of prepositions. We also came to know different kinds of prepositions. Now in this topic let us know how to use, where to use prepositions for proper meaning of the sentences. There are 4 golden rules pertaining to the proper usage of prepositions. Rule1: In situations, the prepositions might be required to be placed at the end of the sentence. In such scenarios, they can be used following ways a) When the relative pronoun is that Example: Here is the book that you have been searching for.

Usage of Prepositions b) When the preposition governs the relative pronoun. Example: He is the person whom we are searching for. This is the baby which we are looking after. Relative pronouns-whom and which c) When the relative pronoun is understood. Example: This is the boy you spoke to.

Those are the goals we aim at. d) In the case the preposition governs the interrogative pronoun or interrogative verb. Example: What is she looking at? What is the name of the person on whom the whole responsibility is laid on? e) The preposition is used as infinitive and is placed at the end of the sentence. Example: Dont you have a pen to write down? Dont you have a chair to sit on? f) When the object governed by the preposition is place first in the sentence. Example: This I rely on. She is known all the country over. This is the point the professor on that day insisted on. Rule 2: A preposition can be used in the beginning of an interrogative sentence. Example: From which section are you? To whom should I submit this? In which country did this culture originate? Before how many days did you ever open this book? Rule 3: There are many words which can be used as both prepositions and adverbs. Some of them are above, about, along, across, before, below, behind, besides, by, down, in, near, off, over, past, round, through, under, up, etc. Example: Preposition She was here before six. She was behind us. The station is just round the corner. Adverb She has done this before. He is long way behind. Come round and meet me this evening.

Rule 4: There is a specific list of words with prepositions which require gerunds after them. Note:

Gerund: a verb form which functions as a noun. It used as ing in a sentence. Would you mind me taking your book tonight? Today I spent more than 10 hours watching movies. Examples: Refrain from hunting Prevent from working Succeed in doing Disqualified from doing Abstain from drinking Help in doing Addicted to gambling Bent upon doing Averse to playing