PROBLEMS WITH PREPOSITIONS

Prepositions can be used in two ways: in a literal way and in an idiomatic way. In the literal use, the preposition means exactly what you expect.

• The boy ran up the hill.
• She went in the house.

In the first example, the preposition up means that the boy went in the direction up rather than down. In the second example, the preposition in means that she went into rather than out of the house.

In the idiomatic use, which is what appears most often on the TOEFL test, the preposition appears in an idiomatic expression; that is, its meaning in this expression has nothing to do with the literal meaning.

• I call up my friend.
• He succeeded in passing the course.

In the first example, the word up has nothing to do with the direction up. To call up someone means to telephone someone. In the second example, the word in has nothing to do with the meaning of into or inside; it is simply idiomatic that the word in is used after the verb succeed.

It is impossible to list all potential idiomatic expressions with their prepositions because there are so many expressions that could appear on the TOEFL test. However, in this chapter you can practice recognizing problems with prepositions in TOEFL-type questions. Then, when you are working in written expression questions on the TOEFL test, you should be aware that idiomatic errors with prepositions are common in that section. There are two common types of problems with prepositions that you should expect: (1) incorrect prepositions and (2) omitted prepositions.