Sentence Correction : Clarifications and Tips - Chapter Five : PREPOSITIONAL PHRASES IN COMMON USE

PREPOSITIONAL PHRASES IN COMMON USE

• At home in : (To be adept in) : He is at home in English.

• At  the risk of : (To be in  danger): The boys saved the drwning child at the risk of their lives.

• At the mercy of : (compassionately) : The culprits are at the mercy of the authorities now.

• At the top of : ( at the peak) : The child cried at  the top of its voice.

• At length : (At last) : At length truth triumphs.
• At Bottom: ( At heart ) : At bottom his father is a noble person.

• At hand : ( near) : Work hard, the examination is at hand.

• At Large : ( at a run)  : The police is searching the culprit but he is still at large.
• At  the cost of : ( putting in loss of ) : He is working so hard at the cost of his health.

• After all : ( barring other things) : After all he is still a child.

• By dint of :( through) By dint of hard work he was able to succeed in the examination.

• By way of : ( through a route) : We went to Agra by way of Delhi.

• By fits and starts : (Intermittently)  : He could not succeed  because he did his work by fits and starts.

• By leaps and bounds : ( Progress abundantly) : He is progressing in his business by leaps and bounds.

• By hook or crook : ( by fair or foul means ): He is determined  to secure this job by hook or crook.

• For want of :(short of ): His all plans could not materialize for want of funds.

• For lack of : (shortage of) : We could  not help him for lack of money.

• For the sake of : ( Do for someone) : He suffered this loss for the sake of honour of his family.

• In honour  of : (for respect of ) He hosted a party in honour of his father’s promotion.

• Instead of : ( in place of) : Instead of accepting his fault , he started shouting at me.

• In spite of : ( Despite)  In spite of hard work, he failed  in the examination.

• In course of : ( During the time) :  In course of time,  all the  issues settled down.

• In order to : ( resulting to ) : He is doing all in order to win favour of  the boss.

• In front of : ( situated opposite to) : His  house is situated in  front of the temple.

• In favour of : (on the side of ) : The chairman of the committee is not in favour of selection of this candidate.

• In case of (if it happens) : In case of your selection for this job, you will have to move out of this city.

• In the hope of : (expecting) : He started a new business in the hope of earning a good profit.

• In the guise of : ( in the dress  of ): Terrorists came in the guise of policemen.

• On account of : ( due to ): Our office is closed today on account of Holi.

• On the ground of : ( Due to ) He is on leave today on the ground of his illness.

• On behalf of : ( on account of ) :  I thanked the shopkeeper on behalf of my brother.

• On the eve of : ( on the occasion of) : He hosted a party on the eve of his  promotion.

• Up to the mark : ( not of expected level) : His performance is not up to the mark.

• Underway : ( in the process) :  The bridge is still under way.

• With open arms (warm welcome) : People welcomed the leader with open arms wherever he visited.

• With a view to : (with a purpose of):  They hosted a dinner to him with a view to win his favour.

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Read More on Sentence Correction Rules :

1. Use of  Singular & Plural numbers
2. Use of Nouns , Use of Apostrophe-s
3. Different types of Pronouns and Rules to use Pronouns
4. Commonly used Adverbial Phrases 

FUTURE TENSE -- FUTURE PERFECT CONTINUOUS TENSE --- EXPLANATION WITH EXAMPLES AND EXERCISES

FUTURE  PERFECT CONTINUOUS TENSE

This tense is used to express that an action will continue for sometime in future and will not  be complete. In this tense time limit for continuity of activity is also given. This tense is scarcely used for practical purposes these days.

 In this tense 'Shall or will' and 'have been' and first  form of verb with 'ing' are used. For expressing time 'since or 'for' is used.

 For example : He will have been taking exercise for two hours tomorrow.

 

AFFIRMATIVE SENTENCES

In this tense with -- shall or will +  have been +  first form of verb & ing  is used. For showing time -- Since or for is used. 

Since is used for a point of time & For is used for duration of time i.e. Since morning, For two hours.

For Example: 

• We shall  have been living here for the last two years.

• The boys will have been making a noise since 1 p.m.

• You will have been doing your job for three years.

NEGATIVE SENTENCES

In these sentences with ‘shall or will + have + not + been  + first form of verb & ing  is used. For showing time  --- Since or For is used.

For Example: 

• I shall not  have been reading my book for two hours.

• You will not have been singing since morning.

• They will not have been doing their work since morning.

INTERROGATIVE SENTENCES

In these sentences--- shall or will  is used before subject. 

And - have + not + been + first form of verb & ing  is used. 

To express time 'Since' or 'for' is used.

For Example: 

• Shall we   have been playing a match since morning?

• Will you have been taking this medicine for a week?

• Will he have been staying with you for a year?

Similarly in interrogative negative sentences ‘shall or will’ is used before subject and not & have been is used before first  form of verb and ‘ing’  in the sentence. 

To express time 'For' or 'Since' is used.

For Example :

• Shall we  not have been entertaining the guests since morning?

• Will you not have been flying kites since morning ?

• Will the birds not have been flying in  the sky for two hours?

In case of interrogative sentences with words starting with 'wh' , the word with 'wh' is used  in the beginning of the sentence followed be shall or will have been and first form of verb with 'ing' . 

In negative sentences 'not' is used after shall or will.

In case of 'Who', shall or will have been or shall or will not have been are used after the word 'Who'.

Following sentences will clear the point.

Why will the child have been crying for such a long time?

For how many years will you have been living in this house?

Who will have been teaching the students for the last two hours?

To Sum up :

Uses of Future Perfect Continuous Tense

The Future Perfect Continuous Tense expresses an action as being in progress over a period of time that will end at some point in the future.

By next month, I shall have been completing my studies.

EXERCISE NO 1

Fill in the blanks using appropriate form of given verb in Future Perfect Continuous  Tense

1. The teacher..........(teach) the students ....... the last two hours.

2. Children .........(play) in the garden.........  morning tomorrow.

3. I ..........(study) in this college ........the last three years.

4. You ........(swim) in the swimming pool ...... two hours.

5. My brother .......... (work) in this factory for two years.

EXERCISE NO 2

Fill in the blanks using appropriate form of given verb in Future Perfect Continuous  Tense

1. Women ..........(not carry) water from the village well ..... morning.

2. Your sister ........... (not draw) a picture ......... 2 p.m.

3. You ...........(not live) in this colony ......... the last one year.

4. She ...........(not drink) milk ........ the last few months.

5. My mother ........ (not worship) in the temple .....7 a.m.

EXERCISE NO 3

Fill in the blanks using appropriate form of given verb in Future Perfect Continuous  Tense.

1. ..........my mother ...........(wait) for me ........four hours?

2. ......the boys ...........(play) cricket in the ground .....morning?

3. ........the teacher..........(teach) the students ....one hour?

4. ...........you .........(paint) a picture ........noon?

5. ........the child ........(sleep) ....... the last one hour?

EXERCISE NO 4

Fill in the blanks using appropriate form of given verb in Future Perfect Continuous  Tense.

1. Why   ........ the children ........ (make) a noise ........ such a long time?

2. Who....... (impart) training to the apprentice ..........two weeks?

3. From where............. the villagers .......(fetch) water ....... the last fortnight?

4. Whose biography ....... he .......(write) ...... the last six months?

5. How ......she ......... (pull on) with him ........ all these years? Tense

(ANSWERS)

EXERCISE NO 1

Fill in the blanks using appropriate form of given verb in Future Perfect Continuous  Tense

1. The teacher will have been teaching the students for the last two hours.

2. Children will have been playing in the garden since  morning tomorrow.

3. I shall have been studying in this college  for the last three years.

4. You will have been swimming in the swimming pool for two hours.

5. My brother will have been working in this factory for two years.

EXERCISE NO 2

Fill in the blanks using appropriate form of given verb in Future Perfect Continuous  Tense

1. Women will not have been carrying water from the village well since morning.

2. Your sister will not have been  drawing  a picture since 2 p.m.

3. You will not have been living  in this colony for. the last one year.

4. She will not have been drinking milk for the last few months.

5. My mother  will not have been worshiping  in the temple since 7 a.m.

EXERCISE NO 3

Fill in the blanks using appropriate form of given verb in Future Perfect Continuous  Tense.

1.  Will my mother  have been waiting for me  for our hours?

2. Will the boys  have been playing cricket in the ground  since morning?

3.  Will the teacher have been teaching the students  for one hour?

4. Will you  have been painting  a picture  since noon?

5. Will the child have been sleeping for the last one hour?

EXERCISE NO 4

Fill in the blanks using appropriate form of given verb in Future Perfect Continuous  Tense.

1. Why  will  the children  have been making a noise for such a long time?

2. Who will have been imparting training to the apprentice  for two weeks?

3. From where will the villagers have been fetching water for the last fortnight?

4. Whose biography will  he have been writing for  the last six months?

5. How will she have been pulling  on with him for all these years?