Choose the right preposition 7
✓ Useful for TOEIC
✓ Useful for Cambridge BEC
💡 Top tips
Common business collocations with 'in', 'on', and 'at'
'In' is used with companies and industries: 'She works in finance.' 'On' is used with committees and projects: 'He's on the board.' 'At' refers to specific organizations: 'I work at Google.'
Prepositions of time: 'in', 'on', 'by', 'until'
Use 'by' for deadlines (completed no later than): 'Please submit by Friday.' Use 'until' for duration (continuing up to a point): 'The offer is valid until Friday.' These are frequently confused in professional writing.
Avoid common preposition errors with verbs
Common correct collocations: 'agree on' (a decision), 'agree with' (a person), 'deal with' (a problem), 'result in' (a consequence), 'depend on' (a factor). These fixed combinations are best memorized as complete units.
Common business collocations with 'in', 'on', and 'at'
'In' is used with companies and industries: 'She works in finance.' 'On' is used with committees and projects: 'He's on the board.' 'At' refers to specific organizations: 'I work at Google.'
Prepositions of time: 'in', 'on', 'by', 'until'
Use 'by' for deadlines (completed no later than): 'Please submit by Friday.' Use 'until' for duration (continuing up to a point): 'The offer is valid until Friday.' These are frequently confused in professional writing.
Avoid common preposition errors with verbs
Common correct collocations: 'agree on' (a decision), 'agree with' (a person), 'deal with' (a problem), 'result in' (a consequence), 'depend on' (a factor). These fixed combinations are best memorized as complete units.
READY TO PRACTICE? LET’S GO!
These exercises will help you to practice using prepositions in a Business English context and can be used to to prepare for the Test of English for International Communication (TOEIC) and the Business English Certificate (BEC). Choose the best response to complete each of the sentences below.
1. We all need to perform __________________________ a higher level.
Correct answer: at — Fixed expression: perform at a level.
2. We have to increase our budget to a minimum __________________________ 10% of our gross sales.
Correct answer: of — A minimum of — of links a quantifier to its noun.
3. You have to attend __________________________ all the staff meetings.
Correct answer: NO PREPOSITION — Attend is transitive — no preposition needed.
4. From now __________________________, you will report to me.
Correct answer: on — Fixed expression: from now on = starting now.
5. We finished the project _________________ of schedule. ( = early)
Correct answer: ahead — Fixed expression: ahead of schedule = earlier than planned.
6. The inflation rate is going up as a result _________________ rising gas and energy costs.
Correct answer: of — Fixed expression: as a result of.
7. This is well _______________________ the target of 4% that we were aiming for.
Correct answer: above — Well above the target = significantly exceeding it.
8. I'm calling __________________________ response to your email.
Correct answer: in — Fixed expression: in response to = as a reply to.
9. They still haven't figured __________________________ ( = thought of) a way to improve employee morale.
Correct answer: out — Fixed expression: figure out = find a solution.
10. Something _________________________ the lines of what we saw at the conference = Something similar to what we saw at the conference
Correct answer: along — Fixed expression: along the lines of = similar to.
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