Primary English | Prepositional Phrases Lesson Prep Guide (for tutors)

Primary English | Prepositional Phrases Lesson Prep Guide (for tutors) | 24 Collocations, 20-Item Diagnostic

2026-11-08

Tutor lesson-prep guides · Primary English

Students know good and they know at, yet they write “good in maths”. The preposition is not chosen by feeling: it belongs to the word in front of it.

Objectives — Students can: (1) name the three types (adjective plus preposition, verb plus preposition, preposition plus -ing) with two examples each; (2) fix wrong prepositions in the 20-item diagnostic; (3) recall 12 high-frequency collocations out of 24 and look up the rest.

01 Prerequisites (3-minute check)

If any of these fails, fix it before the lesson starts.

Skill	Quick check	Pass mark
Basic prepositions	in, on and at for time and place	at seven o’clock; in the box
Present simple	Subject and verb agreement	He likes music.
The -ing form	How verbs spell -ing	swim becomes swimming

02 Lesson flow (45 minutes)

Time	Stage	Tutor does	Student does
0-6 min	Diagnostic	Five wrong phrases; students circle the wrong preposition	Circle or cross
6-16 min	One line	The preposition follows the word in front, not the noun behind	Name three tails
16-28 min	Three types	8 adjective pairs, 10 verb pairs, 6 -ing phrases	Two per type
28-36 min	Three-step fix	Circle the front word, say its tail, then read the noun	Fix six sentences
36-43 min	20-item diagnostic	6 wrong, 14 right out of 20	Self-mark
43-45 min	Exit check	Three items collected and marked	Work alone

03 Teaching script (read it out)

Scene 1: One line: the preposition belongs to the front word

Students choose wrongly because they look forward: maths is a place, so they write in. Teach it backwards. The preposition is the tail of the adjective or verb: good takes at, afraid takes of, listen takes to.
All 24 collocations in this chapter answer one question: which word is in front, and what is its tail?

Ask students: write the tail for good, afraid and interested, then use each in a sentence.

Scene 2: Three types, one sort

Adjectives, 8: good at, bad at, afraid of, proud of, interested in, fond of, full of, famous for.
Verbs, 10: listen to, wait for, look after, look for, depend on, laugh at, talk about, arrive at, agree with, belong to.
Third type, a verb after a preposition takes -ing: good at swimming, afraid of flying, interested in reading, instead of shouting, before leaving, after finishing. Sorting once shows students they are learning pairings, not single prepositions.

Ask students: say one sentence about themselves with listen to and one with interested in.

Scene 3: Twenty items, three steps per item

Each item has one gap, and the front word decides the answer, not the noun behind it. Of 20 items, 6 are wrong and 14 right, that is 70 per cent.
The misses cluster on in against at (good in maths) and to against for. The fix is always three steps: circle the front word, say its tail, then read the noun.

Ask students: rewrite the six missed items and label the front word in each.

04 Question types and worked steps

Type	Example	Steps	Answer
Gap fill	good ___ maths	Find the front adjective first	Write the reason
Error correction	good in or afraid for	Change the preposition only	State the tail rule
-ing fill	A verb after a preposition	See a preposition, write -ing	The verb changes form
Scene sentence	One sentence per adjective	Fix the tail before writing	One pairing per sentence

Sanity check (teach this): Sanity checks: good at, never good in; afraid of, never afraid for; listen always carries to; a verb after a preposition always takes -ing, so good at swim is wrong; 6 wrong out of 20 leaves 14 right, that is 70 per cent.

05 Independent practice (3 questions)

Question	Answer	What to watch
Twelve tails	Half of the 24 pairs	Is the front word named
Six corrections	in, for and to put right	Can the tail be stated
-ing gap fill	Six verbs after a preposition	Did the verb change
Scene sentences	good at, afraid of, interested in	Do pairing and sentence agree

06 Common mistakes and what to say

Mistake	Student writes	Say this
good in	I am good in maths.	Good takes at, not in: I am good at maths.
afraid for	She is afraid for dogs.	Afraid always takes of: afraid of dogs.
listen without to	He listens music every night.	Listen always carries to: listen to music.
No -ing after a preposition	He is good at swim.	A verb after a preposition takes -ing: good at swimming.

07 Homework (paper, section and question numbers)

Primary English chapter index — Every chapter in the subject
All prep guides — Parallel chapters
Redo this chapter — Redo items 1 to 10 and label the front word

08 Exit check (last 5 minutes)

Question	Answer	Decision
The tail of good	at	Saying in means redo act two
The tail of afraid	of	Saying for means redo act two
listen ___ music	to	Dropping to means redo act one

09 Tutor FAQ

Must all 24 pairs be memorised?

No. Learn good at, afraid of, interested in and listen to first; the rest follow the same question.

Can the preposition be explained in Chinese?

The meaning can, but what students must store is the pairing of front word and preposition, not a translated preposition.

Is there a difference between arrive at and arrive in?

Yes: at for a small place, in for a city or country; at primary level teach arrive at school first.

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A TutorZone lesson-prep guide. Written by the TutorZone team; questions and lesson flow are original and are not taken from any school or publisher material.