Pavlína Tejnecká
These sentences are taken from my essay which is called “What are the most important
factors when choosing a coursebook?”. I concentrated on prepositions which I consider the
most difficult when writing an essay. (The first three clauses are parts of one sentence.)
1. These criteria belong to the most significant ones:
Hits: 6157
The most frequent preposition is „to“. Sometimes the preposition „in“ may also occur.
Examples:

I think we have to remember at all times that we belong to a profession in which
there can not be qualifications .

In the century which Canadians believed belonged to them , poetry had come of age .
Frequency is useful, but not always reliable. It is here.
2. the language items which a textbook is focused on,
Hits: 1822
The most frequent preposition is „on“. Sometimes the preposition „upon“ may also occur.
Example:

It has particularly focused on Renaissance literature and the struggles for dominance.
Did you observe any differences between on and upon?
3. and the role of a human being who the coursebook is destined to.
Hits: 778
The most frequent preposition is „to“.But the preposition „for“ often occur too.
Example:

It was destined to influence Ramsey 's later career .

Hundreds of fishing boats drove whole herds of dolphins into bays where they were
massacred , most of them destined to become fertiliser .
This is a good example of frequency misleading you. You should know that to be destined +
infin with to is quite different from to be destined for + noun. This has led you into error!
You also need to consider the meaning of prepositions.
-1-
4. Last but not least, it depends on the balance of all four language skills as well as on what
factors are indispensable for a teacher and students.
Hits: 9996
The preposition „on“ is dominant. Another preposition is „upon“.
Examples:

It all depends on the intensity of the work , not the amount .

Choosing the right bike for you depends on what you want to use it for .
5. It is advisable that a teacher should work in partnership with a coursebook, but never
completely rely on a textbook.
Hits: 5319
The most frequent preposition is „on“. Sometimes the preposition „upon“ may also occur.
Examples:

It soon because clear that I could no longer rely on friends for help with everyday
chores like shopping and housework when I needed it .

Our players are out not to lose , relying on others to make mistakes ; very few of our
players have winning shots .
6. The style of teaching as well as the type of a manual ought to correspond to the age of
students.
Hits: 2249
The verb „correspond“ collocates with the preposition „to“ and sometimes also with
preposition „with“.
Example:

Reality corresponds to the density of one 's artifice .
7. It depends on whether the group of future learners will consists mainly of pre-school
children, pupils of primary or secondary school, university students or adults.
Hits: 6352
The most frequent preposition is „of“ , sometimes the preposition „in“ is used.
-2-
Example:

While provision for his guests is more than adequate , his bedroom consists of a single
bed with a small television at its foot , remotely controlled .
It would be valuable to have some examples of consist in and some accounting for the
difference the choice of prepositions makes.
8. It rests with whether the students need English for their job or whether it is a compulsory
subject at school.
The verb “rest” frequently collocates with prepositions „of, on, in, with”. The preposition
“of” is the most frequent one but does not fit into the sentence. Why not? What is your point?
Example:

Nurturing the conkers to peak fitness rests with the Ashton Conker Club who ensure
the nuts are not overly toughened or injected with illegal substances .
9. The language can also serve just for communication during the holiday in a foreign
country.
Hits: 15743
The most frequent prepositions are “as, for, to”. The preposition “for” seems to be the most
appropriate for the sentence.
Example:

All had served for state organizations during the period 1917-21 .
10. Hereafter, a teacher should look over what register of a language students are supposed
to learn.
Hits: 11497
I was not sure whether the infinitive with „to“ or participle ought to follow the verb suppose.
This is better: I get the feeling here that you are trying to answer a question whose answer you
don’t already know.
Example:

Yes , were n't suppose to , suppose to finish till three hello there , where you been ?
-3-
11. The coursebook may particularly deal with grammar, history, literature, conversation,
vocabulary, collocations, phonetics and phonology, stylistics, etc....
Hits: 26275
The most frequent preposition is „with“. Preposition „of“ is also frequently used.
Examples:

Who will deal with my estate when I die ?

The CHAMPS installation will certainly meet that aim , and the interface of all its
facilities allows us to manage the hotel while enabling guests to deal with their affairs
in a quick and effective manner .
What do you notice about deal of? Ssomething very fundamental.
12. But fortunately most of teachers know how important this explanatory language is, so that
they prefer unilingual monolingual coursebooks to bilingual ones.
Hits: 6623
The preposition „to“ is the only suitable one when we use active voice. On the other hand, if
we use passive voice, we can use the preposition „by“.
Example:

Apart from a notable solo in the Finale , the flute section these days seems to prefer
crescendos to decrescendos .
13. a Good textbook should be logically divided into units.
Hits: 6555
The most frequent preposition is „ into“. Then, prepositions „by“ and „between“ are also
sometimes used. and they each mean something quite different
Examples:

In many cases a group would divide into sub-groups and work on more than three at a
time .

Sleep could be divided into a number of different phases which recurred at regular
intervals throughout the night .
-4-
14. Students ought to agree with the price.
Hits: 22889
The verb agree collocates with the preposition „with“, sometimes also withe preposition „to“.
Example:

I suppose you agree with this ?

87 per cent of the public agree with the Prince 's attack on modernist architecture.
and they each mean something quite different
15. On the one hand, a teacher should take advantage of a textbook.
Hits: 1126
The most frequent preposition is „of“, it seems it is the only one which is appropriate.
Example:

Make sure you take advantage of the service .
16. The book should be clearly organized enough so that learners will be able to work with it
independently if they are ill or can not participate in the lessons.
Hits: 2883
The verb „participate“ collocates with the preposition „in“.
Example:

Anyone can participate in summer schools , as no auditions are required , only
completion of an application form .
17. They are preferable to be based on situations of everyday live, also being topics for
discussions.
Hits: 27772
The preposition „on“ is the most frequently used. Then, the prepositions „in, of, upon“ are
also suitable, but the context has to be different.
Example:

Most experts say that the happiest -- and longest -- relationships are based on close
friendship and shared interests , not just strong feelings .
-5-
18. Learners are fond of colorful photos and pictures explaining vocabulary, grammar or just
serving as an exercise for a detailed description.
Hits: 14
The preposition „of“ seems to be the only suitable preposition for the verb.
Examples:

Why should n't you be fond of the child ?

You may be fond of him , but that 's not enough .
19. A teacher ought to always contribute to the textbook.
Hits: 6300
The verb „contribute“ is often used with the preposition „to“. Sometimes the preposition
„towards“ may also occur.
Example:

The party wishes to contribute to the building of a social market economy based on
mixed ownership .
20. Their culture is different from the tradition of England, Wales and Isle of Man.
Hits: 47607
The preposition „from“ is the most frequently used. Then, the prepositions „in, to“ are also
suitable.
Example:

But he emphasises that chilled and frozen pastas are different from dried pastas and
need different sauces .
-6-
Pavlina, this is quite a simplistic piece of work. Very little of the information you have
extracted from the corpus would be new to you, and all of it is available in standard
dictionaries and grammars. You have rarely given a sense of asking important questions,
which would have demonstrated some analytical skill.
On the other hand, the illustrative sentences you have chosen are by and large very good and
could be used in worksheets for your students when practising this topic.
A the moment I don’t feel this is a completed piece of work. It is an adequate stage one.
Could you answer the questions I pose throughout your paper so that you can demonstrate a
greater awareness of the language problems you are trying to solve, as well as demonstrating
a higher level of corpus searching.
Could you get this to me by June 15th, please.
Thanks,
James
-7-