Place and Role Prepositional Phrases Exercises

Place and role prepositional phrases describe physical position, responsibility, representation, substitution, and extra pressure. The phrase set includes in front of, in the middle of, on top of, in charge of, on behalf of, and in place of. Some phrases describe literal location, while others describe a person's role in a company, meeting, letter, or temporary arrangement. The sentence context tells you which meaning is needed.

Use in front of for a position before a person, building, gate, or object. Use in the middle of for the centre of a place or an interrupted activity. On top of can mean physically above something, but it can also mean "in addition to" when one problem or duty is added to another. For roles, in charge of means responsible for managing, on behalf of means representing someone, and in place of means substituting for someone or something. Check whether the sentence describes location, authority, representation, replacement, or an added burden.