I keep it for luck (prepositional phrases)

1. Look at the photos and answer the questions below.

• Why might the objects in each of the photos be special?

• Why are some objects more important to people than others?

2. Read the stories about important objects and choose the correct prepositions to complete the
phrases.
A. Sid loves travelling and he often brings home things he finds in different places around the world.
His favourite object is a small, wooden figurine from Romania. He found it through/on/by accident
in a little market in Bucharest. Sid keeps the figurine on/to/at display in the living room so that
people can see it because he likes sharing its story in/with/at detail.
B. Amelia was after/in/with a hurry to get to a job interview. When she was waiting in traffic, she felt
the stone in her pocket that she had found a week earlier on the beach. She took it out, saw how
pretty it was and decided to get off the bus and walk to the interview. She arrived just before/in/at
time, did her best and got the job. Now she always keeps the stone in her pocket with/by/for luck.
C. Ivan still has the book his friend Sasha gave him years ago. In the book, there are Sasha’s notes in
which she describes her thoughts about the story with/in/on pencil. She left the notes there
on/by/with purpose because she wanted him to see the story through her eyes. After Ivan got the
book, he invited Sasha for lunch in/to/at return and they talked about literature for hours.

3. Read the definitions and match the words to the objects in the stories in ex. 2. One word is not used.
1. heirloom – an object which has been passed down through generations in a family
2. souvenir – an object you keep to remember a holiday
3. keepsake – an object someone gives you so that you will remember them or one that helps you
remember something like an event or a person
4. lucky charm – an object that people believe brings good luck

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I keep it for luck (prepositional phrases)

4. Discuss the questions.

• What are some examples of heirlooms, souvenirs, keepsakes and lucky charms? List at least two
examples for each.
• Do you have or have you ever had any of these? If so, what is the story behind them?
- an heirloom - a keepsake
- a souvenir - a lucky charm
• Do you keep any other objects that are important to you? What are they?
• Did people in the past treat objects better than people treat them now? Why/Why not?

5. Read the story and complete the gaps with prepositions. Then, answer the questions below.
A student was packing her bag when she realized she didn’t have her
favourite necklace. She usually kept the necklace _______ display in her
bedroom. It was a present from her aunt and it had been in the family for
three generations.

The student thought that she had left the necklace somewhere _______
accident but she couldn’t find it anywhere. Finally, she told her mum the
bad news. Mum called a company that could help and explained what had
happened _______ detail. They were able to recreate the necklace design
replica:
from photos. They printed a replica on a 3D printer and a jeweller used it
exact copy of
to make the necklace in gold. _______ return, the student had to promise something
her mum that she would never lose the necklace again.

The company managed to recreate the necklace _______ time for the
student to pick it up and visit her aunt as planned. The student kept the
replica _______ luck.

• Which word best describes the necklace? Why?

- an heirloom - a keepsake
- a souvenir - a lucky charm
• What three steps did the company take to recreate the necklace?

6. Watch a video [https://youtu.be/RaCe_cxeBoc] and find three pieces of information in the text in
ex. 5 that are incorrect or not mentioned in the video.
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I keep it for luck (prepositional phrases)

7. Discuss the questions.

• Have you ever lost an important object? How did you feel? What did you do?
• If you lost a present someone gave you, would you tell them? How would this person feel?
• Is it OK to make a replica of a present or is it dishonest?
• Can important objects be replaced? Why/Why not? If so, are they still valuable?

8. Choose one object in each box and create short stories about the objects using the story beginnings
and three of the phrases.
EXAMPLE: Omar believes that his lucky charm is
very special. He found the small elephant
figurine by accident. It was lying in the
street so he picked it up and put it in his
answered all the questions
pocket. A week later he had an exam. He
in detail…
hated exams because they stressed him
out. But this time, he arrived in time for arrived in time for the exam…
the exam to quickly revise with other brought it for luck because…
students. Then, in the exam, he answered
all the questions in detail. Now he found it by accident…
always takes the lucky charm with him.

A. There are a lot of B. Camila enjoys looking C. May has an heirloom

objects in Lucas’s at the souvenir which which has belonged to
house which have a she bought on her family for
story. One of them is a holidays once. It is a… generations. Her great-
keepsake which… grandfather…

didn’t arrive in time for
the bus…
hid it on purpose…
put it on display…
in return, she gave him… didn’t get anything
in return…
kept it for luck…
keeps it on display…
was in a hurry to catch
the plane… left it on purpose…

told the story in detail… was written in pen… packed it by accident…

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I keep it for luck (prepositional phrases)

9. You will get a set of questions. Complete them with the correct phrases.
EXAMPLE: What do people do for luck before an exam?

10. Ask your partner the questions from your card from ex. 9. They must give three different answers to
each question before they hear the next one. Continue until they have answered all the questions.
Then, answer your partner’s questions by giving three answers to each one. You don’t have to take
the questions too seriously! This task is about speed.
EXAMPLE: What do people do for luck before an exam?
1. They throw coins in fountains.
2. They collect lucky charms.
3. They blow out candles on their birthday cake.

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