Few topics reward memory and feel as directly as prepositions and phrasal verbs in the CDS and OTA English paper. Examiners love them because a single wrong word — in for on, or look up for look after — changes the whole meaning. This page from The Cavalier builds the rules from scratch, lists the fixed combinations you must memorise, and shows you how the questions actually appear.
Why prepositions matter in CDS English
The CDS English paper of 120 questions reserves a steady chunk for spotting errors, sentence improvement, fill in the blanks and ordering of words. Prepositions and phrasal verbs sit at the heart of all four. A relaxed reader skims past them, but the examiner builds whole questions around a single misplaced word.
The good news: prepositions are largely about rules plus memorised combinations, not deep reasoning. Once you internalise the patterns, these become some of the fastest, surest marks on the paper — no calculation, no long passage, just recognition. Where a comprehension question may take two minutes and still leave you unsure, a preposition question takes ten seconds once the rule is firm in your mind. For a candidate fighting the clock across 120 questions, that saved time is precious.
Treat this topic, therefore, as a guaranteed banking of marks. Many strong aspirants lose the exam by a handful of marks; a rock-solid grip on prepositions and phrasal verbs is exactly the kind of cushion that turns a borderline score into a clear pass.
A preposition is a word placed before a noun or pronoun to show its relation to another word in the sentence — on the table, at noon, afraid of dogs. The noun that follows is called its object.
Prepositions of time: at, on, in
Three small words do most of the work for time, and CDS loves to swap them. Fix the hierarchy from smallest to largest unit of time.
- at → precise points: at 5 o’clock, at noon, at midnight, at dawn, at present.
- on → days and dates: on Monday, on 15th August, on my birthday, on a winter morning.
- in → longer periods: in April, in 2025, in the morning, in summer, in the twentieth century.
Other time prepositions worth fixing: since marks a point of starting (since Monday, since 2010), while for marks a length of time (for two hours, for a week). By means ‘not later than’ (finish by Friday); within means ‘before the end of’ (reply within a week).
Do not write ‘in the morning’ but ‘at night’ — that is correct usage, not an error. However, ‘in my birthday’ is wrong; it must be ‘on my birthday’. And we say ‘since two hours’ is wrong — use ‘for two hours’.
Prepositions of place: at, on, in
The same three words also handle place, on a similar small-to-large logic.
- at → a specific point or address: at the bus stop, at the door, at 22 Mall Road.
- on → a surface: on the wall, on the floor, on the second page.
- in → an enclosed space or large area: in the room, in Delhi, in India, in the box.
Useful contrasts: we live in a city but at a small village; we sit in an armchair but on a stool or bench. Between is used for two things, among for more than two (divide the sweets between the two boys; among the four boys).
When two prepositions are needed in one sentence, do not drop one. ‘He is fond and proud of his son’ is wrong because fond takes of but the structure is clumsy; the safe correct form is ‘He is fond of and proud of his son’ or rephrase. Examiners test this gap directly.
Prepositions of direction and movement
These show motion towards, into or away from something. CDS uses them in sentence-improvement questions.
- to → movement towards a destination: go to school, walk to the gate.
- into → movement to the inside: jump into the pool, walk into the room.
- onto → movement to a surface: climb onto the roof.
- towards → in the direction of: he ran towards the exit.
- through → from one end to the other: the train passed through the tunnel.
- across → from one side to the other: swim across the river.
Use in / on / at for a static position and into / onto / to for movement. ‘The cat is in the basket’ (position) versus ‘The cat jumped into the basket’ (movement).
Fixed combinations you must memorise
Many words demand a particular preposition by convention, not by logic. These are pure memory marks and account for the bulk of CDS preposition questions. Learn them in clusters.
Adjective + preposition
- afraid of, fond of, jealous of, proud of, capable of
- good at, bad at, surprised at
- angry with (a person), angry at (a thing), satisfied with
- interested in, rich in, deficient in
- similar to, married to, superior to, inferior to
Verb + preposition
- depend on, rely on, insist on, congratulate on
- believe in, succeed in, result in
- differ from, suffer from, recover from, refrain from
- consist of, approve of, accuse of
- listen to, refer to, object to, prefer (one) to (another)
‘Superior than’ and ‘inferior than’ are always wrong — these words take to, never than: ‘Gold is superior to silver.’ Likewise, ‘prefer tea than coffee’ is wrong; it is ‘prefer tea to coffee’.
Noun + preposition and tricky pairs
Nouns too carry fixed prepositions, and a few pairs are deliberately confusing.
- a reason for, a remedy for, a desire for
- belief in, faith in, increase in
- a solution to, an answer to, a key to
- cause of, lack of, hope of
Pairs that trap candidates
- agree to a proposal but agree with a person.
- compare to (to show likeness) versus compare with (to show difference).
- part from a person but part with a thing.
- die of a disease, die from a wound, die for a cause.
When a fill-in-the-blank offers agree, first decide whether the object is a person or a proposal. That single decision — with versus to — usually settles the answer instantly.
What is a phrasal verb?
A phrasal verb is a verb combined with a preposition or adverb particle (or both) to form a single unit of meaning that is often different from the literal verb. For example, the verb give means to hand over, but give up means to surrender or stop, and give in means to yield.
The crucial point for CDS is that the particle changes everything. Look how one verb spreads into a family:
- break down → to stop functioning (the car broke down) or to collapse emotionally.
- break out → to begin suddenly (war broke out; a fire broke out).
- break into → to enter forcibly (thieves broke into the house).
- break off → to discontinue (they broke off the talks).
Phrasal-verb meaning = verb + particle as one word. You cannot guess it from the verb alone. CDS tests this by giving a sentence and asking you to pick the phrasal verb closest in meaning, or by planting the wrong particle as an error.
High-frequency phrasal verbs for CDS
Memorise these common combinations with their meanings — they recur across years of CDS and OTA papers.
- look after → take care of; look into → investigate; look up → search in a reference; look down on → despise; look forward to → await eagerly.
- put off → postpone; put up with → tolerate; put out → extinguish; put on → wear.
- carry out → execute; carry on → continue.
- turn down → reject; turn up → arrive / appear; turn over → flip.
- call off → cancel; call on → visit briefly; call for → demand.
- bring up → raise (a child / a topic); bring about → cause.
- get over → recover from; get along with → have a good relationship.
Do not confuse look after (care for) with look for (search). ‘She looks for her old parents’ wrongly means she is searching for them; the intended sense ‘cares for’ needs look after.
Worked example: choosing the right preposition
Let us reason through a typical fill-in-the-blank the way you should in the exam.
Choose the correct option: “The committee will look ___ the complaint and submit its report ___ a week.”
(a) into / within (b) after / in (c) for / by (d) up / on
Notice the method: decide the meaning first, then attach the particle. Guessing by sound fails because several options ‘feel’ possible. In a two-blank question, always solve the blank you are surest about first — it usually eliminates two or three options at a stroke, and the remaining choice falls into place.
One more habit pays off here. Read the full sentence, not just the words around the blank. Context words like complaint, report and week in the example above quietly point you towards investigate and before the end of. The examiner plants those clues; a careful reader simply collects them.
Spotting preposition errors fast
In error-spotting questions a sentence is split into parts and you mark the part with the mistake. Preposition errors cluster around a few predictable traps.
- Redundant preposition: ‘Discuss about the matter’ → discuss needs no preposition: ‘Discuss the matter’. Same with order, request, resemble, reach.
- Missing preposition: ‘He is afraid the dark’ needs of.
- Wrong preposition: ‘married with’ should be ‘married to’; ‘comprises of’ should be just ‘comprises’.
- since / for confusion: ‘I have lived here since five years’ should be ‘for five years’.
Keep a mental ‘no-preposition’ list — discuss, order, request, resemble, reach, attack, marry (as verb), comprise — and flag any preposition attached to them as a likely error.
Previous-year style question
Q. Fill in the blank with the most appropriate option: “The young officer was determined to ___ the difficult assignment despite every obstacle.” (a) carry on with (b) carry out (c) carry off (d) carry away
Answer: (b) carry out. To carry out an assignment means to execute or perform it. Carry on with means to continue something already begun, carry off means to win or to handle successfully, and carry away means to overwhelm with emotion — none fits ‘execute a task’ as precisely as carry out.
This is the exact texture of CDS phrasal-verb questions: four near-synonyms built on one verb, separated only by their particle and shade of meaning. Knowing the family of carry — out, on, off, away — lets you eliminate confidently.
Quick revision
- Time: at (point) → on (day/date) → in (long period); since (point), for (duration).
- Place: at (point) → on (surface) → in (enclosed/large area); between (two), among (more).
- Movement: use to / into / onto / towards, not the static in / on / at.
- Fixed combos are memory marks: superior/inferior/prefer take to; differ/suffer/recover take from; depend/rely/insist take on.
- Phrasal verbs: the particle decides the meaning — look after ≠ look for ≠ look into ≠ look up.
- Error traps: discuss, request, order, reach, resemble take no preposition.
Build a personal list of 50 fixed combinations and 30 phrasal verbs, revise it weekly, and these questions become guaranteed marks. With The Cavalier’s drill sheets, candidates routinely clear this segment without losing a single mark to the examiner’s traps.
Frequently asked questions
How many questions on prepositions and phrasal verbs come in CDS English?
There is no fixed count, but across spotting errors, sentence improvement and fill-in-the-blank sections, several marks every year hinge on prepositions or phrasal verbs. They are among the most reliable, low-effort marks in the paper.
What is the difference between 'compare to' and 'compare with'?
Use 'compare to' when you want to show likeness or liken one thing to another (he compared the soldier to a lion). Use 'compare with' when you want to examine similarities and differences side by side (compare this year's results with last year's).
Why do words like 'discuss' and 'reach' not take a preposition?
These are transitive verbs that take a direct object on their own. 'Discuss the plan' and 'reach the station' are complete; adding 'about' or 'at' makes them wrong. Examiners frequently plant such redundant prepositions as the error.
How do I master phrasal verbs quickly for the exam?
Group them by the base verb (look, put, carry, turn, break, get) and learn the whole family together with one-line meanings. Seeing 'look after / for / into / up / down on' side by side fixes the particle differences far better than learning them randomly.
Is 'superior than' ever correct?
No. Superior, inferior, senior, junior, prior and prefer all take the preposition 'to', never 'than'. 'Gold is superior to silver' and 'I prefer tea to coffee' are the correct forms.
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