Prepositions are tiny words like at, in, on, by, to, for — yet they decide whether a sentence is right or wrong, and the NDA loves testing them. Phrasal verbs (verb + preposition/adverb such as give up, look after) appear just as often. This Cavalier guide turns these confusing little words into easy, repeatable rules so you stop guessing and start scoring.
What Exactly Is a Preposition?
A preposition is a word placed before a noun or pronoun to show its relation to another word in the sentence. The very name explains it — pre (before) + position — a word in a pre-position.
Look at how one little word changes the whole picture: The cat is on the table / under the table / near the table / beside the table. The nouns stay the same; only the preposition shifts the meaning. That is exactly why setters love them.
A preposition shows a relationship of time (at 5 o’clock), place (in Delhi), direction (to school) or logical link (afraid of dogs). The noun that follows it is called its object.
Common single-word prepositions include at, in, on, by, for, from, of, to, with, into, over, under, between, among, since, during, before, after. There are also phrase prepositions made of several words, such as in spite of, on account of, because of, in front of and by means of.
Why Prepositions Matter in the NDA Exam
The NDA English paper carries 200 marks (100 questions of 2 marks each), and grammar-based items — spotting errors, sentence improvement, fill-in-the-blanks — regularly hide a preposition trap. A wrong preposition is one of the most frequently tested errors in the entire paper.
- They appear in error-spotting questions (find the wrong word).
- They appear in fill-in-the-blanks (choose the correct preposition).
- They power phrasal verbs, which carry their own questions.
Remember the negative marking: NDA deducts 0.83 marks (one-third) for a wrong answer. With prepositions, a confident rule beats a wild guess every time, so learn the fixed pairs cold.
The good news is that prepositions are rule-based and finite. Unlike vocabulary, you are not facing thousands of new words — the same handful of prepositions and pairings repeat year after year. Master them once and you score them forever.
Prepositions of Time: at, on, in
Three prepositions handle almost all time expressions, and they follow a neat ‘zoom out’ logic — from the smallest unit to the largest.
- at → exact time & points: at 5 o’clock, at noon, at night, at dawn
- on → days & dates: on Monday, on 15th August, on my birthday
- in → longer periods: in May, in 2024, in the morning, in winter
Notice the pattern: the smaller and more precise the time, the smaller the word (at); the broader the period, the ‘bigger’ the word (in). Days sit in the middle with on.
Students write ‘in the night’ and ‘at the morning’. The correct forms are at night but in the morning / in the afternoon / in the evening. Memorise these exceptions as a set.
Two more time words to fix in memory: since is used for a point of time (since 2010, since Monday) and goes with the present perfect; for is used for a period of time (for two hours, for five years). Mixing these up is a classic error.
Prepositions of Place: at, in, on
The same three words also handle place — again following a small-to-large logic.
- at → a specific point: at the door, at the bus stop, at the corner
- on → a surface: on the wall, on the table, on the floor
- in → an enclosed space / area: in the box, in Delhi, in India
So we say someone is at the station (a point), the poster is on the wall (a surface), and the books are in the bag (inside something). For cities and countries we always use in — in Mumbai, in France.
Use between for two things (sit between Ram and Shyam) and among for more than two (distribute among the students). This single pair is tested almost every year.
For movement and direction, the key words are to (go to school), into (jump into the pool), onto (climb onto the roof) and towards (walk towards the gate). Note that we say reach a place — never ‘reach to’ a place.
Appropriate Prepositions (Fixed Pairs)
Many words in English always take a particular preposition. These are called appropriate prepositions, and the NDA tests them heavily because there is no logic — you simply have to know the pair. Learn them as fixed units.
- afraid of, fond of, proud of, capable of
- good at, bad at, surprised at
- angry with (a person), angry at (a thing)
- different from, married to, similar to
- rely on, depend on, insist on, congratulate on
- suffer from, recover from, prevent from
These pairings often defy translation from Hindi, which is why they trip up students. For example, in everyday speech people say ‘discuss about the topic’, but the correct form is simply discuss the topic — the verb discuss takes no preposition at all.
Watch these high-frequency errors: it is superior to / inferior to (never ‘superior than’), prefer A to B (never ‘prefer than’), and comply with (never ‘comply to’). The NDA plants these traps every year.
What Is a Phrasal Verb?
A phrasal verb is a verb combined with a preposition or an adverb (or both) that together create a new meaning — usually quite different from the original verb.
Take the simple verb look. Add different particles and the meaning changes completely:
- look after → take care of (She looks after her grandmother.)
- look for → search for (I am looking for my pen.)
- look into → investigate (Police will look into the case.)
- look up to → respect (Cadets look up to their seniors.)
You usually cannot guess a phrasal verb’s meaning from its parts — give up does not mean ‘give in an upward direction’; it means quit. Treat each phrasal verb as a single vocabulary item with its own meaning.
This is why the NDA mixes phrasal verbs into both vocabulary and grammar sections. The smart approach is to learn them in small families grouped by the main verb — break, bring, call, carry, get, go, put, take, turn — since each of these spawns many useful phrasal verbs.
High-Frequency NDA Phrasal Verbs
The same phrasal verbs keep returning in NDA papers. Learn these with their quick meanings — they are easy marks once memorised.
- call off → cancel
- put off → postpone
- carry out → execute, perform
- break down → stop functioning; collapse
- turn down → reject, refuse
- bring up → raise (a child / a topic)
- get over → recover from
- run out of → exhaust the supply of
- give in → surrender, yield
- account for → explain the reason for
A second batch worth knowing cold: back out → withdraw from a promise; do away with → abolish; fall through → fail to happen; set up → establish; stand by → support; take after → resemble (a relative); pass away → die; and make up → invent / reconcile.
Keep a small notebook. Each new phrasal verb gets its meaning and one sentence. Revising 10 a day builds a strong stock in a couple of months — and the same ones reappear in the paper.
Strategy: Use the Sentence Context
In fill-in-the-blank and improvement questions, the surrounding words tell you which preposition or phrasal verb fits. Always read the whole sentence before choosing.
Fill in the blank: “The meeting was ____ because the chairman fell ill.” (a) called off (b) called for (c) called up (d) called on
The cause — ‘chairman fell ill’ — signals that the event was scrapped, so only called off makes sense. Context narrows four options to one.
Watch for signpost words like because, so, although, in order to. They reveal whether the action succeeded, failed, was delayed or cancelled — pointing you to the right phrasal verb.
Strategy: Eliminate by Fixed Pairs
You do not always need to know the answer — you only need to remove the wrong ones. With prepositions, the fixed-pair rules make elimination very reliable.
- Cross out any option that breaks a fixed pair (e.g. ‘superior than’ is always wrong).
- Cross out options whose phrasal verb means the wrong thing in context.
- Between close survivors, choose the one whose meaning and tone match the sentence exactly.
Students translate from Hindi and add stray prepositions: ‘discuss about’, ‘order for tea’, ‘request for something’, ‘reach to the station’. The correct verbs — discuss, order, request, reach — take no preposition here. Spotting an extra word is often the whole answer.
If two options still survive, recall the exact fixed pair from memory. This is why learning the appropriate prepositions as fixed units — not by logic — pays off directly in the exam.
Putting It All Together
Let us solve a tricky error-spotting question step by step using every tool above.
Spot the error: “He is married with a doctor and is very proud of her.” (a) married with (b) proud of (c) is very (d) no error
Notice we never needed luck. Knowing the fixed pairs married to and proud of led straight to the wrong one. That is the Cavalier method — know the pair, don’t guess.
Previous-Year Style Practice
Here is a question in the exact NDA style. Try it before reading the answer.
Q. Fill in the blank with the correct preposition: “She has been working in this office ____ 2015.” (a) for (b) since (c) from (d) in
Answer: (b) since. A point of time (2015) takes since with the present perfect (‘has been working’). For needs a period (for ten years); from needs a matching ‘to’; and in does not fit a continuing action up to now.
For every PYQ you solve, also note the rule it tests and one extra example. You then revise the whole rule, not just a single answer.
Quick Revision
You now have a complete, repeatable system for prepositions and phrasal verbs — built on a small set of rules and fixed pairs rather than guesswork.
- A preposition shows relation of time, place, direction or logic.
- Time: at (exact), on (days/dates), in (long periods).
- Place: at (point), on (surface), in (enclosed/area).
- Between two, among more than two; since a point, for a period.
- Learn appropriate prepositions as fixed pairs (afraid of, superior to, rely on).
- A phrasal verb = verb + particle with a brand-new meaning (give up = quit).
- Use context and elimination; beware Hindi-style extra prepositions.
Practise 10 fresh phrasal verbs, a few fixed pairs and one or two PYQs every day, and prepositions will become some of your fastest, surest marks in the NDA English paper.
Frequently asked questions
How are prepositions tested in the NDA English exam?
Mostly inside error-spotting, sentence-improvement and fill-in-the-blank questions. A wrong preposition is one of the most common planted errors, so a single rule can secure two marks safely.
What is the difference between 'since' and 'for'?
Use 'since' before a point of time (since 2015, since Monday) and 'for' before a period of time (for five years, for two hours). 'Since' usually goes with the present perfect tense.
Do I need to memorise phrasal verbs, or can I work them out?
You generally cannot guess them, because the meaning is not obvious from the parts (give up means quit). Learn the high-frequency ones with a sentence each, grouped by the main verb.
Why do appropriate prepositions feel so illogical?
Because there is often no rule — the pairing is fixed by usage (afraid of, married to, superior to). Treat each as a single unit and memorise it rather than trying to reason it out or translate from Hindi.
When do I use 'between' and when 'among'?
Use 'between' when referring to two persons or things, and 'among' for more than two. For example, divide the sweets between the two boys, but distribute them among the whole class.
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