Prepositions and Phrasal Verbs
~14 min read
- What: Prepositions and Phrasal Verbs cover the small words that join the rest of English together — at, in, on, to, for, by, with, from — and the verb+preposition combinations (give up, look after, run into) that take on new meanings.
- Why it matters: Preposition errors are the single most common error type in NDA — they accounted for ~22% of all Spotting Errors items in the PYQs we mapped. Phrasal verbs appear in Sentence Improvement, Fill in the Blanks, and the occasional dedicated block.
- Key habit: Prepositions cannot be derived from rules alone — they must be memorised in their fixed pairings. Build a personal pairings list and revise it weekly.
Of all the small things in English, prepositions are the most consistently testable. There are perhaps 70–80 in active use; about 30 of them appear in NDA's testing pool. Most preposition errors in NDA fall into a small number of fixed-pair categories: verb + preposition (insist on), adjective + preposition (capable of), noun + preposition (difference between / from). Memorise the pairings, and a quarter of the Spotting Errors block becomes easy marks.
Phrasal verbs are a separate but related skill. A phrasal verb is a verb plus a particle (preposition or adverb) whose meaning together is not what the parts would suggest: give up = surrender; put off = postpone; look into = investigate. NDA tests them inside Sentence Improvement, Fill in the Blanks, and (rarely) a dedicated phrasal-verb block.
This page consolidates the three rules, the high-frequency fixed pairs, an 80-phrasal-verb bank, and worked examples. Pair it with Spotting Errors (where prepositions live) and Fill in the Blanks (where they get tested directly).
What This Topic Covers
Where Prepositions Show Up in NDA
- Spotting Errors — wrong preposition in part (a), (b), or (c). ~22% of all NDA spotting items.
- Sentence Improvement — substitution swaps the wrong preposition for the right one.
- Fill in the Blanks — a missing preposition is the blank to fill (e.g., 2020-I had a dedicated Prepositions block).
- Phrasal Verb items — a verb is partially given; pick the right particle.
Three Rules That Cover Most Prepositions
Rule 1 — Time prepositions: at, on, in
At — exact time / festival points: at 6 p.m., at noon, at midnight, at Christmas, at Diwali.
On — days, dates: on Monday, on 5th May, on my birthday, on Independence Day.
In — longer periods (months, years, centuries, parts of day): in May, in 2024, in the 19th century, in the morning, in summer.
Rule 2 — Place prepositions: at, on, in
At — a specific point or address: at the door, at the bus stop, at 5 MG Road, at the airport.
On — a surface or line: on the table, on the wall, on page 5, on the river (line of bank).
In — an enclosed space or larger area: in the room, in Delhi, in the country, in the box, in the newspaper.
Rule 3 — Movement prepositions: to, into, onto, from, off
To — destination: go to school, sent to Delhi.
Into — movement from outside to inside: walked into the room. (Distinct from "in" = static location.)
Onto — movement onto a surface: climbed onto the roof.
From / off — movement away: came from home / took it off the shelf.
Fixed Verb-Preposition Pairs (NDA Frequency)
These pairings cannot be derived; they must be memorised. The list below covers ~90% of NDA's preposition tests.
Bank A — Verbs that take a SPECIFIC preposition (top 30)
| Verb | Preposition | Note |
|---|---|---|
| insist | on | "He insisted on coming." |
| depend | on / upon | "The result depends on effort." |
| consist | of | "The team consists of five members." |
| compose | of | "Water is composed of hydrogen and oxygen." |
| capable | of | (adjective + of) |
| aware | of | (adjective + of) |
| differ | from | (when a thing differs from another thing) |
| differ | with | (when a person differs in opinion with another) |
| different | from | (BrE strict; AmE allows "different than") |
| refer | to | "He referred to the report." |
| reply | to | "Reply to the letter." |
| respond | to | "Respond to the message." |
| listen | to | "Listen to me." |
| look | at / for / after / into | at = direct gaze; for = search; after = care for; into = investigate |
| laugh | at | "Don't laugh at him." |
| marry | (nothing) | "He married her." (NOT "married with") |
| discuss | (nothing) | "Let us discuss the matter." (NOT "discuss about") |
| request | (nothing) | "He requested the loan." (NOT "requested for") |
| resemble | (nothing) | "She resembles her mother." |
| order | (nothing) | "He ordered tea." (NOT "ordered for tea") |
| await | (nothing) | "They awaited the result." (NOT "awaited for") |
| mention | (nothing) | "He mentioned the date." (NOT "mentioned about") |
| enter | (nothing) | "She entered the room." Exception: "entered into an agreement" (metaphorical) |
| reach | (nothing) | "They reached the station." |
| accuse | of | "He was accused of theft." |
| charge | with | "She was charged with murder." |
| blame | for | "They blamed him for the loss." |
| congratulate | on | "Congratulate him on his win." |
| compare | to / with | to = similarity; with = analytical comparison |
| complain | about / of | "Complained about the noise / of a headache." |
Noun + Preposition and Adjective + Preposition
Bank B — Common Noun + Preposition pairs
| Pair | Note |
|---|---|
| cause of | "the cause of the accident" |
| reason for | "the reason for delay" |
| solution to | "a solution to the problem" |
| answer to | "the answer to the question" |
| increase in | "an increase in prices" |
| decrease in | "a decrease in demand" |
| demand for | "demand for oil" |
| need for | "need for change" |
| belief in | "belief in God" |
| respect for | "respect for elders" |
| preference for | "preference for tea" |
| advantage of / over | of = use; over = comparison |
| influence on / over | on = effect; over = control |
| experience of / in | of an event / in a field |
Bank C — Common Adjective + Preposition pairs
| Pair | Note |
|---|---|
| afraid of | "afraid of dogs" |
| aware of | "aware of the danger" |
| capable of | "capable of doing it" |
| fond of | "fond of music" |
| full of | "full of life" |
| jealous of | "jealous of her success" |
| proud of | "proud of his team" |
| ashamed of | "ashamed of his act" |
| conscious of | "conscious of his weakness" |
| devoid of | "devoid of feeling" |
| interested in | "interested in painting" |
| experienced in | "experienced in management" |
| different from | "different from him" |
| angry with (person) / at (thing) | "angry with him / at the noise" |
| good at | "good at maths" |
| bad at | "bad at lying" |
| kind to | "kind to animals" |
| polite to | "polite to strangers" |
| responsible for | "responsible for the delay" |
| famous for | "famous for its temples" |
| notorious for | "notorious for traffic" |
Phrasal Verbs — High-Frequency NDA Bank
A phrasal verb is verb + particle whose joint meaning is not what the parts suggest. NDA tests 60–80 high-frequency phrasal verbs in rotation.
Bank D — Daily-Use Phrasal Verbs (30)
| Phrasal verb | Meaning |
|---|---|
| give up | surrender / stop trying |
| put up with | tolerate |
| put off | postpone |
| put on | wear / increase (weight) |
| take after | resemble (relative) |
| take off | (plane) leave ground / (clothes) remove |
| take over | assume control of |
| take up | begin a new activity |
| look after | care for |
| look into | investigate |
| look up to | respect |
| look down on | despise |
| look for | search |
| get on (with) | have a good relationship with |
| get over | recover from |
| get up | rise from bed |
| break down | stop functioning / cry uncontrollably |
| break out | start suddenly (fire, war, disease) |
| break up | end a relationship |
| bring up | raise (a child / a topic) |
| call off | cancel |
| call on | visit briefly |
| carry on | continue |
| carry out | perform / execute |
| come across | meet by chance / be perceived as |
| come up with | think of |
| cut down (on) | reduce |
| fall through | fail to happen |
| find out | discover |
| go through | experience / read carefully |
Bank E — Formal-Register Phrasal Verbs (20)
| Phrasal verb | Meaning |
|---|---|
| account for | explain |
| abide by | obey |
| back out (of) | withdraw from a commitment |
| bring about | cause |
| brush aside | dismiss |
| brush up | review knowledge |
| do away with | abolish |
| fall back on | resort to |
| hand over | give possession to |
| iron out | resolve (small difficulties) |
| look down upon | scorn |
| make out | understand / discern |
| pass away | die (polite) |
| pass on | transmit (info) / die (formal) |
| pick up | collect / learn casually |
| pull off | achieve (something difficult) |
| put down to | attribute to |
| run into | meet by chance |
| set up | establish |
| turn down | refuse |
Worked Examples
Worked Example 1 — Preposition fill
Stem (typical NDA Fill-in): "The accident was caused _____ his carelessness."
Options: (a) by (b) due to (c) of (d) from
Reasoning: "Cause + by" is the standard fixed pair in passive voice (X was caused by Y). "Due to" is a different construction (followed by noun, used after a "be" verb, never after a verb).
Answer: (a) by.
Worked Example 2 — Adjective + preposition
Stem: "She is afraid _____ snakes."
Options: (a) from (b) of (c) with (d) for
Reasoning: "Afraid of" is the fixed pairing.
Answer: (b) of.
Worked Example 3 — Phrasal verb fill
Stem: "The meeting has been _____ till next week."
Options: (a) put off (b) put on (c) put up (d) put down
Reasoning: "Put off" = postpone. The others don't fit the meaning.
Answer: (a) put off.
Worked Example 4 — Wrong preposition error
Stem: "Let us discuss about this matter in the meeting."
Reasoning: "Discuss" is transitive — no "about" needed. Indianism.
Answer: Remove "about".
Worked Example 5 — Phrasal-verb meaning
Stem: "She takes after her mother in temperament."
Question: What does "takes after" mean here?
Options: (a) chases (b) resembles (c) imitates deliberately (d) supports
Answer: (b) resembles.
Lesson: "Take after" = resemble (especially a relative). Distinct from "take to" (begin a habit).
Five Traps NDA Exploits
- The Indianism trap. Discuss about, request for, return back, order for, mention about, marry with. All wrong in NDA's English.
- The "right preposition, wrong verb" trap. "I am angry with the noise" — wrong, should be "at". At for things, with for people.
- The static/movement trap. "He walked in the room" — ambiguous between "moved while inside" and "walked into". NDA prefers "into" for entry.
- The phrasal-verb-particle trap. Same verb + different particle = different meaning. "Look after" (care), "look into" (investigate), "look up to" (respect), "look down on" (scorn). Read carefully.
- The omitted-preposition trap. Some verbs need no preposition; adding one is wrong. Discuss / order / mention / await / enter / reach / request / resemble.
Preparation Strategy
5-Week Prepositions + Phrasal Verbs Plan
- Week 1: Time/place/movement rules + Bank A (30 verb+prep pairs). Daily 10-item self-test.
- Week 2: Banks B and C (noun + prep, adjective + prep). Begin a "Personal Pairings" list — every error you make goes on it.
- Week 3: Bank D (30 daily phrasal verbs). Use them in spoken sentences during the day.
- Week 4: Bank E (20 formal phrasal verbs). Mixed daily quizzes.
- Week 5: Full revision + timed tests. Indianism list final review.
Drill Prepositions and Phrasal Verbs
NDA-pattern Preposition and Phrasal Verb blocks with pair-tagged explanations and Indianism flags.
Start Free Mock TestFrequently Asked Questions
How much of NDA English depends on prepositions?
Prepositions are the single most-tested error category in Spotting Errors (~22% of items) and appear inside Sentence Improvement, Fill in the Blanks, and Cloze. Together: roughly 6–10 marks across a typical NDA paper depend on preposition mastery.
Can prepositions be derived from rules?
Time/place/movement prepositions follow rough rules. Verb+prep, noun+prep, and adjective+prep pairings cannot be derived — they are fixed by convention and must be memorised in their pairings.
How many phrasal verbs should I learn?
About 80 high-frequency phrasal verbs (Banks D + E above). For a wider safety net, add 50 more from any standard list (Bakshi Ch.15, Wren and Martin appendix).
What is the difference between a phrasal verb and a preposition?
A preposition shows relationship (in, on, at, by). A phrasal verb is a verb + particle (which is often a preposition) whose meaning together is a new unit (give up = surrender; look into = investigate). Same particle can play either role depending on context.
Which NDA English topics connect to Prepositions?
Spotting Errors (the largest container of preposition tests), Sentence Improvement (preposition substitutions), Fill in the Blanks (preposition blanks), Idioms (often built on phrasal verbs).