Introduction
Intro (English): Prepositions connect nouns/pronouns to other words by showing relationships of place, time, direction, cause, and instrument. Mastering prepositions requires a mix of rule-based learning and visualisation—this page gives clear rules, spatial & temporal diagrams, collocations, 8 step-by-step solved examples, and practice targeted at SSC, Police, Railway and NEET exams.
Definition & Core Theorem
Definition: A preposition is a word placed before a noun or pronoun to show its relation to another word (place, time, direction, cause, manner).
Practical theorem: If a short word before a noun answers where/when/how/why/who with respect to another word, it functions as a preposition. Visual tests (diagrams) convert abstract choices into instinctive answers.
Types of Prepositions (with examples & collocations)
1. Spatial (Place & Position)
in (in the box), on (on the table), at (at the corner), under, above, below, between, among, beside, behind, in front of.
2. Direction & Motion
to, into, onto, towards, through, past, along, across.
3. Temporal (Time)
at (at 5pm), on (on Monday), in (in July), before, after, during, since, until, by.
4. Instrumental & Agentive
with (with a pen), by (by train / by him), via, using.
5. Causal & Purpose
for (for help), because of, due to, owing to, in order to.
6. Prepositional Phrases & Collocations
in front of, on behalf of, in spite of, at the expense of—memorise these as fixed chunks for exam speed.
Rules, Tests & Common Pitfalls
- Use at for points, in for enclosed spaces, on for surfaces — visualize with diagrams.
- Time: at for clock times and festivals (at noon, at Christmas), on for days/dates (on Monday, on July 5), in for months/years/longer periods (in 2025, in the morning).
- Remember verbs that take specific prepositions: depend on (not depend of), consist of, belong to, look at, wait for.
- Avoid ending formal sentences with a preposition only when it sounds forced—modern English accepts sentence-final prepositions in many contexts.
Diagrams — Replace with inline SVGs
Recommended SVGs to paste inline: spatial diagram (box with in/on/under/over labels), clock/calendar timeline for temporal prepositions, motion arrow diagram for direction prepositions, collocation cards. Paste your SVGs into this page to replace placeholders for crisp illustration.
Solved Examples (8 step-by-step)
- Example 1: Choose: "She is ___ the bus." (in/on/at)
Solution: "on the bus" — vehicles commonly take 'on' (on the bus, on the train).उपाय: वाहतुकीसाठी 'on' सामान्यतः वापरतात. - Example 2: Choose: "He arrived ___ 5 pm." (at/in/on)
Solution: "at 5 pm." Use 'at' for specific clock times.उपाय: विशिष्ट वेळेस 'at' वापरा. - Example 3: Prepositional phrase: "She works ___ home." (at/in)
Solution: "She works at home." Both 'at' and 'from' possible depending on meaning — 'at home' means located at home. उपाय: 'at home' स्थान दर्शवते.
- Example 4: Collocation: "He is good ___ maths." (at/in)
Solution: "good at maths." Some adjectives pair with specific prepositions — learn collocations. उपाय: 'good at' हा fixed collocation आहे.
- Example 5: Direction: "They walked ___ the bridge." (over/across)
Solution: "across the bridge" or 'over the bridge' depending on dialect; 'across' emphasises from one side to the other. उपाय: 'across' म्हणजे एका बाजूने दुसऱ्या बाजूकडे.
- Example 6: Time phrase: "___ the morning" (in/at/on)
Solution: "in the morning." 'in' for parts of day. उपाय: दिवसाच्या भागासाठी 'in' वापरा.
- Example 7: Verb+preposition: "She relies ___ her friends."
Solution: "relies on" — memorize verb + preposition pair.उपाय: 'rely on' ही fixed collocation आहे. - Example 8: Avoiding double prepositions: "Where are you from?" vs "Where are you from at?"
Solution: Correct: "Where are you from?"—no extra preposition.उपाय: अनावश्यक preposition टाळा.
Practice Questions (+ Summary Table & Answer Key)
20–30 minutes practice: fill-in-the-blanks, collocation matching, and error correction.
Summary Table (Quick reference)
| Topic | Rule / Quick tip |
|---|---|
| Place | in = enclosed, on = surface, at = point |
| Time | at = clock/festival, on = day/date, in = month/year/part of day |
| Direction | to/into = movement towards; across/over = from one side to other |
| Collocations | memorize verb + preposition pairs (depend on, good at) |
| Common errors | double prepositions, wrong collocation, ending preposition confusion |
Answer Key
- Q1: "She lives at 10 Downing Street." (address = at)
- Q2: "arrive at the airport" (point)
- Q3: Correct: "He is good at English."
- Q4: "on behalf of"
- Q5: "They went for a walk."
- Q6: Correct: "She is married to a doctor." (use 'to' for spouse)
- Q7: "at the weekend" (UK) / "on the weekend" (US common) — both used; context matters.
- Q8: "walked through the tunnel" (movement inside tunnel)
Exam-focused Tips & SEO Strategy
For exams focus on collocations (verb+preposition), place/time signals, and map-based visualisation. Use long-tail keywords in headings naturally (e.g., "prepositions notes for SSC"), and keep meta unique for rsetu.link. The page includes JSON-LD for FAQ and Course to improve rich snippets.
Classroom Example (English + Marathi)
English (teacher explains): "To teach 'in/on/at', draw a box and place a ball inside (in), on top of the box (on), and point to the corner (at). Visual clues make choices instinctive."
Resources & Next steps
Paste inline SVGs for spatial/time diagrams and I'll embed them. I can also add 8 more advanced solved examples tailored for SSC/Police/Railway/NEET, generate printable worksheets, or run keyword research to expand the keyword list for stronger SEO.