Prepositions — Study Notes for CG TET

Overview

Prepositions are small but powerful words that show relationships between nouns, pronouns, and other elements in a sentence. They indicate position, direction, time, and manner. In the CG TET Language II English paper, prepositions appear both in direct grammar questions and within unseen passages where candidates must identify correct usage or fill in blanks.

Mastery of prepositions is essential because they are among the most error-prone areas for second-language learners. Many preposition choices in English are idiomatic—they do not follow strict logical rules and must simply be memorised. The exam tests your ability to choose the correct preposition in context, spot errors in preposition usage, and understand how prepositions affect meaning in comprehension passages.

This topic requires memorisation of common patterns combined with practice in applying rules to unfamiliar sentences. Focus on the most frequently tested prepositions: in, on, at, to, for, by, with, from, of, about, between, and among.

Key Concepts

• **Definition**: A preposition is a word placed before a noun or pronoun to show its relationship with another word in the sentence. Example: The book is *on* the table.

• **Object of preposition**: The noun or pronoun that follows a preposition is called its object. Prepositions always take the objective case (him, her, them, whom—not he, she, they, who).

• **Prepositional phrase**: A preposition + its object + any modifiers form a prepositional phrase. Example: *under the old wooden bridge*.

• **Types by function**: Prepositions of place (in, on, at, under, behind), time (in, on, at, during, since, for), direction (to, towards, into, through), and agent/instrument (by, with).

• **Simple vs compound prepositions**: Simple prepositions are single words (in, on, at). Compound prepositions are phrases acting as one unit (in front of, because of, in spite of, on account of).

• **Idiomatic usage**: Many verbs, adjectives, and nouns take fixed prepositions that must be memorised: *interested in*, *depend on*, *afraid of*, *reason for*.

• **No preposition needed**: Some verbs do not take prepositions where Hindi might use one: *discuss the matter* (not discuss about), *enter the room* (not enter into), *answer the question* (not answer to).

Formulas / Key Facts

**Prepositions of Time** | Preposition | Use | Example | |-------------|-----|---------| | at | Specific time, festivals without "day" | at 5 o'clock, at Diwali | | on | Days, dates | on Monday, on 15th August | | in | Months, years, seasons, parts of day | in March, in 2024, in the morning | | since | Point of time (with perfect tense) | since 1990, since Monday | | for | Duration of time | for two hours, for a week | | by | Deadline or latest time | by 6 PM, by tomorrow | | during | Throughout a period | during the vacation |