Preposition Tricks for SSC and Bank Exams: Easy Formulas to Remember Fixed Prepositions

Try this in ten seconds: (A) He is afraid / (B) from snakes / (C) since childhood. / (D) No error.

Most students read it, find nothing alarming and pick (D). “Afraid from” sounds almost right, because we say “scared from” in everyday talk, and the rhythm of the sentence hides the slip. The correct form is “afraid of.” One small word decided the answer, and that’s what preposition questions do to you.

The honest truth is that prepositions can’t be reasoned out. There’s no logic behind “good at” and “weak in.” You either remember the pair or you don’t. So the smart move isn’t to memorise a thousand pairs. It’s to learn short formulas that group many pairs at once, which is exactly what this guide does.

You’ll get 10 preposition tricks, each with a memory hook, a wrong sentence and its correction. You’ll also get a three-word routine called WORD, PAIR, CHECK, a 10-second time plan and a nine-question practice set with answers. After 22 years of teaching, I’ve found that students who learn groups beat students who learn lists. I covered in, on, at and a few other tricks in my post on 25 grammar shortcuts for error spotting, so these ten are new. For long lists afterwards, keep my guide to fixed prepositions after verbs handy.

How prepositions are tested in exams

In SSC and bank exams, prepositions appear in more places than students expect. Knowing the formats tells you where to look.

A note on the examples in this post: every sentence is an original practice sentence on a common exam pattern. None of them is copied from a particular year’s paper, and I haven’t attached any year to them. The patterns are what repeat, and the patterns are what you should learn.

The WORD, PAIR, CHECK routine

You can’t scan a list of two hundred pairs with the clock running. You need one routine that works on every sentence.

Say the three words silently on every sentence. It takes about five seconds, and it stops you from judging the preposition by how it sounds.

10 preposition tricks with examples

Trick 1: Fear, Pride and Fondness Take OF

Adjectives of fear, pride, dislike and ability take of: afraid of, proud of, fond of, jealous of, capable of, aware of, guilty of, ashamed of. Memory trick: “Fear, pride and fondness are all OF.”

Trick 2: Skills Are AT, Subjects Are IN

Use at for a skill or an activity (good at, bad at, clever at). Use in for a school subject or a field (weak in, expert in, interested in). Memory trick: “Skills sit AT. Subjects sit IN.”

Trick 3: Different Comes FROM

Different always takes from in exam answers. Similar takes to, and same takes as. Memory trick: “Different comes from a different place.” For more fixed adjective pairs, see the list of appropriate prepositions with verbs, adjectives and nouns.

Trick 4: The Lean-On Verbs

Verbs of support and attention take on: depend on, rely on, insist on, focus on, concentrate on, count on, congratulate on. Memory trick: “Dependable, reliable, insistent: lean ON.”

Trick 5: The DERMA Verbs Need No Coat

Some verbs take their object directly and need no preposition. Remember DERMA: Discuss, Enter, Reach, Marry, Attend. Memory trick: “DERMA is skin only. No coat, no preposition.” So “enter the room,” “reach Pune,” “marry her” and “attend the meeting.”

Trick 6: BY Is a Deadline, UNTIL Is a Duration

By means not later than a time. Until means continuing up to a time. Memory trick: “BY is a deadline. UNTIL is a duration.” Compare “Wait here until I return,” which describes how long you wait.

Trick 7: DURING Names the Event, FOR Counts the Time

Use for with a length of time (two weeks, three hours). Use during with a named event or period (the festival, the summer). Memory trick: “During names it. For counts it.” Learn more confusing pairs in confusing prepositions.

Trick 8: By Is the Method, In Is a Box, On Is a Ride

Use by for the method of travel, with no article (by bus, by train, by road). For a position, use in for small enclosed vehicles (in a car) and on for large ones (on a bus, on a train). Memory trick: “By is the method. In is a box. On is a ride you can stand in.” The in, on, at basics are in my in, on, at rules.

Trick 9: ARKS Go TO

Answer, Reply, Key and Solution all take to. Other nouns have their own partners, such as reason for and cause of. Memory trick: “ARKS go To.”

Trick 10: Sometimes TO Is a Preposition

In look forward to, object to, be used to and in addition to, the word to is a preposition, so the -ing form follows. Memory trick: “Can you say ‘to it’? Then add -ing.”

Three trap sentences examiners reuse

Once you know the ten tricks, these three disguises are easy to spot.

Notice the pattern. Each sentence reads smoothly, and the error is a single small word. That’s why WORD comes first. Find the head word, and the right partner is easy to recall.

Quick-fix cheat sheet (screenshot this)

For 100 triggers like these across grammar topics, see 100 English Grammar Shortcuts: Master Key Exam Grammar Shortcuts on Amazon.

Fixed pairs you should know cold

Tricks cover groups, but some single pairs deserve their own place in your notebook. Here are twelve that appear again and again.

Say each pair aloud in a full sentence, not alone. “She was accused of theft” sticks far better than “accuse of.” For more practice, work through the fill-in-the-blanks tricks.

The 5-step error spotting method

WORD, PAIR, CHECK tells you what to do. This routine tells you how to run it from start to finish.

A 10-second time plan

Here’s a plan that works for most students. Adjust the seconds to suit your pace.

A pattern I see in almost every batch

Here’s something that repeats year after year in my classes. A student can recite the whole DERMA list, then picks “No error” on “We discussed about the plan.” The knowledge is there. The checking isn’t.

The fix is a habit, not more theory. Take ten sentences from any newspaper, circle every preposition and write its head word beside it. Ten sentences a day for two weeks trains your eyes to travel from the preposition back to its head word, and that’s the whole skill. For more error-spotting practice, see preposition error spotting for SSC CGL and bank exams.

Expert tips for exam day

A 5-day practice plan

You don’t need a big block of time. Fifteen minutes a day is enough if you do the same thing each time: read the tricks, say the memory hooks aloud, then solve ten mixed sentences and note every mistake.

Three mistakes to avoid

Practice set: 9 error spotting questions

Find the part with the error, or choose (D) if there’s none. These are original practice sentences written for this guide. Try them before you read the answers.

1. He is afraid (A) / from snakes (B) / since childhood. (C) / No error (D)
2. She is good (A) / in singing (B) / and dancing. (C) / No error (D)
3. This pen is (A) / different than (B) / that one. (C) / No error (D)
4. He depends (A) / of his parents (B) / for money. (C) / No error (D)
5. We discussed (A) / about the plan (B) / yesterday. (C) / No error (D)
6. Submit the form (A) / until Friday (B) / without fail. (C) / No error (D)
7. I stayed in Pune (A) / during two weeks (B) / last year. (C) / No error (D)
8. He found (A) / a solution to (B) / the problem. (C) / No error (D)
9. I look forward (A) / to meeting (B) / you soon. (C) / No error (D)

If you scored 8 or 9, you’re ready for harder questions. If you scored 5 to 7, revise the tricks you missed. If you scored below 5, go back to WORD, PAIR, CHECK and the cheat sheet, and retake the set after two days. For a bigger bank of questions, use the mixed preposition MCQs with answers.

Frequently asked questions

What is the fastest way to learn fixed prepositions?

Learn them in groups, not lists. Groups like fear takes of, support verbs take on and ARKS take to cover dozens of pairs at once, and a short daily practice makes them stick.

Is it different from or different than?

In exam answers, use different from. Different than appears in casual American English, but exams treat different from as the standard form.

Which verbs take no preposition?

Common ones are discuss, enter, reach, marry, attend, resemble and approach. Remember DERMA for the first five.

What is the difference between by and until?

By marks a deadline, meaning not later than that time. Until marks how long something continues. So you submit a form by Friday and wait until Friday.

How many preposition questions come in SSC CGL and bank exams?

There’s no fixed number, because prepositions appear in error spotting, fill in the blanks and cloze questions. Check the latest official notification for your exam pattern.

Your next step

Preposition errors survive because the small word sounds right. Change how you read. Run WORD, PAIR, CHECK on every sentence, name the trick and only then choose “No error.”

When you’re ready for the full set, grab 100 English Grammar Shortcuts: Master Key Exam Grammar Shortcuts on Amazon: https://link.amazon/B03rEYi9F

If tenses are the topic that trips you up, read my 10 tense shortcuts next. Which of today’s ten tricks caught you out? Tell me in the comments, and I’ll explain it in more detail.

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