Prepositions and Conjunction Concepts

1. Prepositions of Time and Place

What it means: Prepositions like in, on, at, by, since, and for tell us about time, place, duration, or position.

Remember:

• At → exact time/place: at 5 pm, at the station
• On → days/surfaces: on Monday, on the table
• In → months, years, enclosed places: in July, in 2026, in the room
• By → deadline: by Monday
• Since → starting point: since 2020
• For → duration: for two years

Example: The meeting is scheduled ___ Friday afternoon ___ 2 pm.

Answer: on, at

The meeting is scheduled on Friday afternoon at 2 pm.

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2. Fixed Preposition Combinations

What it means: Some words always take particular prepositions. These combinations should be learned together.

Remember:

• afraid of
• interested in
• depend on
• accused of
• capable of
• famous for

Example: She was accused ___ stealing confidential documents.

Answer: of

She was accused of stealing confidential documents.

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3. Coordinating and Subordinating Conjunctions

What it means: Conjunctions connect words, phrases, or clauses.

Remember:

Coordinating conjunctions — FANBOYS

• For
• And
• Nor
• But
• Or
• Yet
• So

They connect equal parts.

Subordinating conjunctions: because, although, if, unless, while, since, so that, etc.

They connect a dependent clause to a main clause.

Example: He studied diligently ___ he could pass the exam.

Answer: so that

He studied diligently so that he could pass the exam.

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4. Correlative Conjunctions

What it means: These conjunctions work in pairs.

Remember:

• either…or → choice
• neither…nor → negative choice
• both…and → two things together
• not only…but also → emphasis

The two parts should have the same grammatical structure.

Example: The scheme was ___ practical ___ affordable.

Answer: both…and

The scheme was both practical and affordable.

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5. Verb + Preposition

What it means: Some verbs require a particular preposition, while some verbs do not need one at all.

Remember:

• consist of
• complain about
• provide with
• discuss something ❌ discuss about something
• emphasize something ❌ emphasize on something

Example: The committee discussed about the budget.

Correct sentence: The committee discussed the budget.

Exam Tip: Be careful with unnecessary prepositions after verbs.

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6. Adjective and Noun + Preposition

What it means: Adjectives and nouns also have fixed preposition combinations.

Remember:

• responsible for
• aware of
• capable of
• different from
• satisfied with
• advantage of
• cause of
• reason for
• guilty of

Example: He was found guilty ___ fraud by the court.

Answer: of

He was found guilty of fraud.

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