Cloze Test
🔒 Log in to trackPreposition and phrasal-verb blanks
🔒 Log in to trackPreposition blanks are about fixed pairs. The word before or after the blank decides the answer. Phrasal verbs are a verb plus a small word, and the small word changes the meaning. Find the governing word, recall its partner, and never translate from your own language.
Preposition blanks
English fixes a preposition to many verbs, adjectives and nouns. Logic rarely helps, because the pair is a convention.
Rule: Find the word that governs the blank. Then recall its fixed partner.
- depend on, insist on, congratulate on
- afraid of, fond of, aware of
- good at, angry with (a person) or at (a thing), married to
- reason for, solution to, influence on, rise in
Fixed pairs to learn
| Governing word | Correct pair | Wrong pair to avoid |
|---|---|---|
| ashamed | ashamed of | ashamed for |
| respond | respond to | respond on |
| apply (an organisation) | apply to a bank | apply on |
| apply (a post) | apply for a post | apply to a post |
| depend | depend on | depend from |
| prevent | prevent from + -ing | prevent to |
| insist | insist on + -ing | insist to |
| smell | smell of garlic | smell with |
| arrive | arrive at a place, in a city | arrive to |
| married | married to | married with |
| according | according to records | according with |
| in spite | in spite of | in spite from |
Different from is the standard form in formal writing.
Time and place words
- at a clock time or a point: at 6 p.m., at noon, at night, at the gate.
- on a day or a date: on Sunday, on 15 August. Also a surface: on the table.
- in a long period or an enclosed space: in June, in 2019, in the morning, in the room, in India.
- Since gives a point in time (since 2020). For gives a length (for five years).
Watch: It is in 2024 but on 15 August 2024.
Phrasal verbs: the particle is the meaning
A phrasal verb is a verb plus a particle. The particle changes the meaning.
| Phrasal verb | Meaning |
|---|---|
| look after / look into | take care of / investigate |
| look down upon / look up to | despise / admire |
| put off / put up with | postpone / tolerate |
| call off / turn down | cancel / reject |
| set up / set out | establish / begin a journey |
| carry out / carry on | perform / continue |
| give way to | yield, be replaced by |
| break out / come across | begin suddenly / meet by chance |
The particle also carries a direction. Up often means completing. Off suggests cancelling or leaving. Out suggests eruption or giving out. Down suggests rejecting or writing.
Method for these blanks
- Read the word before the blank and the phrase after it.
- If a fixed pair exists, the pair decides.
- For a phrasal verb, say the needed meaning first. Then match the particle.
- For time and place, classify the noun: point, day or period.
Tip: Replace the phrasal verb with one simple verb in your head. Look after becomes tend. If the meaning breaks, the option is wrong.
Question types you will see
Each type: how to recognise it, the method step by step, and one question to try.
Preposition after a verb or adjective (fixed pair)
The blank comes right after a verb or adjective such as fond, depend, afraid or good.
Find the word before the blank.
Recall its fixed partner.
Choose that preposition.
The pair is a convention, so meaning does not help.
She is fond ___ classical music. Options: of / at / with / to.
Show solutionHide solution
The governing word is fond.
The fixed pair is fond of.
of
Preposition of time or place
The blank comes before a time or a place word.
Classify the noun: clock point, day or date, long period, enclosed place.
Match: at, on, in.
Check the options.
Each type of noun has its own preposition.
The class starts ___ 9 a.m. Options: at / on / in / by.
Show solutionHide solution
9 a.m. is a clock point.
A clock point takes at.
at
Phrasal verb blank
The blank is a verb plus a particle. Several options share the same verb.
Say in plain words what the sentence needs.
Match that meaning with one option.
Reject options that share only the verb.
The particle changes the meaning of the verb.
Residents are paid a small sum to ___ the trees outside their homes. Options: look after / look into / look down upon / look up to.
Show solutionHide solution
The sentence needs the idea of taking care.
Look after means take care of.
look after
Preposition inside a fixed phrase
The blank is inside a set phrase such as in spite of or according to.
Spot the fixed phrase.
Recall the exact wording.
Choose the missing word.
Fixed phrases never change their small words.
They played in spite ___ the rain. Options: of / from / with / to.
Show solutionHide solution
The blank sits inside a set phrase.
The fixed phrase is in spite of.
of
Preposition before -ing (prevent from, insist on)
The blank sits before a verb ending in -ing, after a word like prevent, insist or good.
Find the governing verb or adjective.
Recall its preposition.
Keep -ing after the preposition.
A preposition is followed by -ing, and the governing word fixes the preposition.
The guard prevented him ___ entering the hall. Options: from / to / of / for.
Show solutionHide solution
The pair is prevent ... from.
Entering is the -ing form after it.
from
Apply to or apply for
The blank follows apply. The options are to and for.
Ask: is the next word an organisation or a post?
An organisation takes to.
A post takes for.
The same verb takes different prepositions with different nouns.
She applied ___ the post of clerk. Options: for / to / on / at.
Show solutionHide solution
The next word is a post.
A post takes for.
for
Shortcuts that save time
Underline the word that governs the blank and say its partner: depend on, afraid of, good at, solution to. About ten pairs cover most exam prepositions.
Residents are paid a small sum to ___ the trees outside their homes. Options: look after / look into / look down upon / look up to.
Show solutionHide solution
Paying someone to care for trees.
Look after means take care of.
Look into means investigate.
look after
Ask what the sentence does to the object. Does it cancel it (call off), reject it (turn down) or build it (set up)? The particle shows the direction of the action.
Replace the phrasal verb with a one-word verb in your head. The sentence must keep its meaning. If it does not, that option is wrong.
Mistakes to avoid
Where most students lose marks on this subtopic.
Choosing a preposition by feel, or from your mother tongue.
Find the English governing word and recall its fixed partner.
Breaking a phrasal verb: give way without to when the sentence needs give way to.
Treat verb + particle as one unit and check what follows.
Mixing between and among.
Use between for two items. Use among for a group.
Writing on for a year or in for a date.
It is in 2024 but on 15 August 2024.
Accepting a phrasal verb only because it contains a familiar verb.
State the needed meaning first. Then choose the particle.
Quick revision
Read this the night before the exam.
Fixed pairs decide: ashamed of, respond to, depend on, married to, according to, in spite of.
apply to an organisation. apply for a post.
at a point, on a day, in a period or an enclosure.
For a phrasal verb, decide the meaning first, then the particle.
look after (care for) is not look into (investigate).
Two items take between. A group takes among.
Never translate a preposition from your mother tongue.
Practice: 13 questions
Sets of 10, mixed across the question types above. Every answer has a step-by-step explanation.
Topic test · 13 questions
Suggested time 8 min · wrong answers go to your mistake notebook automatically.