Articles, Prepositions and Sentence Improvement Notes

Articles and prepositions are small words, but they carry big marks in the English section of SSC, banking, railways, defence and state examinations. Questions on them appear as fill in the blanks, error spotting and sentence improvement. Most students lose marks here because they depend on "what sounds right" instead of rules. This note explains the rules of articles, the most-tested prepositions with fixed combinations, and a simple method to solve sentence improvement questions, in easy language with examples.

Part 1: Articles

An article is a word that comes before a noun to show whether it is specific or general. English has only three articles: a, an and the. "A" and "an" are the indefinite articles, used for a general or first-time mention. "The" is the definite article, used for a particular, known or unique thing.

Rules for A and An

• Use "a" before a word that begins with a consonant sound: a book, a university (it begins with the sound "yu"), a European, a one-rupee note.
• Use "an" before a word that begins with a vowel sound: an apple, an hour (the "h" is silent), an honest man, an MLA (it sounds "em"), an umbrella.
• The rule depends on the sound, and not on the spelling. So we say "a unit", "a useful book", but "an unusual event".
• Use "a" or "an" with singular countable nouns only. Do not use them with plural or uncountable nouns: "a furniture" and "an advice" are wrong; say "a piece of furniture" and "a piece of advice".
• Use "a/an" in the sense of "one" or "per": "He earns Rs. 500 a day."
• Use "a/an" with the exclamation: "What a beautiful sight!" and "Such a pity!"

Rules for The

When No Article Is Used

• Before names of persons, cities, countries (except some like the USA, the UK), single mountains and lakes: Ram, Delhi, India, Mount Everest.
• Before abstract and material nouns used in a general sense: Honesty is the best policy. Gold is costly.
• Before languages, subjects and games: She speaks Hindi. He plays cricket. We study history.
• Before meals, days and months: I had breakfast. We meet on Monday. It happened in March.
• Before the words school, college, church, hospital, prison, bed and home when used for their main purpose: He goes to school. She is in hospital. (But: "He went to the school to meet the principal" because it is a particular building.)
• Before the plural nouns used in a general sense: Dogs are faithful.

Part 2: Prepositions

A preposition shows the relation between a noun or pronoun and another word in the sentence. Examples are in, on, at, by, with, for, from, to, of, since, during and between. In exams, the preposition that goes with a particular word is tested the most. These are called fixed or dependent prepositions, and they must be learned by heart.

Prepositions of Time and Place

• At is used for an exact time or a point: at 5 o'clock, at the station, at noon, at night.
• On is used for days, dates and surfaces: on Monday, on 15 August, on the table.
• In is used for months, years, seasons, long periods and enclosed spaces: in July, in 2026, in summer, in the room, in India.
• Since is used with a point of time: since 2020, since Monday. For is used with a period: for five years, for two hours.
• By shows a deadline or the doer: finish by 5 pm, written by Tagore. Until shows continuing time: wait until 6.
• Between is for two persons or things; among is for more than two: between the two brothers, among the students.
• During is used for a particular period of time: during the war. Within means inside a limit: within a week.

Important Words with Fixed Prepositions

Part 3: Sentence Improvement

In sentence improvement, a sentence is given with a part in bold or underlined. You have to choose the best replacement from the options, and the first option is usually "No improvement". The error can be in any grammar topic: tense, agreement, article, preposition, pronoun or word order.

A Simple Method to Solve Sentence Improvement

1. Read the whole sentence first and understand its meaning and tense.
2. Identify the type of error in the underlined part: subject-verb agreement, tense, article, preposition or word form.
3. Eliminate wrong options by checking each one for the same error.
4. Put the best option back into the full sentence and read it once again. If the original is already right, choose "No improvement".

Solved Examples

• He is more cleverer than his brother. Correct: cleverer (do not use "more" with a comparative form).
• She did not came yesterday. Correct: did not come (V1 after "did").
• I have been living here from 2015. Correct: since 2015.
• He is an European. Correct: a European (it begins with the sound "yu").
• The teacher, along with his students, were present. Correct: was (the subject is "teacher").
• She is senior than me. Correct: senior to me.
• Neither of the boys have come. Correct: has come.

Common Errors in Articles and Prepositions

Some very common mistakes should be remembered. We say "the university" only when a specific university is meant, and "a university" for any; "the honest man" with the article only when the person is already known. Do not use "the" before names of games, meals and languages. We say "in the morning" but "at night", "in the evening", "at noon". We say "discuss the matter" and not "discuss about the matter"; "reach Delhi" and not "reach to Delhi"; "enter the room" and not "enter into the room"; "marry her" and not "marry with her". After "prefer" use "to" and not "than". With "comprise" and "consist", note that "comprise" has no preposition but "consist" takes "of". Reading good English newspapers daily also builds a natural feel for such usage.

Practice Questions With Answers

Fill in the blanks: (1) She is ___ honest girl. Answer: an. (2) ___ Ganga is a holy river. Answer: The. (3) He is good ___ playing chess. Answer: at. (4) I have not met him ___ last Monday. Answer: since. (5) Divide the sweets ___ the three children. Answer: among. (6) Choose the correct sentence: He prefers coffee than tea / He prefers coffee to tea. Answer: He prefers coffee to tea. (7) Improve: She is married with a doctor. Answer: married to a doctor.

Quick Revision

• A/an depends on the sound; the is for specific or unique things, rivers, ranges and superlatives.
• No article before names, languages, games, meals and general plural nouns.
• At for exact time and point; on for days and dates; in for months, years and enclosed spaces.
• Learn dependent prepositions: afraid of, good at, prefer to, married to.
• For sentence improvement, find the error type and test each option.

Revise this list every week and attempt a few sentence improvement questions every day, and you will see your accuracy rise quickly.

Related Notes to Read Next

Continue your preparation with these related notes from the same subject:

• One Word Substitution Notes for Competitive Exams
• Commonly Misspelt Words Notes for Competitive Exams
• Para Jumbles Notes: Sentence Rearrangement Tricks
• All English notes

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

What are the three articles in English?

The three articles are a, an and the; a and an are indefinite articles and the is the definite article.

When do we use an instead of a?

We use "an" before a word that begins with a vowel sound, such as an hour or an honest man, because the rule depends on sound and not spelling.

Why do we say a university and not an university?

Because the word university begins with the consonant sound "yu", so we use "a".

When is the article the used?

It is used for unique things, things already mentioned, rivers, seas, mountain ranges, holy books, superlatives and ordinal numbers.

When is no article used?

No article is used before names of persons and cities, languages, games, meals, days, months and general plural or abstract nouns.

What is the difference between at, on and in for time?

At is used for exact times, on for days and dates, and in for months, years, seasons and longer periods.

What is the difference between since and for?

Since is used with a point of time such as since 2020, and for is used with a length of time such as for five years.

What is the difference between between and among?

Between is used for two persons or things, and among is used for more than two.

What are dependent prepositions?

They are prepositions that go with particular words, such as afraid of, good at, interested in, prefer to and married to, and must be learned by heart.

Which preposition is used after prefer?

The word prefer takes "to", as in "I prefer tea to coffee", and never "than".

What is a sentence improvement question?

It is a question in which a part of the sentence is underlined and you must choose the best replacement or select No improvement if the sentence is correct.

How can I solve sentence improvement questions fast?

Identify the type of error, eliminate options that repeat the error, put the best option back into the sentence and read it once again.