Prepositions, conjunctions and modal verbs

Core facts

At for a point of time and an exact place: at 6 o'clock, at noon, at night, at the bus stop.
On for days and dates: on Monday, on 2 June, on Republic Day.
In for months, years, seasons and parts of the day: in June, in 2014, in summer, in the morning.
In for being inside; into for movement to the inside: He is in* the room. He jumped into the well.*
Between for two; among for more than two: between Ravi and Sita; among the five friends.
Since + point of time; for + period: since Monday; for two weeks.
By for the doer in the passive and for transport: written by* Pothana; go by bus* (but on foot).
And adds, but contrasts, or gives a choice, so shows result, because gives reason.
Although/though + clause; despite/in spite of + noun: Although it rained, we played. Despite the rain, we played.
Unless = if not. Do not add not after it: Unless you work hard, you will fail.
Modals are followed by the base form of the verb: She can sing. ✗ can sings / can to sing.
Can = ability; may = permission or possibility; must = duty or strong certainty; should / ought to = advice or duty.
Ought is followed by to: You ought to* obey the rules.*

Explained

1. Prepositions of time

Preposition	Use	Example
at	clock time, festivals as a period, night	at 7.30, at Sankranti, at night
on	day, date, a particular day	on Friday, on 15 August
in	month, year, season, century, part of day	in May, in 1948, in winter
within	before the end of	within a week
by	not later than	by Monday
till / until	up to that time	wait till evening
during	through the whole of	during the holidays

No preposition before today, tomorrow, yesterday, last, next, this, every: We met last* week.* ✗ on last week.

2. Prepositions of place and movement

At for a point (at the gate), in for an enclosed space or a big area (in the box, in Hyderabad, in India), on for a surface (on the wall, on the table).
Into (movement in), onto (movement on), out of, towards, across (from one side to the other on a surface), through (inside something from one end to the other): They walked across* the bridge. The train went through the tunnel.*
Above/below = higher/lower; over/under = directly above/below or covering: The fan is above* the table. She put a blanket over the child.*
Beside = by the side of; besides = in addition to: Sit beside* me. Besides Telugu, he knows Hindi.*
By car, by bus, by train, by air; but on foot, in my car, on the bus.

3. Fixed prepositions (words that always take a particular preposition)

Word	Preposition	Example
afraid, fond, proud, jealous, aware	of	afraid of dogs
good, clever, expert	at	good at maths
interested, confidence, rich, lacking	in	interested in music
angry	with a person, at/about a thing	angry with him, at the delay
agree	with a person, to a proposal	agree with you, to the plan
depend, rely, insist, comment	on	depend on rain
differ	from	differ from others
congratulate	on	congratulate on success
prefer, senior, superior, junior	to	prefer tea to coffee
married	to	married to a doctor
suffer	from	suffer from fever
abstain, refrain, prevent	from	refrain from smoking
deal	in (trade) / with (handle)	deals in rice; deal with a problem
accused	of; charged with	accused of theft
divide	into; distribute among	divided into parts
die	of a disease, from a cause	died of cholera

Verbs that take no preposition: discuss, reach, enter, resemble, attack, marry, answer, request, describe, order. ✗ discuss about, reach to, enter into the room, resemble with. (Enter into is used for agreements: enter into a contract.)

4. Conjunctions

Type	Words	Example
addition	and, as well as, not only … but also	not only clever but also kind
contrast	but, yet, although, though, whereas	poor but honest
choice	or, either … or, neither … nor	either tea or coffee
reason	because, since, as	as it was late, we left
result	so, therefore, so … that	so tired that he slept
condition	if, unless, provided that	unless you hurry
time	when, while, before, after, until, as soon as	wait until he comes
purpose	so that, in order that, lest	walk fast lest you miss the bus

Rules:

Although/though is not followed by but: ✗ Although he is poor but he is honest. ✓ Although he is poor, he is honest. (Yet may be used: Though he is poor, yet he is honest.)
Lest is followed by should or the base verb, never not: Run fast lest* you should miss the train.*
Neither pairs with nor; either with or; not only with but also; both with and; such with as (or that); so with that; no sooner with than; hardly with when; rather with than; whether with or.
Paired conjunctions are placed before matching parts: She is not only* intelligent but also hardworking.* ✗ She not only is intelligent but also hardworking.
Until/till already carries the idea of "not after": ✗ Wait until he does not come. ✓ Wait until* he comes.*
Because and so are not used together: ✗ Because it rained, so we stayed in.
Since (reason) = as: *Since you are here, help me.*

5. Modal verbs

Modal	Main meaning	Example
can	ability, informal permission	She can swim.
could	past ability, polite request	Could you help me?
may	permission, possibility	May I come in? It may rain.
might	weaker possibility	He might come late.
must	strong duty, certainty	You must carry your ID. He must be tired.
should / ought to	advice, moral duty	You should sleep early.
shall	with I/we for offers and suggestions	Shall I open the window?
will	future, willingness	I will help you.
would	polite request, past habit	Would you sign here?
need not	no necessity	You need not come tomorrow.
used to	past habit	He used to play kabaddi.

Must not = prohibition (not allowed): You must not* smoke here.* Need not = not necessary: You need not* pay; it is free.*
Could for past ability; was able to (or managed to) for one success in the past: After a long search, he was able to* find the key.* In the negative both are fine: He could not* open the lock.*
May for a wish or blessing: *May you live long!*
Must have + V3 = certainty about the past: The road is wet; it must have rained.
Should have + V3 = a past duty not done: You should have told* me earlier.*
Can't have + V3 = impossible in the past: He can't have seen* you; he was in Delhi.*

Common traps

✗ He was born in 15 August. ✓ He was born on 15 August.
✗ We will meet on next Monday. ✓ We will meet next Monday.
✗ Divide the sweets between the five children. ✓ Divide the sweets among the five children.
✗ He has been working here since five years. ✓ He has been working here for five years.
✗ Let us discuss about the problem. ✓ Let us discuss the problem.
✗ We reached to Warangal at noon. ✓ We reached Warangal at noon.
✗ Although he was tired, but he worked. ✓ Although he was tired, he worked.
✗ Unless you do not hurry, you will miss the bus. ✓ Unless you hurry, you will miss the bus.
✗ Despite of the rain, they played. ✓ Despite the rain (or in spite of the rain), they played.
✗ She can sings well. ✓ She can sing well.
✗ You ought obey your parents. ✓ You ought to obey your parents.
✗ You must not come tomorrow; it is a holiday. ✓ You need not come tomorrow; it is a holiday.

Quick revision

At time/point, on day/date, in month/year/season.
Between two, among more than two; beside = next to, besides = in addition.
Since point, for period; no preposition before next, last, this, every.
Discuss, reach, enter, resemble, attack take no preposition.
Prefer, senior, superior + to; afraid, fond, proud + of; good at, interested in.
Although without but; unless without not; lest … should.
Pairs: either–or, neither–nor, not only–but also, no sooner–than, hardly–when.
Modal + base verb; only ought takes to.
Must not = forbidden; need not = not necessary.
Must have done = sure about the past; should have done = duty not done.

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Deeper Advanced

Need and dare act as modals in negatives and questions: You need not* worry. Need he come? How dare you speak like that?* As main verbs they take to and -s: He needs to* rest.*
Ought not to is the negative of ought to: You ought not to waste food.
Could vs might for possibility: both are possible; might is weaker.
The exam rule is between two, among more than two. Between is still used for more than two when each one is named or separate: a treaty between India, Nepal and Bhutan.
At is used for a small town or village, in for a big city or country: He lives at* Bhongir; he works in Hyderabad.* Both are heard for towns; exam items use clear cases.
In spite of is three words; despite has no of: ✗ despite of.
Owing to (reason) usually begins or follows a verb; due to follows a form of be: The delay was due to* fog. Owing to fog, the train was late.*
On time = punctual; in time = early enough: The train arrived on time. We reached in time* for the show.*
At the end = at the final point; in the end = finally, after all: At the end of the road there is a temple. In the end, he agreed.
Than after other, else, rather, sooner and comparatives; but prefer … to: I would rather* walk than wait.*

Medha AI writes its own notes and checks them against the sources listed. Medha AI is an independent preparation service. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by or connected to APPSC, TGPSC (formerly TSPSC), MPSC, UPSC or any other commission or government body.

17.1.3 Prepositions, conjunctions and modal verbs

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Core facts

Explained

Common traps

Quick revision

Deeper Advanced