Error Spotting
🔒 Log in to trackArticle and preposition errors
🔒 Log in to trackArticles. Three decisions cover everything:
- a/an — chosen by the FIRST SOUND of the next word, not its letter: a university, a European, a one-rupee coin (yu/w sounds); an hour, an honest man, an MLA, an x-ray (vowel sounds, silent h).
- the — for a specific/known noun, a unique thing (the sun), a superlative (the best), an ordinal (the first), and a noun restricted by the phrase after it (the girl in blue).
- zero article — before most proper nouns, meals, languages, abstract nouns in general use, and school/college/hospital in their purpose sense (go to school).
Prepositions. SSC tests fixed partners, not spatial logic. When you see a preposition, find its governor (the verb, adjective or noun it hangs on) and recall the pair.
| Governor | Partner | Governor | Partner |
|---|---|---|---|
| insist | on | arrive | at (a point) / in (a city) |
| depend | on | angry | with (person) / at (thing) |
| apologise | to (person) for (act) | good | at (skill) / for (health) |
| married | to | different | from |
| prefer | to | senior / junior / superior / inferior | to (never than) |
| afraid / fond / aware / proud | of | reason / cause | for / of |
| solution / answer / key | to | influence / effect / impact | on |
| consist | of | deal / cope | with |
| congratulate | on | suffer | from |
| compare | to (liken) / with (contrast) | comply | with |
Common placements: arrive AT a station, IN a city; consists OF; die OF a disease, FROM a wound; deprived OF; capable OF; different FROM; prefer X TO Y; abide BY; accordING TO (never according with).
Double-check the whole part: prepositions often sit quietly at the end of a long part ('...in a garden near an university') — read prepositions individually instead of skimming the part as a whole.
Detailed notes
Articles: three questions
- A or an? Decide by the FIRST SOUND, not the letter. Vowel sound → an: an hour, an honest man, an MLA, an X-ray. Consonant sound → a: a university, a European, a one-rupee coin (u, Eu, one all begin with a consonant sound y/w).
- The or nothing? Use the when the noun is already known, specified by a phrase, one of its kind (the sun, the Ganga), or a superlative (the best, the holiest).
- Zero article: plural or uncountable nouns used in a general sense take no article — Women are running hostels now; Honesty is the best policy (abstract idea); meals, languages, games: have dinner, speak Tamil, play cricket. Trap: a best / a most is always wrong — a superlative needs the.
Prepositions: fixed pairs win
Most exam questions are not about direction or place — they test fixed pairs: a verb/adjective/noun that always travels with one preposition.
- Verb pairs: *abide by, abide in, accompany (no preposition), accuse of, apologise to (person) for (act), approve of, apply to (organisation) for (post), consist of, depend on, insist on, interfere with/in, prefer X to Y, comply with, deal with, jump to conclusions.
- Adjective pairs: *afraid of, angry with (person) at (thing), capable of, fond of, good at, married to, senior/junior to, different from, devoid of.
- Noun pairs: *cause of, reason for, solution to, comparison with/between.
Time and place in one breath
- in long periods (in June, in 2026, in the morning); on days and dates (on Monday, on 15 August); at clock points (at 9 a.m., at night, at dawn).
- since + starting point with perfect tenses (since morning); for + length (for two hours); during + a period inside which something happens (during the rains); within + a limit (within a week).
- between two things; among more than two: The land was divided between the two brothers; the sweets were shared among the children.
Method
- If the blank follows a verb/adjective/noun, first recall its fixed partner — meaning rarely matters.
- If the blank is about time or place, sort the options by the size of the time/place (at < on < in).
- Watch pairs with two colours: angry with/at, apply to/for, agree with (person)/to (proposal).
Quick revision
- an hour, an MLA — a university, a European: sound, not spelling.
- Superlative → the; first mention → a/an; general plurals and meals → no article.
- insist on, accuse of, capable of, prefer to, comply with, jump to conclusions.
- in June / on Monday / at nine; since a point / for a length / during a period.
- angry with a person, at a thing; apply to an office, for a post.
Types of questions asked
Every way this subtopic shows up in exams — how to recognise it, the formula or logic to use, and a solved example.
Type 1: A vs an — by soundvery common2 practice Q
The options or the suspect part differ only in a/an before a noun, or the error sentence places an/an/a before a word.
- Say the next word aloud; hear its first sound.
- Vowel sound → an (an hour, an MLA); consonant sound → a (a university, a one-day match).
- Ignore spelling — the letter is a decoy.
Why it works: the rule follows speech, and words like university (y-sound) or hour (silent h) break the letter rule.
Example: "She reached the hall an hour late because of (1) ______ MLA's convoy." a / an / the / no article
MLA is said 'em-el-ay' — vowel sound first → an MLA's convoy. 'A MLA's' is the error.
Type 2: The with superlatives and unique nounscommon2 practice Q
A superlative (best, holiest) or a one-of-a-kind noun (sun, Ganga) appears with a or no article instead of the.
- Spot the superlative form or the unique noun.
- Superlative → the, always.
- One-of-a-kind or already-specified noun → the.
Why it works: 'the' singles out one item from its group; a superlative and a unique noun both do exactly that.
Example: "The Ganga is considered (1) ______ holiest of the rivers in India." a / an / the / no article
Holiest is a superlative → the holiest. 'A holiest' is wrong — indefinites cannot sit on superlatives.
Type 3: Adjective + fixed prepositioncommon2 practice Q
An adjective (capable, afraid, angry, fond) is followed by a preposition blank or a suspect preposition.
- Find the adjective just before the blank.
- Recall its fixed partner: capable OF, angry WITH (person), fond OF, good AT.
- The preposition that follows one adjective is not negotiable by sense.
Why it works: adjective-preposition pairs are frozen by usage; logic ('capable in' sounds plausible) does not unfreeze them.
Example: "The new recruit is quite capable (1) ______ handling this difficult client." of / to / in / for
Fixed pair capable of + -ing → of. 'Capable to handle' would be wrong even with the infinitive.
Type 4: Verb + fixed preposition / idiomvery common2 practice Q
A verb or verb phrase (insist, comply, accuse, jump) is followed by its preposition, and one option breaks the idiom.
- Identify the verb phrase ending at the blank.
- Recall the frozen pair: insist ON, comply WITH, accuse OF, jump TO conclusions.
- Where two partners exist (apply TO an office / FOR a post), let the noun after the blank choose.
Why it works: these pairs are memorised chunks; the wrong option is always a look-alike from another pair.
Example: "The coach did not agree with the umpire, but he complied (1) ______ the rules." by / with / to / for
Fixed pair comply with → with. 'Comply by' mixes it up with 'abide by'.
Shortcut tricks
⚡ Say it aloud
Articles are sound decisions. Pronounce the phrase — 'an university' fails the ear immediately ('yu' sound), 'a honest man' likewise.
Example: The children / were playing / in a garden / near an university.
'University' begins with the yu consonant sound → a university. Part 4.
⚡ Governor chant
Underline the word the preposition depends on and recite its partner: insist—on, angry—with (person), prefer—to, married—to. Wrong partner = the answer.
⚡ The-with-superlative scan
Superlative adjectives and ordinals demand the: 'the most intelligent girl', 'the first attempt'. A bare superlative is a hidden article error.
Where students lose marks
Choosing an before words starting with a vowel LETTER that sounds like a consonant (university, union, one).
Using than after senior/junior/superior/inferior/prefer instead of to.
Saying 'angry on him' or 'consists in students' from literal translation.
Inserting the before 'school/hospital/home' in the purpose sense ('go to the school' when meaning 'attend').
Practice sets — 12 questions
Sets of 10, mixed across the question types above. Each answer comes with a step-by-step explanation.
Topic test · 12 questions
Suggested time 6 min · wrong answers go to your mistake notebook automatically.