1. Parts of Speech, Articles and Prepositions
Every English sentence is built from eight parts of speech. Exams test them directly and through articles (a, an, the) and prepositions (in, on, at, since, for). Learn the rules below with their examples.
The eight parts of speech
- Noun: the name of a person, place, thing or idea. Example: Ravi, Mysuru, table, honesty.
- Pronoun: used in place of a noun. Example: he, she, it, they, who, myself.
- Verb: shows action or state. Example: run, write, is, seem. Adjective: describes a noun. Example: a tall tree, three books.
- Adverb: describes a verb, adjective or another adverb. Example: She sings sweetly. He is very tall.
- Preposition: shows the relation of a noun to other words. Example: on the table, in the box.
- Conjunction: joins words or sentences (and, but, because, although). Interjection: shows sudden feeling (Oh! Alas! Hurrah!).
Articles: a, an, the
- 'A' and 'an' are indefinite articles; 'the' is the definite article.
- Use 'an' before a vowel SOUND, not a vowel letter: an hour, an honest man, an MLA, an umbrella.
- Use 'a' before a consonant SOUND: a university, a European, a one-rupee coin, a useful book.
- Use 'the' for something already mentioned or unique: the sun, the Ganga, the Himalayas, the Indian Ocean, the Bhagavad Gita.
- Use 'the' with superlatives and ordinals: the best student, the first day.
- No article before most names of persons, cities, languages and meals in general: She speaks Kannada. We had lunch.
Prepositions that are often tested
- Time: 'at' for a point of time (at 6 pm), 'on' for days and dates (on Monday, on 15 August), 'in' for months, years and seasons (in May, in 2026).
- 'Since' for a point of time (since 2020, since Monday); 'for' for a period (for three years, for two hours). Both go with the perfect tense.
- 'Between' for two; 'among' for more than two: Divide it between the two brothers; among the five friends.
- 'Beside' means next to; 'besides' means in addition to.
- Fixed pairs: married to (not with), senior to (not than), prefer tea to coffee, agree with a person, agree to a proposal, interested in, good at, afraid of, depend on.
- No preposition after these verbs: discuss the matter, reach home, enter the room, order a pizza, resemble his father.
Quick facts
- an + vowel sound
- an hour, an MBA, an honest officer
- a + consonant sound
- a university, a European, a one-way road
- the + unique things
- the sun, the Arabian Sea
- since + point of time
- since 2019
- for + period
- for five years
- between / among
- two / more than two
- senior, junior, superior
- + to, never 'than'
- discuss, reach, enter
- no preposition after them
💡 For articles, say the word aloud. If it begins with a vowel sound, use 'an' (an hour); if it begins with a 'yu' or 'w' sound, use 'a' (a university, a one-day match).
📝 5-question quiz on this lesson: enrol free to take it and track your score.
