# Articles and Prepositions — A, An, The, In, On, At and More

Source: https://skills101.in/learn/verbal/articles-and-prepositions — Skills101 free tutorial (Verbal Ability (English)). Updated 2026-11-09.

Articles and prepositions are small words, but fill-in-the-blank and error-spotting questions test them constantly. A few clear rules cover most cases.

## Part A — Articles (a, an, the)

![Decision tree: if it is a specific thing both people know, use THE. Otherwise, if the word starts with a vowel SOUND use AN, else use A. Examples: an hour, an MBA, a university](https://skills101.in/learn-img/verbal/articles-tree.svg)

### A or an? Listen to the sound
- **an** before a vowel **sound**: an apple, an **h**our (h is silent), an **M**BA ("em-bee-ay"), an **X**-ray
- **a** before a consonant **sound**: a book, a **u**niversity ("yoo"), a **E**uropean ("yoo"), a **o**ne-rupee coin ("wun")

### When to use "the"
- Something **specific** both people know: "Close **the** door."
- Something **mentioned before**: "I bought a phone. **The** phone is fast."
- **Only one** exists: the sun, the moon, the internet
- **Superlatives and ordinals**: the best, the tallest, the first, the last
- Rivers, oceans, mountain ranges: **the** Ganga, **the** Indian Ocean, **the** Himalayas
- Countries with plural or "union" names: **the** USA, **the** UK, **the** Netherlands

### When NOT to use an article
- General plural or uncountable nouns: "**Students** need practice." / "**Water** is important."
- Most countries, cities, languages, meals, games: India, Delhi, Hindi, lunch, cricket
- Before subjects of study: "She studies **physics**."

## Part B — Prepositions

![Pyramid: AT for exact points (at 5 pm, at the gate), ON for days and surfaces (on Monday, on the table), IN for big periods and spaces (in 2026, in June, in Delhi)](https://skills101.in/learn-img/verbal/in-on-at.svg)

### Time and place
- **at** — exact time or point: at 6 pm, at night, at the bus stop
- **on** — days, dates, surfaces: on Friday, on 26 January, on the wall
- **in** — months, years, seasons, parts of the day, cities, countries: in May, in 2026, in winter, in the evening, in Pune

### Fixed prepositions to learn (frequently tested)

| ✓ Correct | ✗ Common mistake |
|---|---|
| discuss **the plan** | discuss **about** the plan |
| married **to** | married **with** |
| senior / junior **to** | senior **than** |
| prefer tea **to** coffee | prefer tea **than** coffee |
| good **at** maths | good **in** maths |
| interested **in** coding | interested **for** coding |
| depend **on** | depend **upon** is fine; depend **of** ✗ |
| angry **with** a person, **at** a thing | angry **on** someone |
| comply **with** the rules | comply **to** the rules |
| enter **the room** | enter **into** the room (for a place) |

### Since, for, from
- **since** a point in time (since 2020) — with perfect tenses
- **for** a duration (for 3 years)
- **from … to** a range (from Monday to Friday)

## Common mistakes

- Choosing a/an by the first **letter** instead of the first **sound**.
- Writing "the" before general plurals ("The students need practice" when you mean all students).
- "Discuss about", "married with", "senior than", "prefer than".

## Quick recap

- a/an depends on sound. "the" = specific, mentioned before, one of a kind, superlatives.
- at = point, on = day/surface, in = period/space.
- Learn the fixed-preposition table.


Practice quiz and free certificate: https://skills101.in/learn/verbal/articles-and-prepositions