CDS English · Spotting Errors
Extra, missing and place-time prepositions
Some verbs take their object with no preposition at all (discuss the matter, order coffee), a few need one the sentence left out, and place and time words need the right one of in, on, at, to, since and for.
Why this matters
These errors come up across the CDS papers from 2017 to 2025, in both spotting-errors and sentence-improvement items. They are hard to see because the extra word sounds normal in everyday Indian English: 'discuss about', 'order for', 'called as'. A quick drop test catches all of them.
Concept 1 of 2: One preposition too many (or too few): the drop test
Many verbs take their object straight away, with nothing in between: you discuss a plan, you reach a place, you order a meal. These are transitive verbs. Putting 'about', 'for' or 'at' after them is a very common mistake, and the paper tests it again and again. A few verbs work the other way: in one sense they need a partner the sentence has left out.
Definition
The drop test for an extra preposition:
- Find the verb just before the preposition.
- Drop the preposition. If the verb now takes its object directly and the sentence still makes sense, the verb is transitive and the preposition was extra.
- No preposition after: discuss, consider, order, emphasise, regret, reach, enter, pass (each other), describe, resemble, attack.
Three more extras the paper uses:
- called as: 'He is called the Father of the Nation', no 'as'. ('Regarded as' and 'known as' are correct.)
- as to before why, how or what: 'No one knows why he did it', not 'knows as to why'.
- cope up with: the phrase is 'cope with'.
The reverse error, a missing preposition:
- Some verbs need a partner in a given sense: 'meet with a poor response' (receive it), 'deprive someone of something'. The sentence leaves the partner out.
Worked example
Find the part with the error. (a) The witness (b) described about the accident (c) in great detail. (d) No error
Practice this conceptself-check · 4 quick reps
The same idea in a real exam question:
CDS · 2018 · CDS (II) 2018 — English · Q47Moderate
Example 1 · Spotting Errors · Extra, Missing and Place-Time Prepositions
Directions: find the part with an error or no error
I did not want to listen to him, but he was adamant and discussed about the matter.
The noun takes a preposition, the verb does not
'A discussion about the plan' and 'an emphasis on discipline' are correct, because these are nouns. The verbs are bare: 'discuss the plan', 'emphasise discipline'. Do not carry the noun's preposition over to the verb.
'Called as' versus 'regarded as'
'Called', 'named' and 'termed' take no 'as'. 'Regarded as', 'known as' and 'described as' do take it. Learn the two groups separately.
Not every bare verb is an error
In a sentence-improvement item the options may offer 'emphasised on', 'emphasised over' and 'emphasised upon'. If the bare verb is already right, the answer is No improvement. The same holds for 'cope with': the option 'cope up with' is the trap.
'Met' in the sense of 'received'
When a plan or appeal receives a reaction, the paper wants 'met with': 'met with a poor response', 'met with success', 'met with an accident'.
Concept 2 of 2: Prepositions of place and time: in, on, at, to; since and for
Place words tell you where: in a closed space, on a surface, at a point, to a destination. Time words split into two kinds: a point of time (Monday, 2019, morning) and a duration, a length of time (five days, two hours). Each kind takes its own preposition.
Definition
Place:
- in = inside a space or area: in the box, in the compartment, in the body, in public places, in a city.
- on = on a surface or line: on the table, on the roof, on the road.
- at = a point, or a place where an activity happens: at the office, at the station, at the door. Also fixed phrases: at risk, at a high speed, at once.
- to = movement towards a place: go to school, taken to hospital. Onto = moving on to a surface: jumped onto the stage.
Time:
- since + a point of time: since Monday, since 2019, since morning.
- for + a duration: for five days, for the last two hours, for fifteen minutes.
- from + a starting point, with an end point: from Monday to Friday.
- With since and for, the verb is usually in a perfect tense: 'It has been raining for two hours.'
| Correct use | Wrong form in the paper | Rule | Sitting |
|---|---|---|---|
| For the last five days it has been raining. | From the last five days | for + a duration | 2017 (I)Q |
| For the fifteen minutes that she drives, ... | Since the 15 minutes | for (or during) + a duration; since needs a point | 2019 (I)Q |
| whims and fancies in public places | on public places | in = within an area | 2020 (II)Q |
| Food is converted in the body into glucose. | converted on the body | in = inside | 2022 (II)Q |
| after five hours at the office | five hours of office | at = a place of activity | 2022 (II)Q |
| A species is at a very high risk of extinction. | in a very high risk | fixed phrase: at risk | 2021 (I)Q |
| The boy was taken to hospital. | taken onto hospital | to = movement to a destination | 2024 (II)Q |
| baggage discovered in the luggage compartment | on the luggage compartment | in = inside a closed space | 2025 (I)Q |
Practice this conceptself-check · 4 quick reps
The same idea in a real exam question:
CDS · 2017 · CDS (I) 2017 — English · Q70Moderate
Example 2 · Spotting Errors · Extra, Missing and Place-Time Prepositions
Directions: improve underlined part or No improvement
From the last five days it has been raining torrentially.
'From' needs an end point
'From' marks a start and pairs with 'to' or 'till': 'from June to August'. To say how long something has gone on up to now, use 'for' (a length) or 'since' (a starting point), never 'from' alone.
Since + point, for + length
'Since 2019', 'since morning', 'since he left': a point. 'For six years', 'for the last hour', 'for fifteen minutes': a length. 'Since ten years' and 'since the fifteen minutes' are both wrong.
In a car, but on a bus
Small closed spaces take 'in': in a car, in a drawer, in a compartment. Large public transport takes 'on': on a bus, on a train, on a plane. Do not apply one rule to both.
Onto is only for surfaces
'Onto' means moving on to a surface: 'climbed onto the roof'. A destination such as a hospital, a school or a city takes 'to'.
Summary — formulas & gotchas at a glance
A revision cheat-sheet for the formulas and gotchas above. Click any concept name to jump back to its full explanation.
Reference tables (1)
Prepositions of place and time: in, on, at, to; since and for8 rows
| Correct use | Wrong form in the paper | Rule | Sitting |
|---|---|---|---|
| For the last five days it has been raining. | From the last five days | for + a duration | 2017 (I)Q |
| For the fifteen minutes that she drives, ... | Since the 15 minutes | for (or during) + a duration; since needs a point | 2019 (I)Q |
| whims and fancies in public places | on public places | in = within an area | 2020 (II)Q |
| Food is converted in the body into glucose. | converted on the body | in = inside | 2022 (II)Q |
| after five hours at the office | five hours of office | at = a place of activity | 2022 (II)Q |
| A species is at a very high risk of extinction. | in a very high risk | fixed phrase: at risk | 2021 (I)Q |
| The boy was taken to hospital. | taken onto hospital | to = movement to a destination | 2024 (II)Q |
| baggage discovered in the luggage compartment | on the luggage compartment | in = inside a closed space | 2025 (I)Q |
Watch out for (8)
- The noun takes a preposition, the verb does not→ One preposition too many (or too few): the drop test
- 'Called as' versus 'regarded as'→ One preposition too many (or too few): the drop test
- Not every bare verb is an error→ One preposition too many (or too few): the drop test
- 'Met' in the sense of 'received'→ One preposition too many (or too few): the drop test
- 'From' needs an end point→ Prepositions of place and time: in, on, at, to; since and for
- Since + point, for + length→ Prepositions of place and time: in, on, at, to; since and for
- In a car, but on a bus→ Prepositions of place and time: in, on, at, to; since and for
- Onto is only for surfaces→ Prepositions of place and time: in, on, at, to; since and for
Test yourself on Spotting Errors
25 past CDS questions from this chapter, timed at 25 minutes and marked the way the exam marks it. You see your score and every answer the moment you finish. Free to start.