CDS English · Spotting Errors
Prepositions fixed by the word before them
Many verbs, adjectives and nouns take one fixed preposition: prefer to, listen to, abide by, the reason for. The paper swaps in the wrong one, and you must know the right partner.
Why this matters
A wrong preposition is one of the most common errors in CDS spotting-errors and sentence-improvement items, and it has been asked from 2017 to 2026. No rule tells you which preposition a word takes, so the only defence is to know the pairs. The tables on this page list the pairs the paper has used.
Concept 1 of 3: Prefer X to Y: 'to' as a preposition takes a noun or -ing
The little word 'to' has two jobs. Before a verb it can mark the infinitive: 'I want to go'. After some words it is a preposition, like 'in' or 'of'. A preposition is followed by a noun or by an -ing form (a gerund), never by a bare verb. 'Prefer' is the best-known word of this kind: it compares two things with 'to', never with 'than'.
Definition
The 'to' test.
- Put a noun after the 'to'. 'I look forward to the holidays' works, so this 'to' is a preposition, and a verb after it takes -ing: 'look forward to meeting you'.
- If only a verb fits ('I want to the holidays' fails), 'to' marks the infinitive and takes the base verb: 'I want to meet you'.
Words whose 'to' is a preposition:
- prefer X to Y: 'I prefer tea to coffee'; 'She prefers walking to driving'. Never 'prefer ... than' or 'prefer ... more than'.
- With two infinitives, use rather than: 'I prefer to walk rather than drive'.
- look forward to, be used to, be accustomed to, accustom oneself to, object to, with a view to, devoted to + noun or -ing.
- senior, junior, superior, inferior, prior, preferable: these compare with to, not 'than'.
A different partner before -ing: interested in doing, insist on doing, capable of doing.
Worked example
Find the part with the error. (a) The new recruits objected (b) to stand (c) in the rain for an hour. (d) No error
Practice this conceptself-check · 4 quick reps
The same idea in a real exam question:
CDS · 2017 · CDS (I) 2017 — English · Q33Easy
Example 1 · Spotting Errors · Prepositions Fixed by the Word Before
Directions: find error in underlined part or No error
I prefer this book than that one.
'Prefer' never takes 'than'
Not 'prefer this than that', and not 'prefer this much more than that'. Write 'prefer this to that'. 'Than' appears only in the pattern 'prefer to do X rather than do Y'.
'Look forward to' + a bare verb
'I look forward to hear from you' looks like an infinitive, but the 'to' is a preposition. Write 'look forward to hearing from you'. The same holds for 'object to', 'be used to' and 'with a view to'.
'Used to' has two meanings
'I used to swim' is a past habit and takes the base verb. 'I am used to swimming' means 'I am accustomed to it' and takes -ing. The 'am', 'is' or 'get' before it tells you which one you have.
Changing the preposition, not just the verb
In 'interested to joining the group', the -ing form is right but the partner is wrong: 'interested in joining'. Check both halves: the preposition and the form that follows it.
Concept 2 of 3: Verbs and the preposition they demand
Some verbs come with a fixed partner. You cannot work the partner out from the meaning: you abide by a rule but comply with it. The exam swaps the partner for a plausible-looking one, so the sentence still sounds fine on a quick read.
Definition
Two terms:
- A collocation is a word that demands a fixed partner: 'abide' needs 'by', 'apprise' needs 'of'.
- A phrasal verb is a verb plus a small word that together make a new meaning: 'dispense with' (do without), 'look for' (search), 'meet with' (receive).
How the paper tests them:
- It changes the preposition: 'abide with', 'apprised with', 'ousted in'.
- It drops the preposition: 'listen the song'.
- It picks a partner that gives the wrong meaning: 'look after' means care for, 'look into' means investigate, 'look for' means search.
There is no rule to derive the partner. Learn the pairs below as pairs.
| Verb | Correct use | Wrong form in the paper | Sitting |
|---|---|---|---|
| abide by | He did not abide by my decision. | abide with | 2017 (I)Q |
| apprise of | Being apprised of our approach, ... | apprised with | 2019 (I)Q |
| centre on | Their attention was centred on the craftwork. | centred around | 2024 (II), 2025 (II)Q Both sittings treated 'centred around' as the error. Write 'centred on' or 'centred upon'. |
| dispense with | Your services are dispensed with. (= no longer needed) | dispensed for | 2017 (I)Q |
| due to | They parted ways due to ideological differences. | due towards | 2024 (I)Q |
| hold under (a law) | He was held under the Prevention of Terrorism Act. | held in | 2018 (I)Q |
| listen to | I like to listen to the song of the nightingale. | listen the song | 2017 (II)Q |
| live on (an income) | He was living on remittances from his sons. | living in remittances | 2017 (II)Q |
| look for | He is now looking for a job. | looking about | 2017 (I)Q |
| make into | The fruit can be made into jam. | made to jam | 2018 (I)Q |
| oust from | The party was ousted from power. | ousted in power | 2018 (I)Q |
| trickle down to | The effects are trickling down to the next generation. | trickling at | 2019 (I)Q |
Verbs that take NO preposition at all (discuss, consider, order, emphasise) are taught under extra, missing and place-time prepositions.
Practice this conceptself-check · 4 quick reps
The same idea in a real exam question:
CDS · 2017 · CDS (II) 2017 — English · Q82Easy
Example 2 · Spotting Errors · Prepositions Fixed by the Word Before
Directions: find error in part a, b or c; else no error
I like to listen the song of the nightingale in the evening.
'Centred around' sounds natural
Many good writers say 'centred around', but the CDS paper has marked it wrong in two sittings. The safe form is 'centred on' or 'centred upon'.
Hear and listen are not twins
'Hear' takes its object directly: 'I heard the radio'. 'Listen' needs 'to': 'I listened to the radio'. A sentence with 'listen' and no 'to' has an error.
One verb, several partners
'Look for' (search), 'look after' (take care of) and 'look into' (investigate) are all correct English. Read the sentence to see which meaning it needs: someone who wants a job is looking for one.
'Due' takes only 'to'
'Due to', never 'due towards' or 'due for' in the sense of 'because of'. 'Owing to' works the same way.
Concept 3 of 3: Adjectives and nouns and the preposition they demand
Describing words and naming words have fixed partners too. A person is ignorant of something, not 'in' it. A cause is the reason for something, not 'of' it. A word-for-word translation from another language often picks the wrong one, which is exactly what the paper relies on.
Definition
What to know:
- Adjectives (describing words) and nouns (naming words) take fixed prepositions: ignorant of, engrossed in, the reason for.
- A superlative (the most ..., the best ..., the tallest ...) picks one out of a group with of (or 'among'): 'the tallest of all the boys'.
- Between is for two people or things. Among is for more than two. 'The two of them' is two, so it takes 'between'.
- Some words change partner with their object: angry with a person, angry at or about a thing; answerable to a person, for an act.
| Word | Correct use | Wrong form in the paper | Sitting |
|---|---|---|---|
| angry | angry with a person; angry at or about a thing | angry at me | 2017 (I) |
| answerable | answerable to the court for any lies | answerable for the court with | 2018 (I)Q |
| between / among | bad blood between the two of them | among the two of them | 2025 (II)Q Two people take 'between'. Use 'among' only for three or more. |
| contemporary (noun) | Patanjali was a contemporary of Pushyamitra Sunga. | a contemporary to | 2019 (I)Q |
| engrossed | India is fully engrossed in the discussion. | engrossed with | 2017 (II)Q |
| ignorant | I am ignorant of many things. | ignorant in | 2017 (II)Q |
| liberalization | the liberalization of her economy | liberalization to | 2020 (II)Q |
| reason | the reason for my absence | the reason of | 2026 (II)Q |
| superlative + group | Iron is the most useful of all metals. | the most useful against all metals | 2019 (II)Q |
In the 2026 (II) item, 'insisted on knowing' was correct: 'insist' takes 'on' + -ing.
Practice this conceptself-check · 4 quick reps
The same idea in a real exam question:
CDS · 2026 · CDS (II) 2026 — English · Q46Moderate
Example 3 · Spotting Errors · Prepositions Fixed by the Word Before
Directions: Each item in this section has a sentence with three underlined parts labelled (a), (b) and (c). Read each sentence to determine whether there is an error in any underlined part and indicate your response on the answer sheet against the above-mentioned corresponding letter. If there is no error, indicate your response as (d).
He insisted on knowing the reason of my absence.
'The two of them' still means two
'Among the two of them' sounds formal, but two people always take 'between'. Count the people or things before you accept 'among'.
Angry with a person, at a thing
'The boss is angry at me' is marked wrong: a person is angry with someone. 'Angry at the delay' or 'angry about the result' is fine, because a delay is a thing.
Translating word for word
Several Indian languages use one small word where English uses several, so 'reason of', 'ignorant in' and 'married with' feel natural. English wants 'reason for', 'ignorant of', 'married to'.
A superlative never takes 'against' or 'than'
'Than' belongs to comparatives (taller than). A superlative takes 'of' or 'among': 'the most useful of all metals'.
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 (2)
Verbs and the preposition they demand12 rows
| Verb | Correct use | Wrong form in the paper | Sitting |
|---|---|---|---|
| abide by | He did not abide by my decision. | abide with | 2017 (I)Q |
| apprise of | Being apprised of our approach, ... | apprised with | 2019 (I)Q |
| centre on | Their attention was centred on the craftwork. | centred around | 2024 (II), 2025 (II)Q Both sittings treated 'centred around' as the error. Write 'centred on' or 'centred upon'. |
| dispense with | Your services are dispensed with. (= no longer needed) | dispensed for | 2017 (I)Q |
| due to | They parted ways due to ideological differences. | due towards | 2024 (I)Q |
| hold under (a law) | He was held under the Prevention of Terrorism Act. | held in | 2018 (I)Q |
| listen to | I like to listen to the song of the nightingale. | listen the song | 2017 (II)Q |
| live on (an income) | He was living on remittances from his sons. | living in remittances | 2017 (II)Q |
| look for | He is now looking for a job. | looking about | 2017 (I)Q |
| make into | The fruit can be made into jam. | made to jam | 2018 (I)Q |
| oust from | The party was ousted from power. | ousted in power | 2018 (I)Q |
| trickle down to | The effects are trickling down to the next generation. | trickling at | 2019 (I)Q |
Verbs that take NO preposition at all (discuss, consider, order, emphasise) are taught under extra, missing and place-time prepositions.
Adjectives and nouns and the preposition they demand9 rows
| Word | Correct use | Wrong form in the paper | Sitting |
|---|---|---|---|
| angry | angry with a person; angry at or about a thing | angry at me | 2017 (I) |
| answerable | answerable to the court for any lies | answerable for the court with | 2018 (I)Q |
| between / among | bad blood between the two of them | among the two of them | 2025 (II)Q Two people take 'between'. Use 'among' only for three or more. |
| contemporary (noun) | Patanjali was a contemporary of Pushyamitra Sunga. | a contemporary to | 2019 (I)Q |
| engrossed | India is fully engrossed in the discussion. | engrossed with | 2017 (II)Q |
| ignorant | I am ignorant of many things. | ignorant in | 2017 (II)Q |
| liberalization | the liberalization of her economy | liberalization to | 2020 (II)Q |
| reason | the reason for my absence | the reason of | 2026 (II)Q |
| superlative + group | Iron is the most useful of all metals. | the most useful against all metals | 2019 (II)Q |
In the 2026 (II) item, 'insisted on knowing' was correct: 'insist' takes 'on' + -ing.
Watch out for (12)
- 'Prefer' never takes 'than'→ Prefer X to Y: 'to' as a preposition takes a noun or -ing
- 'Look forward to' + a bare verb→ Prefer X to Y: 'to' as a preposition takes a noun or -ing
- 'Used to' has two meanings→ Prefer X to Y: 'to' as a preposition takes a noun or -ing
- Changing the preposition, not just the verb→ Prefer X to Y: 'to' as a preposition takes a noun or -ing
- 'Centred around' sounds natural→ Verbs and the preposition they demand
- Hear and listen are not twins→ Verbs and the preposition they demand
- One verb, several partners→ Verbs and the preposition they demand
- 'Due' takes only 'to'→ Verbs and the preposition they demand
- 'The two of them' still means two→ Adjectives and nouns and the preposition they demand
- Angry with a person, at a thing→ Adjectives and nouns and the preposition they demand
- Translating word for word→ Adjectives and nouns and the preposition they demand
- A superlative never takes 'against' or 'than'→ Adjectives and nouns and the preposition they demand
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.