Thirty multiple choice questions on articles and prepositions, the third topic in the Grammar track. Three previous year questions from the real AAI ATC papers are included in Section C, with an answer key at the end.
30questions
35 minsuggested time
3verified PYQs
MCQformat throughout
Score0 correct · 0 of 30 attempted
Before you begin
Formulas you will need
Key formulasan before a vowel sound (an hour, an honest man) · a before a consonant sound (a university, a European) the before rivers, seas, mountain ranges, deserts, trains, ships, newspapers and unique objects No article before street names, most countries, languages, meals, games and school in its usual sense Time: at a clock time · on a day or date · in a month, year or season · since a point, for a duration
How to use this worksheet. Articles follow the sound, not the letter — an hour but a university. And senior, junior, superior and inferior always take to, never than.
Section A · Level 1
Articles and basic prepositions of time
Ten questions. Judge articles by sound, never by spelling.
Q1
Which article is used before a word beginning with a consonant sound?
A goes before a consonant sound. What matters is the sound, not the letter.
Q2
Fill in the blank. He is ______ honest man.
The h in honest is silent, so the word begins with a vowel sound and takes an.
Q3
Fill in the blank. She is ______ university student.
University begins with a yoo sound, which is a consonant sound, so it takes a. This is the mirror image of the honest case.
Q4
Fill in the blank. ______ Ganga is a sacred river.
Names of rivers, seas, mountain ranges and deserts all take the.
Q5
Fill in the blank. He lives in ______ India.
Most country names take no article. Exceptions are plural or descriptive names such as the United States and the Netherlands.
Q6
Fill in the blank. ______ sun rises in the east.
Unique objects — the sun, the moon, the sky, the earth — take the.
Q7
Fill in the blank. He plays ______ guitar very well.
Musical instruments take the. Games and sports, by contrast, take no article at all.
Q8
Fill in the blank. She goes to ______ school by bus.
When the institution is meant in its usual sense, no article is used. The school would refer to the building itself.
Q9
Which preposition indicates a point in time, as in a specific hour?
At is used for a precise time, such as at 5 o'clock.
Q10
Which preposition is used with days and dates?
On is used with days and dates, as in on Monday and on 5 June.
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Section B · Level 2
Prepositions of time, place and collocation
Ten questions. Many of these are fixed expressions worth memorising.
Q11
Fill in the blank. He was born ______ 1995.
In is used for months, years, seasons and centuries.
Q12
Fill in the blank. She has been ill ______ Monday.
Since marks a point in time from which something continues. For would need a length of time.
Q13
Fill in the blank. He has lived here ______ ten years.
For is used with a duration, which is the counterpart of the previous question.
Q14
Fill in the blank. The book is ______ the table.
On indicates contact with a surface.
Q15
Fill in the blank. He jumped ______ the river.
Into shows movement from outside to inside. In would describe a position rather than a movement.
Q16
Fill in the blank. She is good ______ mathematics.
The fixed expression is good at a skill or subject.
Q17
Fill in the blank. He is married ______ a doctor.
The idiom is married to someone, not married with, which is a common first-language interference error.
Q18
Fill in the blank. I congratulated him ______ his success.
The standard collocation is congratulate somebody on something.
Q19
Fill in the blank. The meeting was postponed ______ Friday.
Till or until marks the end point of a delay.
Q20
Fill in the blank. He walked ______ the bridge to reach the other side.
Across means from one side to the other. Through would imply passing inside something.
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Section C · Previous year questions and mixed practice
Straight from the AAI ATC papers, plus error spotting
Ten questions. Three are real previous year questions.
Q21PYQ 2021 · Shift 3
Select the most appropriate option to fill in the blank. There are many large shops in _______.
Names of streets take no article. The same rule covers cities, states, and most countries. Note that option 4 would also be wrong on sound grounds, since Oxford begins with a vowel sound and could never take a.
Q22PYQ 2021 · Shift 3
Select the most appropriate option to fill in the blank. ________ is a series of passenger train services in India, operated by Indian Railways, connecting New Delhi to the capitals of various states.
Names of trains take the definite article, so it is the Rajdhani Express. The same applies to ships, newspapers and aircraft. Option 4 is doubly wrong, since Rajdhani begins with a consonant sound.
Q23PYQ 2023 · Morning
Select the most appropriate option to fill in the blank. I shall be back in less than ________.
The h in hour is silent, so the word begins with a vowel sound and takes an. The rule depends entirely on sound, never on spelling — compare a university, where the letter is a vowel but the sound is not.
Q24
Fill in the blank. He is ______ European by birth.
European begins with a yoo sound, so it takes a despite the initial vowel letter.
Q25
Fill in the blank. ______ Himalayas separate India from Tibet.
Mountain ranges take the, though individual peaks such as Mount Everest do not.
Q26
Fill in the blank. She apologised ______ her mistake.
The collocation is apologise for something, and to a person.
Q27
Fill in the blank. The train is ______ time today.
On time means punctual. In time means early enough for something, which is a different idea.
Q28
Spot the error. He has been working here since five years.
Five years is a duration, so it needs for, not since.
Q29
Fill in the blank. Divide the sweets ______ the two children.
Between is used for two, and among for more than two.
Q30
Fill in the blank. He is senior ______ me by three years.
Comparatives borrowed from Latin — senior, junior, superior, inferior, prior — take to, never than.
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Answer key
Answers
Check only after you have attempted every question. Tap any question above to see the full explanation.
All thirty questions with the formula sheet printed on the front page and ruled working space for your circuit reductions. Print it, solve it, keep it.
Seven questions from one chapter in a single year.
Live classes cover the full Class 11 and 12 physics and maths syllabus for AAI ATC, taught from the real question papers with the method for each question type drilled until it is automatic.