Prepositions follow patterns that are easy to learn once you see them. This quiz covers time words, place words and fixed pairs such as interested in and depend on.
1. The meeting is ___ 3 p.m.
Use "at "with clock times.
2. My birthday is ___ June 5.
Use "on "with specific dates and days.
3. This phone is different ___ the old one.
The standard pairing is "different from "("different than "is also common in American English).
4. I 'm interested ___ learning Spanish.
The adjective "interested "takes "in ".
5. She is good ___ solving puzzles.
Use "good at "for skills and abilities.
6. He apologized ___ being late.
"Apologize for "a mistake or action.
7. He 's afraid ___ spiders.
The adjective "afraid "takes "of ".
8. I 've been waiting ___ you for an hour.
The phrasal verb is "wait for "someone or something.
9. It depends ___ the weather.
The verb "depend "always takes "on ".
10. We arrived ___ the airport at noon.
Use "arrive at "for specific places such as an airport or station, and "arrive in "for cities and countries.
Frequently asked questions
What is the rule for in, on and at with time?
Use at for clock times (at 3 p.m.), on for days and dates (on Monday, on June 5), and in for months, years and longer periods (in March, in 2019).
How do I learn verb and adjective prepositions?
Learn them as whole chunks (good at, afraid of, depend on) instead of one word at a time, and read the explanation after each quiz answer.
Is it different from or different than?
Different from is the standard choice in all varieties of English. Different than is common in American English, especially before a clause.
