Prepositions for IELTS: Key Phrases for Accuracy

Prepositions (in, on, at, for, of, with) are notoriously difficult because they often don't follow logical rules. However, using them correctly is a clear sign of a high-level English speaker.

Mistakes here are "frequent errors" that can keep you at Band 6. Here are the key patterns you need for IELTS.

1. Prepositions of Time (Listening & Speaking)

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  IN: Months, Years, Centuries, Long Periods.

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    Examples: In June, In 2024, In the 19th century, In the morning.
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  ON: Days and Dates.

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    Examples: On Monday, On July 4th, On my birthday.
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  AT: Precise Time.

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    Examples: At 5:00 PM, At noon, At night.

2. Prepositions for Describing Trends (Writing Task 1)

This is crucial for Academic Task 1 graphs.

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  Increase/Decrease IN: Used with the topic.

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    "There was an increase in sales."
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  Increase/Decrease OF: Used with the amount/number.

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    "There was an increase of 50%."
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  Stand AT: Used for a specific point.

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    "Sales stood at $1 million in 2020."
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  Between... AND... / From... TO...:

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    "Between 2010 and 2020." (Don't say "Between 2010 to 2020").
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    "From 2010 to 2020."

3. Dependent Prepositions (Common Combinations)

These verbs/adjectives always take a specific preposition.

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  Responsible FOR: "The government is responsible for education."
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  Interested IN: "I am interested in history." (Not "interested on").
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  Aware OF: "People are aware of the problem."
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  Depend ON: "Success depends on hard work." (Not "depends of").
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  Different FROM: "This is different from that."

4. Common Traps

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  Discuss (No Preposition):

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    Wrong: "We discussed about the problem."
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    Right: "We discussed the problem."
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  Married TO:

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    Wrong: "He is married with her."
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    Right: "He is married to her."

Conclusion

You cannot memorize every preposition in English, but you can master the ones that appear frequently in IELTS (Time, Trends, and Opinion verbs). Focus on these high-frequency phrases to clean up your writing and speaking.

Check out our other IELTS resources and practice tests to help you achieve your target band score!