Adjective; Adverb; Prepositions — Complete Guide — English and Verbal Ability

Adjective

5.1 Types of Adjectives

Type	Definition	Examples
Descriptive	Describes quality	beautiful, large, honest
Numeral	Shows number	one, first, several, many
Demonstrative	Points out	this, that, these, those
Possessive	Shows possession	my, your, his, her
Interrogative	Used in questions	which, what, whose
Emphasizing	Emphasizes noun	very, own, exact
Exclamatory	Shows surprise	what (a surprise)!

5.2 Degrees of Comparison

Degree	Usage	Example
Positive	Normal quality	tall, fast, beautiful
Comparative	Comparing two	taller, faster, more beautiful
Superlative	Among all	tallest, fastest, most beautiful

Irregular Comparisons

Positive	Comparative	Superlative
Good	Better	Best
Bad	Worse	Worst
Many/Much	More	Most
Little	Less	Least
Far	Farther/Further	Farthest/Furthest
Old	Older/Elder	Oldest/Eldest
Late	Later/Latter	Latest/Last

Adverb

6.1 Types of Adverbs

Type	Definition	Examples
Manner	How something is done	quickly, slowly, well, badly
Time	When	now, then, yesterday, soon
Place	Where	here, there, everywhere
Frequency	How often	always, never, often, rarely
Degree	How much	very, quite, almost, nearly
Affirmation	Confirm	certainly, definitely
Negation	Deny	not, never
Relative	Relative reference	where, when, why

6.2 Position of Adverbs

Frequency adverbs go before the main verb: She always arrives on time.
With "be" verb → frequency adverb goes after the verb: He is always late.
Manner adverbs usually go after the verb or object: She drives carefully.

Prepositions — Complete Guide

7.1 What is a Preposition?

A preposition is a word that shows the relationship of a noun or pronoun to another word in the sentence.

Pattern: Preposition + Noun/Pronoun = Prepositional Phrase Example: "on the table", "in the box", "at home"

7.2 Types of Prepositions by Meaning

Position Prepositions (Where something IS)

Preposition	Usage	Example
above	Higher level, not touching	The star shone above the house
across	On the other side	He lives across the street
against	In contact, opposing	She leaned against the wall
among	In the middle of (3+)	She sat among her friends
around	Surrounding	Trees around the park
at	Exact point	She is at home
behind	At the back	The car is behind the building
below	Lower level, not touching	The valley is below the mountain
beneath	Under, touching	There is a river beneath the bridge
beside	Next to, at the side	She sat beside him
between	In the middle (2 only)	The book is between the cups
by	Near/next to	She stood by the window
in	Inside an enclosed space	The cat is in the box
in front of	Facing side	He waited in front of the office
inside	Within	She hid inside the house
near	Close to	The bank is near the school
next to	Immediately beside	Sit next to me
on	On the surface of	The book is on the table
outside	Not inside	He waited outside
over	Above, higher and covering	Clouds over the mountains
through	From one side to another	Sun through the window
under	Directly below	The mat is under the table
underneath	Directly below (emphasizing below)	His socks are underneath the bed

Direction Prepositions (Movement/Motion)

Preposition	Usage	Example
across	Movement from one side to other	She walked across the road
against	In opposing direction	He threw the ball against the wall
along	Following the length of	Walk along this path
away from	Departure from a point	The dog ran away from the cat
down	From high to low	Going down the stairs
from	Starting point	He came from Mumbai
into	Entry to inside	Put the letter into the envelope
off	Away from a surface	She jumped off the chair
onto	Movement to a surface	He jumped onto the stage
out of	Movement from inside	She walked out of the office
over	Movement above	The bird flew over the nest
through	Movement from one end to other	He drove through the tunnel
to	Towards a destination	She is going to work
toward(s)	In the direction of	He walked towards the station
under	Movement below	The fish swam under the ship
up	From low to high	She climbed up the mountain

Time Prepositions (When)

Preposition	Usage	Example
after	Following in time	She jogged after dinner
at	Specific time of day	The show starts at 7 p.m.
before	Prior to	Please complete it before Monday
by	No later than	Submit it by Friday
during	Within the span of	He slept during the lecture
for	Duration of time	She lived in Paris for two years
from...to	Starting and ending time	Office from 9 to 5
in	Month, year, long duration	In May, in 2020, in an hour
on	Specific day/date	On Tuesday, on 14th April
since	From a point in time to now	She has lived here since 2010
till/until	Up to a time	I will wait till 6 p.m.

7.3 Prepositions with Adjectives

Common fixed combinations:

afraid of something
good at skill
interested in topic
satisfied with result
responsible for actions
different from something else
similar to something
familiar with / familiar to
angry at/with person
accused of crime
capable of doing
proud of achievement

7.4 Prepositions with Verbs

Fixed verb-preposition combinations:

agree with (a person) / agree on (a topic)

consist of (components)

deal with (a problem)
depend on (reliability)

look at (observe) / look for (search) / look after (care)

listen to (carefully)
wait for (someone)
belong to (possession)
apologize for (a fault)
succeed in / result in / participate in
distinguish between (two items)
complain about / complain to (person)

7.5 Tricky Preposition Rules

In vs At (place):
- In = inside a larger area (in a room, in India, in the city)
- At = at a specific point (at the door, at the bus stop, at home)
In vs On (time):
- In = month, year, season (in July, in 2024, in summer)

On = specific day or date (on Monday, on 5th June)

At = specific time (at 6 pm, at noon, at midnight)

Between vs Among:
- Between = two items (between A and B)
- Among = more than two (among the crowd)
By vs Until:
- By = no later than a deadline (submit by Friday = before or on Friday)
- Until = continuing up to a time (I will wait until 5 pm = I'll wait right up to 5 pm)

Adjective; Adverb; Prepositions — Complete Guide