Grammar: Prepositions

Why This Matters (কেন গুরুত্বপূর্ণ)

Prepositions almost never translate directly from Bangla, so guessing based on meaning alone fails often. PTE tests them heavily in Write Essay's academic collocations ("responsible for," "increase in"), and in Reading Fill in the Blanks, where a preposition blank frequently has only one grammatically possible answer among four plausible-looking options.

Preposition প্রায়ই বাংলা থেকে সরাসরি অনুবাদ হয় না, তাই অর্থ অনুমান করে বেছে নেওয়া প্রায়ই ভুল হয়। Write Essay-তে একাডেমিক collocation এবং Reading dropdown-এ এটি ব্যাপকভাবে পরীক্ষা করা হয়।

For the fuller collocation list, see the IELTS Prepositions guide.

Learn Prepositions as Chunks (একসাথে শিখুন)

Rather than memorising isolated preposition rules, learn each verb, adjective or noun together with its fixed preposition, exactly as it will appear in an essay or spoken answer.

ChunkExample
responsible for"The committee is responsible for reviewing all applications."
increase / rise / fall in"There was a sharp increase in renewable energy investment."
depend on"The outcome depends on several unpredictable factors."
good / skilled at"She is particularly good at data analysis."
consist of"The committee consists of five elected members."
concerned about/with"Researchers are concerned about declining biodiversity."

Method: when you learn a new academic word, always note its fixed preposition alongside it, not as a separate rule to memorise later.

পদ্ধতি: নতুন শব্দ শেখার সাথে সাথেই তার নির্দিষ্ট preposition-ও নোট করুন।

Preposition Traps in Dropdowns (Dropdown-এ ফাঁদ)

All four dropdown options are usually real prepositions — only one forms a real English collocation with the surrounding word.

TRAPThe report is responsible [for / of / on / to] a sharp rise in applications.
FIX"responsible for" is the only real collocation — the others don't exist in standard English.
TRAPThe findings are consistent [with / of / in / for] earlier research on the topic.
FIX"consistent with" is the fixed form.

Your Turn (অনুশীলন করুন)

Fill in the correct preposition, then reveal the answer.

1 "The success of the project depends largely ___ the quality of the initial planning."
Show the answer

"depends largely on the quality..."

2 "The library's new wing consists ___ three reading rooms and a digital archive."
Show the answer

"consists of three reading rooms..."

3 "Local authorities are increasingly concerned ___ the effects of coastal erosion."
Show the answer

"concerned about the effects..." (also acceptable: "concerned with")

4 "There has been a steady decline ___ the number of species in the region."
Show the answer

"a steady decline in the number..."