Prepositions and Articles MCQs

Civil Service Exam verbal ability reviewer on English prepositions and articles: in, on and at, fixed pairings such as responsible for, and the use of a, an, the or no article.

20 MCQsUpdated 3 November 2026

Small words such as "in", "on", "at", "a", "an" and "the" decide whether a sentence is correct, and the Civil Service Exam tests them in sentence completion and error recognition items. This set practises prepositions of time and place, fixed pairings used in office writing such as "responsible for" and "comply with", and the use of articles.

Many prepositions follow fixed patterns that must simply be learned, so note each pairing with an example. For articles, remember that the sound, not the spelling, decides between "a" and "an".

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1
Choose the correct preposition: "The training starts ___ 9:00 a.m."
Correct answer: A. at
Use "at" for exact clock times: at 9:00 a.m., at noon, at midnight. "On" is for days and dates, and "in" for months, years and longer periods.
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easy
2
Choose the correct preposition: "The exam will be held ___ March."
Correct answer: D. in
Months, years and seasons take "in": in March, in 2027, in the rainy season. With a specific date, "on" is used instead: on 14 March.
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easy
3
Choose the correct preposition: "Her office is ___ the third floor."
Correct answer: C. on
Floors of a building take "on": on the third floor, on the ground floor. "In" is used for enclosed spaces, as in "in the office", and "at" for points or addresses.
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easy
4
Choose the correct preposition: "The supervisor is responsible ___ the monthly report."
Correct answer: B. for
"Responsible for" is used with the task or thing one must take care of. "Responsible to" is used with the person one reports to, as in "responsible to the director".
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5
Choose the correct preposition: "All applicants must comply ___ the requirements."
Correct answer: C. with
The verb "comply" is always followed by "with": comply with the rules, comply with the requirements. "Comply to" is a common error in office writing.
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medium
6
Choose the correct preposition: "She is very good ___ preparing presentations."
Correct answer: D. at
"Good at" is used for skills and abilities: good at preparing presentations, good at mathematics. The -ing form follows because "at" is a preposition.
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medium
7
Choose the correct preposition: "The memo was addressed ___ all division chiefs."
Correct answer: B. to
A letter or memo is addressed to its recipients. "To" shows direction towards the persons receiving it. Similarly, a complaint is addressed to an office, and a speech is addressed to an audience.
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easy
8
Choose the correct preposition: "He has been absent ___ work for three days."
Correct answer: C. from
"Absent" is followed by "from": absent from work, absent from the meeting. "For three days" correctly uses "for" with a period of time.
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easy
9
Choose the correct preposition: "The new guidelines are different ___ the old ones."
Correct answer: B. from
In formal English, "different from" is the standard pairing. "Different than" is avoided in formal writing, and "different with" and "different of" are incorrect.
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medium
10
Choose the correct preposition: "The meeting was postponed ___ further notice."
Correct answer: A. until
"Until further notice" means that the meeting is postponed with no new date yet, and the postponement continues up to the time of a new announcement.
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medium
11
Choose the correct preposition: "We divided the tasks ___ the four members of the team."
Correct answer: D. among
"Among" is generally used for three or more people or things, and "between" for two. Since there are four members, "among" is the better choice.
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medium
12
Choose the correct preposition: "The client insisted ___ seeing the manager."
Correct answer: B. on
"Insist" is followed by "on" and usually an -ing form: insisted on seeing the manager. "Insisted to see" is incorrect. Other verbs fixed to "on" include depend on, rely on and concentrate on.
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13
Choose the correct article: "She is ___ honest employee."
Correct answer: B. an
The h in "honest" is silent, so the word begins with a vowel sound and takes "an". The same applies to "an hour" and "an heir".
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easy
14
Choose the correct article: "He works at ___ university in Manila."
Correct answer: A. a
"University" begins with a "yoo" sound, which is a consonant sound, so it takes "a". The choice between "a" and "an" depends on sound, not spelling.
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easy
15
Choose the correct article: "___ Philippines is an archipelago of more than 7,000 islands."
Correct answer: A. The
Country names that are plural or include words such as "republic" or "kingdom" take "the": the Philippines, the United States, the Republic of Korea. Most single-word country names, such as Japan, take no article.
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medium
16
Choose the correct article: "She plays ___ volleyball every Saturday."
Correct answer: D. no article
Names of sports and games normally take no article: she plays volleyball, he plays chess. Musical instruments, however, usually take "the": she plays the piano.
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medium
17
Choose the correct article: "This is ___ best report I have read this year."
Correct answer: C. the
Superlatives such as "best", "most" and "largest" take "the", because they single out one item from a group: the best report, the most efficient office.
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easy
18
Choose the correct article: "He became ___ MP after the election."
Correct answer: A. an
The letter M is pronounced "em", which begins with a vowel sound, so "MP" takes "an". The same is true of an MBA and an NGO.
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hard
19
Choose the correct article: "___ honesty is the best policy."
Correct answer: C. No article
Abstract nouns used in a general sense, such as honesty, courage and patience, normally take no article. "The honesty of the witness" would need "the" because it is specific.
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hard
20
Choose the correct preposition: "Applicants who arrive late will not be allowed ___ the testing room."
Correct answer: D. into
"Into" shows movement from outside to inside, so it fits "allowed into the testing room". "In" describes position without movement, as in "Applicants in the room must stay seated."
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medium

Prepositions and Articles MCQs

Choose the correct preposition: "The training starts ___ 9:00 a.m."

Choose the correct preposition: "The exam will be held ___ March."

Choose the correct preposition: "Her office is ___ the third floor."

Choose the correct preposition: "The supervisor is responsible ___ the monthly report."

Choose the correct preposition: "All applicants must comply ___ the requirements."

Choose the correct preposition: "She is very good ___ preparing presentations."

Choose the correct preposition: "The memo was addressed ___ all division chiefs."

Choose the correct preposition: "He has been absent ___ work for three days."

Choose the correct preposition: "The new guidelines are different ___ the old ones."

Choose the correct preposition: "The meeting was postponed ___ further notice."

Choose the correct preposition: "We divided the tasks ___ the four members of the team."

Choose the correct preposition: "The client insisted ___ seeing the manager."

Choose the correct article: "She is ___ honest employee."

Choose the correct article: "He works at ___ university in Manila."

Choose the correct article: "___ Philippines is an archipelago of more than 7,000 islands."

Choose the correct article: "She plays ___ volleyball every Saturday."

Choose the correct article: "This is ___ best report I have read this year."

Choose the correct article: "He became ___ MP after the election."

Choose the correct article: "___ honesty is the best policy."

Choose the correct preposition: "Applicants who arrive late will not be allowed ___ the testing room."