The English section of NDA, CDS, and AFCAT exams demands a thorough understanding of both grammar and usage. Among the key grammar topics, Gerunds and Prepositions hold special importance — they appear frequently in Spotting Errors, Fill in the Blanks, and Sentence Improvement questions.
To help aspirants gain complete command over these concepts, a dedicated live class on Gerund & Preposition Rules was conducted as part of the NDA, CDS & AFCAT 1 2026 English Study Plan. The session focused on clarity of rules, contextual understanding, and practice with real exam-type questions, enabling students to master these topics for upcoming defence exams.
Objective of the Live Class
The live session was designed to:
- Build a clear understanding of Gerund and its functions in a sentence.
- Strengthen the concept and usage of Prepositions through examples and practice.
- Identify common grammatical errors involving Gerund and Preposition combinations.
- Provide exam-oriented guidance by discussing PYQs (Previous Year Questions) from NDA, CDS & AFCAT exams.
This class aimed to move students beyond memorization and toward rule-based reasoning, ensuring accuracy and confidence in tackling grammar-based questions.
English Grammar Topics Covered in Class
🔹 1. Gerund: Meaning, Forms & Usage
A Gerund is the “-ing” form of a verb that functions as a noun in a sentence. Understanding when to use a Gerund — and not an infinitive or participle — is crucial for scoring high in grammar-based questions.
✅ Key Rules & Subtopics Covered:
- Definition and Identification of Gerunds
- Difference between Gerund and Present Participle
- Gerund as Subject, Object, and Complement
- Use of Gerunds after Prepositions
- Common Verbs followed by Gerunds:
(enjoy, admit, avoid, suggest, deny, consider, appreciate, mind, risk, finish, etc.) - Verbs that change meaning with Gerund and Infinitive
(stop doing vs stop to do, remember doing vs remember to do) - Gerund after Phrasal Verbs and Fixed Expressions
- Common Error Patterns involving Gerunds
🔹 2. Prepositions: Rules, Usage & Common Errors
A Preposition shows the relationship of a noun or pronoun to another word in a sentence. It is one of the most error-prone areas in defence exam grammar, as it tests both rule-based understanding and idiomatic usage.
✅ Key Rules & Subtopics Covered:
- Definition and Types of Prepositions:
Place, Time, Direction, Instrument, Agent, Cause, etc. - Prepositions of Time: in, on, at, since, for, by, before, after, during
- Prepositions of Place & Direction: in, on, at, to, into, inside, over, above, under, below
- Prepositions used after Adjectives, Nouns, and Verbs:
(afraid of, interested in, depend on, responsible for, believe in) - Difference between Confusing Prepositions:
(between/among, beside/besides, since/for, in/on/at) - Omission of Preposition (after certain verbs or expressions)
- Common Prepositional Phrases used in NDA/CDS/AFCAT papers
Practice & Application in Class
To ensure practical understanding, students practiced:
- Spotting Error Questions involving incorrect Gerund and Preposition usage.
- Fill in the Blanks questions with contextual clues.
- Sentence Improvement & Correction based on verb-preposition and adjective-preposition combinations.
- Previous Year Questions from NDA, CDS, and AFCAT to recognize repeating patterns.
The class focused on concept reinforcement through examples, helping aspirants connect grammatical theory with exam application.
Importance of Gerund & Preposition in Defence Exams
✅ For NDA:
- 5–8 questions in the English section are often based on Prepositions and Verb forms (including Gerunds).
- These questions frequently appear in Spotting Errors and Fill in the Blanks.
✅ For CDS:
- English paper (100 marks) includes grammar-heavy sections where Gerund and Preposition rules are tested repeatedly.
- Sentence Improvement and Error Detection sections almost always feature at least 2–3 questions from these topics.
✅ For AFCAT:
- Focuses on grammar-in-context, where correct preposition or gerund form determines meaning.
- Prepositions appear in Cloze Test and Sentence Completion questions.
Why These Topics Are Essential for Aspirants
- Gerunds improve understanding of verb-noun relationships, helping in accurate sentence construction.
- Prepositions test both grammar and practical usage, ensuring linguistic precision.
- Mastery over these topics builds overall grammatical accuracy, improving writing, speaking, and comprehension skills — crucial for both written exams and SSB interviews.
- They are high-scoring because their rules are fixed and predictable once understood.
Conclusion
The Gerund & Preposition Rules Live Class for NDA, CDS & AFCAT 1 2026 gave aspirants a strong grammatical foundation and a clear, rule-based understanding of two of the most important topics in English Grammar.
Through concept explanation, example-based teaching, and exam-oriented practice, the session empowered students to apply these rules confidently in any exam question format.
In mastering Gerund and Preposition, aspirants not only enhance their exam performance but also take a significant step toward becoming effective communicators and future officers in the Indian Armed Forces.
