6. Quick-Reference Table: Forty-Plus High-Frequency Idioms

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These verb/adjective + preposition idioms are, collectively, the single most frequently tested correction target across SSC, Bank, Railway, and CDS Sentence Improvement sections. Memorise this table cold — a large share of every real paper's idiom-correction questions draw directly from a list very close to this one.

Idiom	Example Sentence
insist on	The examiner insisted on strict silence during the listening test.
succeed in	She succeeded in clearing all four stages of the recruitment process.
differ from	His interpretation of the passage differs from the model answer.
rely on	Candidates should rely on the official notification for exam dates.
consist of	The paper consists of four sections with equal weightage.
capable of	He is fully capable of solving advanced data-interpretation sets.
married to	She has been married to a fellow civil servant for three years.
proud of	The entire coaching centre is proud of its top rank holder.
afraid of	Many aspirants are afraid of the interview round more than the written test.
different from	This year's pattern is different from every previous year's pattern.
angry with	The invigilator was angry with the candidate for whispering answers.
angry at	She was angry at the sudden, unannounced change in exam centre.
congratulate on	The principal congratulated her on topping the state merit list.
depend on	Your final rank depends on both the written score and the interview.
apologise for	He apologised for arriving late to the counselling session.
interested in	She has always been interested in pursuing a career in the civil services.
good at	He is genuinely good at solving puzzles under time pressure.
bad at	She admits she is bad at remembering long formulas without practice.
responsible for	The coordinator is responsible for issuing duplicate admit cards.
famous for	This coaching institute is famous for its free mock-test series.
aware of	Candidates must be aware of the negative marking scheme before attempting.
confident of	He is confident of clearing the cutoff this time.
convinced of	The panel was convinced of her sincerity during the interview.
ashamed of	He was ashamed of his careless mistake in the OMR sheet.
tired of	Many repeat candidates grow tired of appearing for the same exam yearly.
fond of	She has always been fond of reading editorial columns for vocabulary.
keen on	He is keen on switching from the banking sector to a government post.
accustomed to	She is now accustomed to waking up at five for her daily revision.
addicted to	He became addicted to solving one reasoning puzzle every morning.
related to	This question is directly related to the topic covered last week.
similar to	Her approach is similar to the method taught in the coaching class.
opposed to	The union was opposed to the proposed change in exam fee structure.
dependent on	The final selection is entirely dependent on the interview marks.
independent of	The written exam score is independent of the candidate's category.
suspicious of	The invigilator grew suspicious of the candidate's frequent glances.
jealous of	He was mildly jealous of his friend's higher rank in the merit list.
satisfied with	The board was satisfied with the overall conduct of the exam.
pleased with	She was pleased with her performance in the descriptive paper.
disappointed with	He was disappointed with his score despite thorough preparation.
familiar with	Candidates should be familiar with the exact exam-day guidelines.
compatible with	Her qualifications are compatible with the eligibility criteria listed.
associated with	This scholarship is associated with a specific merit-based condition.
identical to	Her answer was identical to the one given in the official key.
equal to	His score was exactly equal to the declared cutoff for his category.
relevant to	Only questions relevant to the current syllabus were included.
grateful to	She remained grateful to her mentor throughout her preparation.
indebted to	He felt indebted to his parents for supporting his long preparation.
adjacent to	The waiting area is adjacent to the main examination hall.
prior to	Candidates must report to the venue prior to the gate-closing time.

6.1 A Second Table: Phrasal and Fixed-Phrase Idioms Commonly Tested

Beyond single verb/adjective + preposition pairs, SI papers also test a smaller but reliably recurring set of multi-word phrasal idioms, several of which trace to spoken-register or literal-translation habits (Distractor Pattern 20 in Section 4) that formal written English marks wrong. Learn these alongside the main table.

Phrasal Idiom	Example Sentence
do the needful	Kindly do the needful and process the refund at the earliest.
look into	The committee agreed to look into the discrepancy before the next hearing.
put up with	She had to put up with a noisy exam hall throughout the paper.
come up with	He came up with a shortcut method for solving ratio-based questions.
carry out	The board will carry out a fresh verification of all category certificates.
account for	The delay in results was not properly accounted for in the notice.
comply with	All candidates must comply with the dress code specified for the exam.
abide by	Every applicant is expected to abide by the rules stated in the notification.
refrain from	Candidates are requested to refrain from carrying any written material.
adhere to	The invigilator strictly adhered to the timing schedule issued by the board.
cope with	She found it difficult to cope with the sudden change in exam pattern.
deal with	The grievance cell deals with complaints related to the admit card.
apply for	She applied for the post within a week of the notification being released.
enrol for	He enrolled for an online test series ahead of the mains examination.
opt for	Many candidates opt for the regional-language medium in this exam.

6.2 Same Word, Different Preposition, Different Meaning

A short but high-yield list of words that pair with more than one preposition, each pairing carrying a genuinely different meaning. Exams exploit this by offering the "wrong meaning" preposition as a distractor even though it is not, strictly, an ungrammatical word.

Word	With This Preposition	Meaning
agree	agree with (a person or idea)	I agree with the examiner's clarification on this doubt.
agree	agree to (a proposal or plan)	The board agreed to extend the deadline by three days.
arrive	arrive at (a place, small/specific; or a decision)	The panel finally arrived at a decision after the third round.
arrive	arrive in (a place, large/general)	She arrived in Delhi a day before her interview.
bored	bored with (repetition/tedium)	He grew bored with revising the same chapter repeatedly.
bored	bored of (informal, common in speech, avoid in formal writing)	(Formal writing prefers "bored with," not "bored of.")
compete	compete with (a rival)	She competed with the top rank holders from three states.
compete	compete for (a prize or position)	Thousands of candidates compete for a handful of vacancies.
care	care about (concern for)	The mentor genuinely cares about each student's progress.
care	care for (looking after, or liking)	She had to care for her younger sibling during the exam season.
think	think of (recall, or form an opinion casually)	She couldn't think of the exact formula during the test.
think	think about (consider carefully)	He is thinking about switching his optional subject.
argue	argue with (a person)	He argued with the invigilator over the extra time.
argue	argue for/against (a position)	The essay argued for stricter exam-centre security.
apologise	apologise to (a person)	She apologised to the panel for arriving five minutes late.
apologise	apologise for (an action)	He apologised for submitting an incomplete application form.
complain	complain to (a person)	The candidates complained to the coordinator about the noisy hall.
complain	complain about (a problem)	Many aspirants complained about the sudden change in exam city.
listen	listen to (someone or something)	Kindly listen to the full set of instructions before starting.
wait	wait for (someone or something)	She waited for nearly an hour outside the counselling room.
explain	explain something to someone (never "explain someone something")	The senior explained the negative marking scheme to the juniors.
congratulate	congratulate on (an achievement)	The faculty congratulated him on his all-India rank.
reply	reply to (a message or person)	Please reply to this circular within three working days.
specialise	specialise in (a subject)	She plans to specialise in constitutional law after her degree.

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