📚 Prepositions Practice

Correct option: C Reason: Use for to indicate a duration. He has been absent for a fortnight means "during a period of two weeks." Rule: For + duration (e.g., for two days, for a week) is used with perfect tenses to show how long something lasts.

Correct option: C — under Reason: “bring under control” is a fixed English idiom meaning to make a situation controllable or manageable. Rule: under + control shows state after action; “under” indicates being within the realm of control. Why others are wrong: in control → means actively guiding or in charge, not the process of controlling something. within control → not a standard collocation; sounds awkward here. under no control → negates control; opposite meaning. at control → not a typical collocation.

Explanation Correct: with. Use “with” to show the instrument or means used to do something: kill with a rifle. Other options: by is for the doer/agent (often in passive voice: “killed by him”), from and at do not indicate instrument. Rule: use with for tool/means; by for agent in passive voice.

Correct option: C The rocks were worn out by wind and weather. Reason: In passive voice, by marks the agent or cause of the action. “Worn out by wind and weather” is a common collocation indicating cause. Why others are wrong: A. from – indicates origin, not agent. B. through – not used to show cause by natural elements here. D. with – suggests accompaniment or instrument, not the causal agent.

Answer: through Why correct: "get through" a history examination means to pass or successfully complete it.

Explanation: Correct: D. at – We say surprised at when reacting to news or a situation. It shows your reaction to something you heard or learned. By – used for the cause/agent (e.g., surprised by the news is less common here). With – means accompanied by someone/something; not standard for reaction to news. Upon – archaic/rare in modern use for this sense.

Question: I am glad _______ my victory. Correct answer: D) at Why: We use at with verbs of emotion to express reaction to a situation/event. glad at shows happiness in response to the victory (a fixed/useful phrase). A. by is not used with glad in this sense. B. of and C. for are not correct collocations with glad here; glad about is possible, but not among the options.

Explanation Correct option: C – on Reason: on can indicate a surface where activity occurs (e.g., work on a task or on a surface like a desk). Here, it signals the desk as the surface associated with the work. Why others are wrong: A. at – typically indicates location or place of activity (at the desk) but not the surface action. B. in – means inside; not used for the surface/location of work here. D. over – not a correct sense for location of working in this context.

Correct option: B (for) Explanation: After verbs expressing regret, the common pattern is “repent for/about/over” something you did. Here, “repented for what he had done” shows regret about the action. Rule: Verb + preposition + object of regret = repent for/of/about (choose the fixed phrase in context). Why others are wrong: A. “repented of” is possible, but the given answer uses “for.” C. “over” is not standard here. D. “to” is incorrect with repent.

Explanation Correct: to — We use to for direction toward a location. The fixed phrase is to the east of. Why others are wrong: A. on – used for surfaces, not directions. C. from – indicates origin, not direction. D. at – indicates a point/place, not the direction of one place relative to another.