Question

Fill in the blank by choosing the most appropriate option
A fire broke __________ in the neighborhood.
A) Off
B) Out
C) Away
D) From

Answer 1

Hint: A phrasal verb is made up of two or three words from various grammatical divisions, such as a verb and a particle-like adverb or a preposition. Prepositional verbs are phrasal verbs that contain a preposition and particle verbs are phrasal verbs that have a particle in them.

Complete answer:
In English, phrasal verbs are very popular, particularly in more informal situations. They consist of a verb and a particle, or two particles in some cases. The particle sometimes alters the verb's context. A phrasal verb is an expression made up of a verb and a particle (like a preposition or an adverb). It has a different interpretation from the literal meaning of the words. The choices are prepositions that merge with 'broke' to form phrasal verbs. The resulting sense is distinct from the meaning of the actual words.

Now let us analyze the given options:
Option A) off - The meaning of ‘off’ is ‘away from the place in question or out of place’. However, the use of ‘off’ is completely wrong as it makes the sentence grammatically incorrect. Using ‘off’ with broke, 'Broke off' means 'forcefully removed.' However, as per the sentence, nothing is being removed. Therefore, this is an incorrect answer.
Option B) Out - When something bad or dangerous 'breaks out'. Past tense: broke out, it means that it begins abruptly. The dangerous thing here is the 'storm,' which has unexpectedly erupted in the neighbourhood. Break or break out means getting escaped when something has happened. As a result, the word 'out' completes the context of the sentence, and option B is the correct answer.
Option C) Away – The meaning of ‘broke away’ is ‘to escape or flee or leave’ or 'To break free from an individual or a relation' means 'to abandon or escape from a person or a connection.' However, this word does not fit well in the sentence because nothing is abandoned as per the sentence. Therefore, this is an incorrect answer.
Option D) From - The term 'broke from' refers to the act of ending a partnership or association. However, as per the sentence, there is no connection of ending of partnership, this is completely inappropriate if we use this option in the blank. Therefore, this is an incorrect answer.

Thus the correct answer is option ‘B’ i.e, A fire broke out in the neighbourhood.

Note:
i) Phrasal verbs are distinguished from other multi-word verb classifications and free variations by factors such as idiomaticity and substitution by a single-word verb. The definition of phrasal verb constructions is non-compositional, which makes them difficult to understand for non-native English speakers.
ii) A few examples of phrasal verbs are:
- To call-off
- To divine into
- To dress up
- To end up