Question

Fill in the blank with a suitable preposition.
The cost-of-living index rose ____ 70 percent last year.
a) in
b) by
c) on
d) up

Answer 1

Hint: A preposition is a function word that combines with a noun or pronoun or noun phrase to form a prepositional phrase that can have an adverbial or adjectival relation to some other word.

Complete answer:
In the given question, we have to find out which of the given prepositions in the options indicates progression, as an increase is in the index is stated here.
Let us thus analyze the options given to us in this question-
Option (a.), 'in', is defined as ‘Contained by.’Therefore, option (a.) is incorrect as it does not indicate progression.
Option (b.), ‘by', is defined as ‘indicates the amount of some progression with a change of.’
Therefore, option (b.) is correct as it shows how there is a progression, a change (increase) in the index.
Option (c.), ‘on', is defined as ‘Positioned at the upper surface of, touching from above.’
Therefore, option (c.) is incorrect as it does not indicate progression.
Option (d.), ‘up', is defined as ‘Toward the top of.’ Therefore, option (d.) is incorrect as it does not indicate progression.

Note:
 In this question, the student may be curious about what the cost-of-living index is. The cost-of-living index is an index of the cost of all goods and services to a typical consumer. It is related to the consumer price index or CPI.