Question

Fill in the blank with a suitable preposition:
I managed to put the fire out ___ a fire extinguisher.
a. in
b. by
c. with
d. on

Answer 1

Hint: The meaning of the sentence is important because it will be easier to understand what is required. Understand the meaning and choose the preposition that makes the most sense. Also, make sure that the sentence remains grammatically correct.

Complete answer: Prepositions are words that are used to show positions, locations, direction, and time. They are usually placed in front of nouns and gerunds. Example - In the sentence ‘There is a book on the table’, the word ‘on’ describes the location of the book. So, it is definitely a preposition. There are many verb + preposition combinations in the English language, which are easy to learn, like ‘get up’. Prepositions indicate the different relationships between other words in a sentence. They can be very important parts of a sentence, as they can give you important insight into the meaning of the sentence. For example, in the sentence ‘We had a picnic at the park’, we understand where the picnic took place. It clearly conveys that the picnic did not take place at any other location. This is an example of a preposition of location. There are many more types of prepositions.

Now, we know what we are looking for. Let’s look at the given options:
a. in - The word ‘in’ refers to ‘indicating the language or medium used’, so it does not fit into the context of the given sentence. This is not the required answer. So, this is an incorrect option.
b. by - The word ‘by’ refers to ‘identifying the agent performing an action’, so it does not fit into the context of the given sentence. This is not the required answer. So, this is an incorrect option.
c. with - The word ‘with’ refers to ‘accompanied by (another person or thing)’, so it
fits into the context of the given sentence. This is the required answer. So, (c) is the
correct option.
d. on - The word ‘on’ refers to ‘physically in contact with and supported by (a surface)’, so it does not fit into the context of the given sentence. This is not the required answer. So, this is an incorrect option.

Note: With often follows adjectives to describe feelings: example, (i)I was disappointed with the food and not: I was disappointed the food. (ii)I’m so bored with this small town and not: I’m so bored about this small town. But note that with is not used with married: Brian is married to Helen, isn’t he? and not: Brian is married with Helen, isn’t he?