Question

Fill in the blank with the most appropriate words-
A: ____ is Amanda’s birthday?
B: It is ___ 25th ____ December.
a- what/ on / in
b- when/ on / of
c- When/ in / on
d- What/ on / of

Answer 1

Hint: We use prepositions to link nouns or pronouns with other words in a sentence. Prepositions help in indicating the position of a noun or a pronoun, whereas Adverbs are words that modify the verb.

Complete answer:
Let’s look at the uses of different words-
When- ‘When’ is an adverb that is used to modify a verb. It is used to indicate the time during which some action or event takes place. Example- When is the party?
On- ‘On’ is a preposition that is used to refer to the surface upon which it is placed. It is also used with dates and days. Example- I will meet you on Monday.
Of- ‘Of’ is a preposition that is used to indicate the relationship between a specific part out of the whole. Example- Give me a piece of your cake.
In the given question- X is asking when is Amanda’s birthday. Y replies it is on the 25th of December.
Now, let’s examine the given options-
Option a- ‘what/ on/ in’ is an incorrect option, because we cannot use ‘what’ to indicate a specific time during which an action or event took place.
Option b- ‘When/ on/ of’ is the correct option, because we will use ‘when’ to indicate the specific date of Amanda’s birthday, ‘on’ to specify the date, and ‘of’ to show the relationship between the date and the month.
Option c- ‘When/ in/ on’ is an incorrect option, because we cannot use ‘in’ to indicate dates and ‘on’ to indicate months.
Option d- ‘What/ on/ of’ is an incorrect option, because we cannot use ‘what’ to indicate a specific time during which an action or event took place.
So, the correct answer is “Option b”.

Note:
A preposition cannot function without an object, otherwise, it becomes an adverb. Example- (1) The boy sat beside the table. (2) The boy sat beside. In (1), ‘beside’ acts like a preposition, whereas in (2), ‘beside’ acts like an adverb that modifies the verb, ‘sat’.