Question

Fill in the blank with the most appropriate preposition.
Mona refused _____ come to the theatre alone.
a) of
b) with
c) on
d) to

Answer 1

Hint: The phrase ‘to refuse’ ends with a certain preposition. Identify where to place the subject’s refusal. This preposition should lend meaning to the verb phrase.

Complete answer:
Prepositions are words that are used to show positions, locations, direction, and time. They are usually in front of nouns and gerunds.
Example - In the sentence ‘There is a lamp on the table’, the word ‘on’ describes the location of the lamp. So, it is a preposition.
There are many verb + preposition combinations in English, which are easy to learn, like ‘go up’.
Depending on which preposition is used after a verb, the meaning of the sentence can completely change. The preposition used makes a big difference. For example, ‘turn back’ and ‘turn off’ have two completely different meanings, even though the root verb is the same. To refuse is to deny ‘to’ do something.
Now, we know what we are looking for. Let’s look at the given options-
a) of - The preposition ‘of’ is used for ‘expressing the relationship between a part and a whole’. This does not complete the phrase ‘to refuse’. This is not the required answer. So, this is an incorrect option.
b) with - The preposition ‘with’ is used for describing something that is ‘accompanied by (another person or thing)’. This does not complete the phrase ‘to refuse’. This is not the required answer. So, this is an incorrect option.
c) on - The preposition ‘on’ is used for describing something ‘physically in contact with and supported by (a surface)’. This does not complete the phrase ‘to refuse’. This is not the required answer. So, this is an incorrect option.
d) to - The preposition ‘to’ is used for ‘expressing an outcome or result’. This completes the phrase ‘to refuse’. This is the required answer. So, this is the correct option.

Note:
The sentence has a specific context to it. In order to choose the correct answer, you need to completely understand that context. Complete the phrase by identifying the required preposition by using the elimination method.