Question

Fill in the blank with the most appropriate word-
‘Hamlet’ is a play ___ Shakespeare.
a- Of
b- By
c- At
d- On

Answer 1

Hint: Prepositions are words that are used to link nouns or pronouns with other words in a sentence. Prepositions are used to indicate the position of a noun or a pronoun.

Complete answer:
Let’s look at the uses of different prepositions-
Of- ‘Of’ is a preposition that is used to indicate the relationship between a specific part out of the whole. Example- My mother asked for a piece of paper.
By- ‘By’ is a preposition that acts as an agent and depicts who performed an action. Example- The book is written by her.
At- ‘At’ is a preposition that is used to a location. It is also used with ‘midnight’. Example- I am at the station.
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 the weekend.
In the given question- We know that ‘Hamlet’ is a play written by Shakespeare. We have used ‘by’ to indicate that the play was written by Shakespeare.
Now, let’s examine the given options-
Option a- ‘Of’ is an incorrect option, because ‘of’ is used to indicate a part out of the whole.
Option b- ‘By’ is the correct option, because ‘by’ acts as an agent that indicates who performed an action.
Option c- ‘At’ is an incorrect option, because ‘at’ indicates a location.
Option d- ‘On’ is an incorrect option, because ‘on’ indicates the surface upon which it is placed.
So, the correct answer is “Option b”.

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