Question

Fill in the blank with the most appropriate word.
He ______ for his office every morning at eight o’clock.
a- Began out
b- Set about
c- Set out
d- Set to
e- Started up

Answer 1

Hint: Phrasal verbs consist of two words- The main verb + another part of speech. They are used to form a short phrase. Hence, they are known as phrasal verbs.

Complete answer:
As given in the hint, phrasal verbs indicate a different meaning than the verb alone.
Example- ‘Pull’ is a verb while ‘Pull-through’ is a phrasal verb.
(1) She asked me to pull her cloth from the bag.
(2) My mother comforted me to pull through this tragic time.
In (1), we can understand the usage of ‘pull’ as being directed to pulling something while in (2), ‘pull through’ indicates to survive or come through a tough situation.
In the given question: We can conclude that X set out for his office every morning at eight o’clock. Here, ‘set out’ refers to beginning a journey. ‘Set’ is a verb and ‘out’ is a preposition.
Now, let’s examine the given options-
Option a- ‘Began out’ refers to developing into something. ‘Began out’ is different in meaning to the given context. Hence, it is an incorrect option.
Option b- ‘Set about’ refers to getting down to business. ‘Set about’ is different in meaning to the given context. Hence, it is an incorrect option.
Option c- ‘Set out’ refers to departing or leaving for a journey. ‘Set out’ is similar in meaning to the given context. Hence, it is the correct option.
Option d- ‘Set to’ refers to an argument or quarrel. ‘Set to’ is different in meaning to the given context. Hence, it is an incorrect option.
Option e- ‘Started up’ refers to criticizing or complaining about someone. ‘Started up’ is different in meaning to the given context. Hence, it is an incorrect option. The correct answer is Option ‘c’.

Note:
Phrasal verbs can also be formed with the help of two-three words. Example- Verb + adverb + preposition; look forward to, put up with, etc.