Question

Fill in the blank with the most appropriate word.
The dog’s leash was held _____ her.
a) with
b) of
c) as
d) by

Answer 1

Hint: To use the correct preposition, we have to read the sentence carefully and understand its meaning. The given sentence is talking about someone holding a dog’s leash. Use the given options and find out which makes the sentence appropriate.

Complete answer:
 Let us use the given options and see how the meaning of each sentence turns out.
Option a: The dog’s leash was held with her. This means there was another person who was holding both the dog leash as well as her. This sentence does not make any sense so it’s the wrong answer.
Option b: The dog’s leash was held of her. This answer is so wrong that no meaning can be made out of the sentence.
Option c: The dog’s leash was held as her. Yet again, the sentence makes no sense. “As” is used to mean either “because” or like a comparison. She is not as strong as him (comparison). She dropped out of school as she went into depression (because/reason).
Option d: The dog’s leash was held by her. This is the correct answer because things are held by someone. It shows the thing is in the hands of the person.

Note:
 Elimination is a good method of solving prepositions if you don’t know the answer right away. It is always helpful to use the options given in the sentence and find out which makes the most sense. There is hardly any chance of confusion between the two prepositions. Be sure to know what are phrasal verbs since the prepositions used in them are always used with the verb in the phrasal verb.