Question

Fill in the blank with the most appropriate word.
The glass fell _________ the table and broke.
a. out
b. out of
c. off
d. of

Answer 1

Hint: The student should read the sentence carefully to understand the event taking place in it, then select the option that contains a preposition which matches the context of the sentence.

Complete answer:
A preposition is a function word that combines with a noun or pronoun or noun phrase to form a prepositional phrase that can have an adverbial or adjectival relation to some other word.
In the given question, we have to find out which of the options includes a preposition that indicates that the glass was on the table and then it fell down and away from the table.
Let us thus analyze the options given to us in this question -
Option (a.), 'out', refers to ‘Away from the inside’. Therefore, option (a.) is incorrect as we need a preposition that indicates that the glass was on the table and then it fell down and away from the table.
Option (b.), ‘out of', refers to ‘From the inside to the outside of; having emerged from’. Therefore, option (b.) is incorrect as we need a preposition that indicates that the glass was on the table and then it fell down and away from the table.
Option (c.), ‘off', refers to ‘Used to indicate movement away from a position on something or someone’. Therefore, option (c.) is correct as it indicates that the glass was on the table and then it fell down and away from the table.
Option (d.), ‘of', refers to ‘expressing direction’. Therefore, option (d.) is incorrect as we need a preposition that indicates that the glass was on the table and then it fell down and away from the table.

Note:
In this question, it will be helpful for the student to recall the concept of adverbs, as all these words in the options can also be used as adverbs, and thus, the student should know the difference between the two. An adverb is a word that modifies something other than a noun. An adverb is the word class that qualifies verbs or clauses.