Question

She has been _________ the USA ____________ three years.
Fill in the blanks with suitable prepositions:
A) In / since
B) At / for
C) On / for
D) In / for

Answer 1

Hint: Prepositions are words that are used to make the connection of noun, pronoun, or phrase with the other part of the sentence. They act as a connector of an object, location, time, and people with the rest of the sentence. These words specify the relation between the subject and object of a sentence.

Complete answer:
According to the given question, we need to find the correct preposition which states location and duration.

Let’s analyse the options:
- “In” is used to state the place as well as duration. It indicates that something is located inside a particular place. For example- There are pens in the box. Here, it is describing that pens are placed inside the box.
- “Since” is used to indicate the duration. It specifies the particular point of time. For an instance- She has been living in America since 1954. Here, we are talking about a specific point in time.
- “At” is used to refer to any activity as well as place and time. It denotes the exact time or place. For example- at the table, at 5 o'clock. Here “at” refers to the exact duration and location.
- “For” is used to indicate the length of the time and duration in which something is completed. There are multiple uses of ‘for’. It states the purpose, particular activity, etc. For instance, Ram is outside the class for five hours. Here, it is stating the length of the time.
- “On” is used to describe the place. It is used to indicate that something is on the surface. For example- keep your books on the table. Here books are placed on the surface.

As per the given sentence, we need to tell that her location is the USA and the duration of time is three years. So, the proposition which describes that is “In” and “For”. “In” states that she is inside the USA. On the other hand, ‘for’ refers to the fact that she is there for three years, which means length of time in the USA.

Hence, Option (D) In/ For is the right answer. She has been in the USA for three years.

Note: To find the correct preposition is easy but there are few which have similar uses. For instance, upon and on. ‘upon’ is used to talk about feelings and emotions. On the other hand, ‘on’ is used for tangible things. Secondly, ‘in’ and ‘on’. Both are used to describe the location. ‘In’ states inside the place whereas ‘on’ states above the surface.