Question

The police warned the people, ______ pickpockets.
(Fill in the blank with the most appropriate prepositions.)
a. for
b. against
c. of
d. an

Answer 1

Hint:The meaning of the sentence is important because it will be easier to understand what is required. Understand the meaning and choose the preposition that makes the most sense. Also, make sure that the sentence remains grammatically correct.

Complete answer: Prepositions are words that are used to show positions, locations, direction, and time. They are usually placed in front of nouns and gerunds. Example - In the sentence ‘There is a book on the table’, the word ‘on’ describes the location of the book. So, it is definitely a preposition. There are many verb + preposition combinations in the English language, which are easy to learn, like ‘get up’. Prepositions indicate the different relationships between other words in a sentence. They can be very important parts of a sentence, as they can give you important insight into the meaning of the sentence. For example, in the sentence ‘We had a picnic at the park’, we understand where the picnic took place. It clearly conveys that the picnic did not take place at any other location. This is an example of a preposition of location. There are many more types of
prepositions.

Now, we know what we are looking for. Let’s look at the given options:
a. for - The word ‘for’ refers to ‘intended to be given to’. Therefore, it does not fit into the given sentence. This is not the required answer. So, this is an incorrect option.
b. against - The word ‘against’ refers to ‘in anticipation of and preparation for (a problem or difficulty)’. This fits perfectly into the given sentence. This is the required answer. So, this is the correct option.
c. of - The word ‘of’ refers to ‘expressing the relationship between a part and a whole’. Therefore, it does not fit into the given sentence. This is not the required answer. So, this is an incorrect option.
d. an - The word ‘an’ is an article. It is not a preposition. Therefore, it does not fit into the given sentence. This is not the required answer. So, this is an incorrect option.

Note: Six preposition rules : (i)A preposition must have an object, (ii) pre-position means place before, (iii) A pronoun following a preposition should be in object form,
(iv)Prepositions have no particular form, (v) to preposition and to infinitive are not the
same, (vi) A preposition is followed by a noun. It is NEVER followed by a verb.