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Question

Difficulty: MediumIdiomatic Prepositions

Read the sentence below and answer the question that follows.

The lead linguist emphasized that while certain ancient dialects are highly susceptible for language shift over generations, others remain surprisingly resilient.

Which of the following choices correctly replaces the underlined phrase to form a grammatically and idiomatically correct sentence?

  1. A
    susceptible for
  2. susceptible toAnswer
  3. C
    susceptible with
  4. D
    susceptible from

Answer

The correct phrasing is 'susceptible to', as the adjective 'susceptible' idiomatically takes the preposition 'to'.
In standard written English, the adjective 'susceptible' is idiomatically followed by the preposition 'to' when expressing openness, vulnerability, or responsiveness to an influence. Therefore, 'susceptible to' is the only idiomatically correct choice.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the head word modified by the preposition in the underlined segment.
The target word is the adjective 'susceptible'.
Idiomatic preposition usage depends on established conventions linking specific verbs, adjectives, or nouns to their corresponding prepositions.
2
Determine the standard English preposition that pairs idiomatically with 'susceptible'.
The correct standard preposition pairing is 'susceptible to'.
In English conventions of usage, one is 'susceptible to' something (meaning vulnerable or prone to it), rather than 'for', 'with', or 'from'.

Key Concept

Idiomatic Adjective-Preposition Pairings
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Topics

Idiomatic Prepositions

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