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Difficulty: HardPrepositions and Prepositional Phrases

The defense counsel argued that forcing the witness to testify without legal representation was tantamount _____ a violation of his fundamental human rights. Which preposition correctly completes the sentence?

  1. A
    with
  2. toAnswer
  3. C
    as
  4. D
    of

Answer

The preposition 'to' is the correct choice because 'tantamount' forms a fixed dependent prepositional combination 'tantamount to', meaning equivalent in value, significance, or effect.
The preposition 'to' forms the proper grammatical collocation with 'tantamount'. In English, 'tantamount to' is a fixed construction meaning equivalent in effect or seriousness.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the key adjective requiring a dependent preposition in the sentence.
The target word is the predicate adjective 'tantamount'.
Understanding the head word determines which preposition must follow it in standard English grammar.
2
Recall the established dependent preposition and collocation rule for 'tantamount'.
The adjective 'tantamount' takes the preposition 'to' (tantamount to something).
Prepositional complements following specific adjectives are fixed and governed by convention, not interchangeable with near-synonyms.

Key Concept

Dependent prepositions following adjectives
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Topics

Prepositions and Prepositional Phrases

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