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Difficulty: Very hardPrepositions and Prepositional Phrases

Despite the governing council's initial reluctance to acquiesce _____ the newly proposed administrative reforms, the Vice-Chancellor maintained that strict compliance was concomitant _____ sustainable academic excellence.

Which pair of prepositions correctly completes the sentence above?

  1. A
    to / to
  2. in / withAnswer
  3. C
    with / of
  4. D
    to / with

Answer

The correct pair of prepositions is 'in / with'.
The verb 'acquiesce' idiomatically requires the dependent preposition 'in' when expressing passive consent or agreement to a policy, demand, or decision. Concurrently, the adjective 'concomitant' forms a fixed collocation with 'with' when indicating accompanying events or qualities. Therefore, the option containing 'in / with' is the only syntactically and idiomatically correct choice.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the dependent preposition required by the verb 'acquiesce'.
The verb 'acquiesce' (meaning to accept or agree passively) standardly takes the preposition 'in' (e.g., acquiesce in a decision/plan).
Although 'acquiesce to' is frequently used in informal speech, formal standard English and JAMB examination standards strictly require 'in'.
2
Determine the prepositional collocation required by the adjective 'concomitant'.
The adjective 'concomitant' (meaning naturally accompanying or associated) pairs idiomatically with the preposition 'with'.
Prepositional complements following adjectives of association or co-occurrence standardly select 'with'.
3
Combine the two correct prepositions to complete the sentence.
The completed sentence reads: '...acquiesce in the newly proposed administrative reforms... concomitant with sustainable academic excellence.'
This satisfies both grammatical dependencies perfectly.

Key Concept

Dependent Prepositions and Fixed Adjectival Collocations
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Topics

Prepositions and Prepositional Phrases

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