Examkin

Question

Difficulty: MediumPrepositions and Prepositional Phrases

During the annual commendation ceremony, the principal congratulated the debate team _____ their outstanding performance in the national competition. Which of the following prepositions correctly completes the sentence?

  1. A
    for
  2. onAnswer
  3. C
    about
  4. D
    with

Answer

The preposition 'on' correctly completes the sentence because the verb 'congratulate' strictly collocate with 'on'.
In standard English grammar, the verb 'congratulate' takes the dependent preposition 'on' (e.g., 'congratulate someone on an achievement'). Therefore, 'on' is the only grammatically correct option.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the head verb in the sentence requiring a dependent preposition.
The verb is 'congratulated'.
Certain English verbs require specific dependent prepositions to complement their meaning correctly.
2
Determine the standard prepositional collocation for 'congratulate'.
The correct combination is 'congratulate [someone] on [something]'.
Standard British and English grammatical rules dictate that 'on' follows 'congratulate' when introducing the achievement or occasion.

Key Concept

Dependent Prepositions and Verbs
Estimated Time:45s
Rate this question

Topics

Prepositions and Prepositional Phrases

More questions from this topic