Examkin

Question

Difficulty: HardPrepositions and Prepositional Phrases

During the constitutional review session, the legal scholar argued that the proposed emergency clause was wholly inimical _____ the spirit of democratic governance. Which preposition properly completes the statement?

  1. toAnswer
  2. B
    with
  3. C
    against
  4. D
    for

Answer

The correct preposition is 'to'.
The adjective 'inimical' (meaning adverse, harmful, or hostile) standardly requires the dependent preposition 'to' to form a grammatically accurate prepositional phrase complement. Thus, 'inimical to the spirit' is the correct formulation.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the head adjective in the sentence requiring a dependent preposition.
The adjective is 'inimical', which means tending to obstruct or harm; hostile.
Certain formal adjectives in English govern specific, fixed dependent prepositions.
2
Determine the mandatory dependent preposition associated with 'inimical'.
'Inimical' strictly collocates with the preposition 'to' (e.g., 'inimical to growth', 'inimical to freedom').
Substituting other prepositions like 'with', 'against', or 'for' violates standard English prepositional complementation.

Key Concept

Dependent Prepositions with Formal Adjectives
Rate this question

Topics

Prepositions and Prepositional Phrases

More questions from this topic