Examkin

Question

Difficulty: HardPhrasal Verbs and Prepositional Verbs

When the outgoing minister relinquished office, his successor was immediately __________ the daunting task of settling the massive debts incurred by the previous administration. Which of the following prepositional verb structures best completes the sentence?

  1. saddled withAnswer
  2. B
    burdened to
  3. C
    encumbered on
  4. D
    loaded against

Answer

saddled with
The expression 'saddled with' is the correct prepositional verb meaning to be given a difficult, unwelcome, or heavy task/responsibility to deal with.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the context of the sentence
The context describes a scenario where an incoming minister receives an unwanted, heavy financial responsibility from a predecessor.
Identifying the contextual meaning helps select the prepositional verb that conveys being given an unwelcome burden.
2
Evaluate the idiomatic prepositional verbs and collocations
'To be saddled with' specifically means to be burdened or burdened with a responsibility. Other options use incorrect prepositions ('burdened to', 'encumbered on') or convey an unrelated meaning ('loaded against').
Standard English syntax requires specific fixed prepositions following particular verbs.

Key Concept

Fixed Prepositional Verb Collocations
Rate this question

Topics

Phrasal Verbs and Prepositional Verbs

More questions from this topic