Question

Fill in the blank with the most appropriate word.
I could not accompany my cousin ____ the trip because I had a fever.

Answer 1

Hint: Read the sentence and understand its meaning. Further, fill in the blank with a suitable word without altering the meaning of the sentence.

Complete answer: We use prepositions to join the noun or the pronoun with the rest of the sentence. Prepositions help in forming a phrase that usually acts like an adjective, adverb, or a noun.
Let’s look at the functions of different prepositions-
i. During- It is a preposition that indicates an action occurring throughout or in the course of something. For example- She was asked to write the test during the class.
ii. For- It is a preposition that indicates the reason for something. For example- I have ordered new bags for my mother.
iii. In- It is a preposition that indicates a specific function. For example- She is one of the headteachers in the department of Science.
iv. On- It is used to indicate the state of something. For example- His entire house was on fire.
In the given question- The correct answer is; I could not accompany my cousin on the trip because I had a fever. Here, we have used ‘on’ to indicate the state of the trip.
Let’s look at a few more examples of the preposition ‘on’-
1. I was quite late for the party on my birthday.
2. She had forgotten to paint the plants on her deck.
Hence, the correct answer is; I could not accompany my cousin on the trip because I had a fever.

Note: A preposition cannot function without an object, otherwise, it becomes an adverb. Keep in mind that a preposition acts as a modifier for the subject and not the object.