He paused ______
- (a)with a few moments.
- (b)for a few moments.
- (c)by a few moments.
- (d)into a few moments.
Answer
B
Why
Correct — B, for a few moments. Duration of an action is expressed with 'for' plus a length of time, so 'paused for a few moments' means the pause lasted a short while. 'With', 'by' and 'into' a few moments do not express duration and are not idiomatic after 'paused'.
Why the others are wrong
- (a)with a few moments. — 'With' does not express duration and is not idiomatic after 'paused'.
- (c)by a few moments. — 'By' marks an amount of difference, not the length of time a pause lasts.
- (d)into a few moments. — 'Into' expresses movement or direction, not the duration of an action.
Concept
A cloze item on using 'for' with a length of time to express duration.
Related PYQs
No directly related past PYQ was found.
Practice
- practice — not a real PYQ
She waited ______ nearly an hour at the station.
- (a)since
- (b)for
- (c)by
- (d)from
Answer(b) for — 'for' plus a length of time shows duration.
- practice — not a real PYQ
He spoke ______ ten minutes without a pause.
- (a)for
- (b)in
- (c)at
- (d)within
Answer(a) for — the duration of the action uses 'for'.