Select the most appropriate option that can substitute the underlined words in the given sentence. He was an irresponsible person to the matter of taking up responsibilities.

Correct — A. The fixed phrase is in the matter of, meaning 'as regards' or 'when it comes to'.

'Matter' here names a field of reference, and English puts you inside a field with in: in this respect, in the matter of money, in point of fact.

'To' would mark a direction or a recipient, and the sentence has neither. So the underlined words become 'in the matter of taking up' — option (a).

Why the others are wrong

• (b)
  at the matter of taking up — At fixes a point, as in 'at the meeting'. A matter is a field of reference, not a point you can stand at.
• (c)
  by the matter of taking up — By marks the agent or the means, so 'by the matter' would make the matter act on him and reverse the sentence.
• (d)
  along the matter of taking up — Along is spatial and needs something with length, like a road or a river. It does not combine with 'matter' at all.

Prepositions after nouns and adjectives are collocations: settled by usage, not derived from meaning. You learn the pair, then you recognise it.

'In the matter of' is one such pair, and it sits beside 'in respect of', 'in the case of' and 'in point of'. All four put you inside a field of reference.

When a preposition item resists reasoning, test each option inside a phrase you already trust. 'At the matter' and 'along the matter' have no such phrase behind them, and that absence is the tell.

Key facts

• In the matter of means as regards, and is the standard preposition used with 'matter'.
• Prepositional collocations are fixed by usage and have to be learnt as pairs.
• 'To' marks direction or a recipient, neither of which this sentence provides.

Common traps

• Accepting the underlined phrase as sound because it reads smoothly, then hunting for a different fault.
• Judging the four options by sound when only usage separates them.

No directly related past PYQ was found.