In the following passage, some words have been deleted. Read the passage carefully and select the most appropriate option to fill in each blank. Culture is (1)_______, understanding, and protecting, like the cultivation of a garden, not the destruction or eradication of its roots. Understanding the roots and seeds, taking much care and providing instructed nourishment (2)_______ important for good gardening. Culture also is similar; understanding its acquaintance (3)______ literature and art and careful protection are required. Culture is the way of life of a particular society in which a group of people live together in one place. The society’s culture is visible in its literature, arts, social system, language and religion. It is a combination of traditions, customs, institutions, food habits, manners, morals, thoughts, tastes, views and beliefs. Usually, families (4)______ culture to the younger generations. As family system is becoming weak, schools, colleges and universities should take up this responsibility as education should promote potential values of its culture. The role of universities (5)_______ only to issue course completed certificates.
Select the most appropriate option to fill in blank number 3.
- (a)in
- (b)for
- (c)with
- (d)on
Answer
Why
Correct — C. The trigger is the noun immediately before the blank: acquaintance, which collocates with with. You have an acquaintance with a subject, an acquaintance with the facts.
The verb behaves the same way — to be acquainted with something — and the derived noun keeps the preposition of the verb it comes from.
So the phrase reads acquaintance with literature and art, which is option (c).
Why the others are wrong
- (a)in — in would mark a place or a field of work. An acquaintance in Delhi is a person you know there, which is a different sense of the noun altogether.
- (b)for — for marks purpose or liking — a taste for art, a liking for art. Acquaintance does not take for in either of its senses.
- (d)on — on marks a topic being discussed — a lecture on art, a book on art. Acquaintance is familiarity with a thing, not commentary about it.
Concept
Preposition blanks are collocation questions, not logic questions. The pairing is fixed by usage and has to be learnt with the word.
A useful shortcut: a noun formed from a verb usually keeps that verb's preposition. Depend on gives dependence on, insist on gives insistence on, and acquainted with gives acquaintance with.
Read leftwards from the gap to find the word that governs it. Here that word is acquaintance, not understanding.
Acquaintance has a second sense — a person you know slightly rather than familiarity with a subject — and that sense takes different prepositions. The passage is plainly using the familiarity sense, since the object is literature and art.
Key facts
- Acquaintance in the sense of familiarity takes with: an acquaintance with the subject.
- The adjective form is acquainted with, as in he is well acquainted with the rules.
- Nouns derived from verbs commonly keep the verb's preposition: depend on gives dependence on, insist on gives insistence on.
Study next
Common traps
- Choosing the preposition by sound, when the pairing is fixed and has to be memorised
- Attaching the blank to understanding rather than to acquaintance, the noun that actually governs it
A single-preposition blank is decided by the word immediately before the gap, so the rest of the sentence can be read past.
Preposition blanks are keyed at 9 Sep 2024, 12:30, English Q.21 (of) and Q.23 (about), and at 17 Sep 2024, 12:30, English Q.24 (depend on).
Related PYQs
No directly related past PYQ was found.