Prepositional Collocations | Intermediate Level | 20 Questions & Answers with Explanations

This tests "die in" an accident, distinct from "die of" a disease — the location or event category of death determines which fixed preposition applies.

Correct sentence: "Three passengers died in the road accident on the highway last night."

Memory hook: accidents are events you're "in," so "die in an accident" fits the same logic as being "in" a crash.

This tests the fixed collocation "die of" a disease, the standard form followed in British-influenced Indian competitive exams, even though "die from" appears in informal American English.

Correct sentence: "Her grandfather died of cancer after a long illness last year."

Memory hook: memorise the trio together — die of a disease, die in an accident, die by one's own hand.

This tests "die by" one's own hand, the fixed collocation for describing suicide, distinct from both "die of" (disease) and "die in" (accident).

Correct sentence: "The soldier chose to die by his own hand rather than surrender to the enemy."

Memory hook: complete the trio — of (disease), in (accident), by (one's own hand) — three different prepositions for three different causes of death.

This tests "compare to," used when highlighting similarities between two things, distinct from "compare with," used when highlighting differences.

Correct sentence: "The two paintings are often compared to each other because of their strikingly similar colour palettes."

Memory hook: "compare TO" highlights similarities (think: "similar TO"); "compare WITH" highlights differences (think: "different, but WITH reference to").

This tests "compare with," used when the sentence highlights a difference (a decline) between two things being examined side by side.

Correct sentence: "When compared with last year's results, this year's performance shows a significant decline."

Memory hook: whenever a sentence explicitly points out a contrast or difference (decline, improvement, change), reach for "compared with," not "compared to."

This tests the fixed collocation "comply with," meaning to follow or adhere to a rule, commonly confused with "comply to" by students.

Correct sentence: "All employees must comply with the new safety regulations without exception."

Memory hook: "comply with" a rule is fixed — never substitute "to" or "of," no matter how natural they might feel.

This tests the fixed collocation "abstain from," meaning to deliberately avoid or refrain from something, commonly confused with "abstain of" or "abstain against."

Correct sentence: "Doctors have advised him to abstain from alcohol and smoking for the sake of his health."

Memory hook: "abstain from" pairs naturally with "refrain from" — both use from to describe holding oneself back from something.

This tests "blind to" a fact, meaning unaware of or unwilling to see something, distinct from "blind in" used for a physical eye condition.

Correct sentence: "He seems completely blind to the consequences of his own reckless decisions."

Memory hook: "blind to" a fact/truth (metaphorical unawareness) versus "blind in" one eye (a literal physical condition) — the meaning of the sentence decides which preposition to use.

This tests "blind in" an eye, the correct collocation for a literal, physical loss of sight, distinct from the metaphorical "blind to" a fact.

Correct sentence: "After the accident, he became permanently blind in his left eye."

Memory hook: a body part (eye) after the blank signals the literal meaning, "blind in" — an abstract noun (fact, truth, danger) signals the metaphorical meaning, "blind to."

This tests the fixed collocation "superior to," commonly confused with "superior than" by students who apply the comparative "-er than" pattern used for regular adjectives.

Correct sentence: "His work is generally considered superior to that of his more famous contemporaries."

Memory hook: "superior" and "inferior" are Latin-origin comparatives that don't take "than" — they take to instead, unlike ordinary English comparatives like "better than."

This reinforces "inferior to," the counterpart to "superior to," both following the same fixed Latin-origin comparative pattern that uses to instead of "than."

Correct sentence: "The quality of this fabric is clearly inferior to the one we bought last time."

Memory hook: memorise "superior to" and "inferior to" as a matched pair — both are opposites in meaning but identical in their fixed preposition.

This reinforces "deal with," meaning to handle or address an issue, tested here in a more formal business context than the beginner-level example.

Correct sentence: "The company has strict policies in place to deal with any conflicts of interest among senior staff."

Memory hook: "deal with" a problem, issue, or situation stays fixed regardless of how formal or corporate the surrounding sentence becomes.

This reinforces "suffer from," used for a wide range of physical and psychological conditions, tested here with "anxiety" rather than the more common "fever" or "cough."

Correct sentence: "Despite years of therapy, she still suffers from occasional bouts of anxiety."

Memory hook: "suffer from" applies to virtually any illness or condition — physical, psychological, or emotional — the collocation itself never changes.

Despite the second half of the sentence mentioning different personalities, the phrase "compared to each other" itself is used here in its general sense of being likened together, which is the more common default usage — this question tests whether students overthink the to/with distinction when the primary comparison itself is simply being noted, not the differences specifically highlighted.

Correct sentence: "The two brothers are often compared to each other, though their personalities couldn't be more different."

Memory hook: when a sentence is simply noting that two things are frequently likened together (without the sentence structure itself emphasising the contrast), "compared to" remains the safer, more common default.

Although the sentence describes an action that arguably contradicts the agreement, the fixed collocation being tested is still "comply with" itself — students must recognise the grammatically correct form regardless of the surrounding logical context.

Correct sentence: "The board's decision to proceed without shareholder approval clearly complies with the terms of the original agreement."

Memory hook: don't let the logical content of a sentence distract you from testing the grammar itself — "comply with" is always fixed as tested, even in sentences with more complex, formal subject matter.

This reinforces "abstain from" in a formal legal context, tested here with "discussion" rather than the more common "alcohol" example, showing the collocation applies broadly to any noun describing an action being avoided.

Correct sentence: "Members of the jury were instructed to abstain from any discussion of the case outside the courtroom."

Memory hook: "abstain from" applies to actions and behaviours just as much as substances (alcohol, smoking) — the fixed preposition covers a wide range of nouns.

This reinforces "superior to" in a literary/critical context, testing whether students correctly recall the fixed Latin-comparative pattern even when the subject matter shifts away from simple product comparisons.

Correct sentence: "His latest novel is widely regarded as superior to his earlier, more experimental works."

Memory hook: regardless of what's being compared — fabric, novels, performance — "superior to" and "inferior to" remain fixed and consistent.

This introduces a new fixed collocation, "deserving of," meaning worthy of receiving something, commonly tested alongside the more familiar "fond of" and "proud of" since all three share the same of pattern.

Correct sentence: "Even after losing his sight entirely, he refused to feel deserving of pity from others."

Memory hook: add "deserving of" to your of-family of collocations, alongside "fond of," "proud of," and "capable of."

This reinforces "compared with," used because the sentence explicitly highlights a difference (a shortfall) between the final results and the initial projections, matching the difference-focused function of "compared with."

Correct sentence: "The final results, when compared with the initial projections, revealed a substantial shortfall in expected revenue."

Memory hook: "shortfall," "decline," "increase," and "gap" are all difference-signalling words that consistently pair with "compared with," not "compared to."

This reinforces "fond of," used here to describe deep affection rather than simply liking a food or hobby, showing the collocation's flexibility across contexts.

Correct sentence: "He remains deeply fond of his late wife, even decades after her passing."

Memory hook: "fond of" works for both light preferences (fond of chocolate) and deep affection (fond of a person) — the fixed preposition never changes with the intensity of feeling.