(i) The puppy was hiding __________ the sofa. (ii) Stop worrying __________ your future. (iii) When I stepped __________ the lift, I found it had stopped working. (iv) We had to use a bridge to go __________ the river. (v) I have lived in this town __________ ten years. (vi) Please switch __________ all lights and fans when you leave the room. (vii) Ronnie is married __________ my cousin. (viii) The gift came __________ a birthday card.

(i) behind (ii) about (iii) into (iv) across (v) for (vi) off (vii) to (viii) with

HOW THE 4 MARKS ARE AWARDED: half a mark per blank.

Blank by blank, with the rule behind each: (i) BEHIND the sofa — position at the back of something. "Under" would also be possible in life but "behind" is the expected answer for hiding. (ii) worrying ABOUT — fixed collocation. Compare: anxious about, concerned about, think about. (iii) stepped INTO the lift — movement from outside to inside. IN would describe position, INTO describes motion, and the verb "stepped" requires motion. (iv) go ACROSS the river — from one side to the other. "Over" is also idiomatic with a bridge. (v) FOR ten years — use FOR with a DURATION and SINCE with a POINT in time. The present perfect "have lived" requires one of the two. (vi) switch OFF — the phrasal verb for turning electrical things out. Learn the family: switch on, switch off, switch over, switch out. (vii) married TO — fixed, and a genuine trap because Indian English often says "married with". One is MARRIED TO a person. (viii) came WITH a card — accompaniment; the card accompanied the gift.

The pairs to memorise from this set: in/into for position and motion, for/since with the present perfect, and married TO.