(a) A bird __________ hand is worth two in the bush. (b) The boy is crazy __________ football. (c) She was tired __________ fighting and struggling all the time. (d) He opted __________ of the race. (e) We borrowed the bikes __________ our uncle. (f) The police station is __________ the right. (g) I looked at the stars __________ the telescope. (h) There was an accident __________ the crossroads.

(a) in (b) about (c) of (d) out (e) from (f) on (g) through (h) at

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

Blank by blank, with the rule behind each: (a) IN hand — fixed, and part of a proverb: "A bird in hand is worth two in the bush." Proverbs must be learnt whole. (b) crazy ABOUT — fixed collocation meaning very enthusiastic. Compare: mad about, keen on, fond of. (c) tired OF — fixed, and worth distinguishing carefully: tired OF means bored or weary of something; tired FROM means physically exhausted by it. Here she is weary of the fighting, so OF. (d) opted OUT of — the phrasal verb meaning to withdraw. Note the sentence already supplies "of", so the blank takes the particle that completes the verb. (e) borrowed FROM — the source. Remember the pair: you borrow FROM someone, and you lend TO someone. (f) ON the right — fixed. Also "on the left", "on the corner". (g) THROUGH the telescope — the instrument you look through. "With a telescope" is also idiomatic, but THROUGH is the expected answer for looking. (h) AT the crossroads — AT marks a specific point, IN an enclosed area, ON a surface or line.

STUDY METHOD: learn the verb or adjective WITH its preposition as a single unit — crazy about, tired of, opted out, borrowed from — because that is exactly how they are tested.