Fill in the blank with a suitable preposition.
All his efforts had been _______ nothing. He lost.
Fill in the blank with a suitable preposition.
All his efforts had been _______ nothing. He lost.
The correct option is C for
The preposition ‘for’ is used to denote a purpose. The given sentence focuses on how the purpose is defeated in spite of the person’s efforts, which highlights the contrast in the situation. Therefore ‘for’ is the apt answer, because ‘for nothing’ means having no purpose or use. Hence option B is correct. The preposition ‘with’ is used to denote a tool used to perform an action or the company one keeps. ‘With’ cannot be used here because ‘nothing’ is not a tool that is used to achieve success or the people who accompany the person in his efforts. Therefore option A is incorrect. Similarly ‘after’ cannot be used in the given sentence because ‘after’ is used to denote a period following something in time. It shows the contrast between the one period and another. Since the sentence doesn’t denote a period and instead focuses on the defeat of purpose option D is incorrect. On the other hand, ‘to’ indicates a movement from one place to another. Since ‘nothing’ is not a place, option C is incorrect.
The preposition ‘for’ is used to denote a purpose. The given sentence focuses on how the purpose is defeated in spite of the person’s efforts, which highlights the contrast in the situation. Therefore ‘for’ is the apt answer, because ‘for nothing’ means having no purpose or use. Hence option B is correct. The preposition ‘with’ is used to denote a tool used to perform an action or the company one keeps. ‘With’ cannot be used here because ‘nothing’ is not a tool that is used to achieve success or the people who accompany the person in his efforts. Therefore option A is incorrect. Similarly ‘after’ cannot be used in the given sentence because ‘after’ is used to denote a period following something in time. It shows the contrast between the one period and another. Since the sentence doesn’t denote a period and instead focuses on the defeat of purpose option D is incorrect. On the other hand, ‘to’ indicates a movement from one place to another. Since ‘nothing’ is not a place, option C is incorrect.
