Question

Fill in the blank with the most appropriate word.
In court, she was so upset that she broke __________.

• A. out
• B. in
• C. up
• D. down

Answer 1

The correct option is D down

Option D is the correct answer because the preposition 'down' is added to the verb 'broke' to form the phrasal verb 'broke down' which means to start crying, especially in public.

Note that the prepositions provided in the options are added to the verb 'broke' so as to form different phrasal verbs. Phrasal verbs are basically multi-word verbs.

Options A, B and C are incorrect because 'broke out' means to escape from a prison, 'broke in' means to enter a building by force and 'broke up' means to break something to make smaller pieces.