Fill in the blank with appropriate prepositions.
The child prefers watching a movie ______ playing a boring video game.
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: C
Explanation
Correct Answer
to
Explanation
Verb-Preposition Collocation: The verb prefer dictates a specific prepositional construction when establishing a comparison between two nouns or gerunds. Unlike typical comparative adjectives that pair with the conjunction than, the verb prefer grammatically requires the fixed preposition to.
Structural Rule: When comparing two choices using gerunds (verbs ending in -ing), the correct structural framework is prefer + gerund + to + gerund. In this sentence, it connects "watching a movie" to "playing a boring video game."
Incorrect Alternatives: While than is commonly used for standard comparisons (e.g., "more than"), it creates a grammatical error when directly paired with the verb prefer. The prepositions from and against do not fit the semantic requirements of choice or preference in this context.
Key Points
Word: to
Meaning: The appropriate preposition required to complete a comparative preference construction.
Grammatical Role: Preposition (functions to connect the preferred action with the rejected alternative).