Question

Why did the chicken run ______ the road? Choose the correct preposition to fill in the blank.
A. On
B. In
C. Across
D. Ahead of

Answer 1

Hint: A preposition is a word used within a sentence to attach nouns , pronouns, or phrases to other words. They work to link a sentence's people, things, time and locations. The first known use of preposition was in the 14th century.

Complete answer:
Prepositions are commonly short words, and they are usually put in front of nouns directly. It is a term that normally combines with a noun phrase to form a phrase that generally communicates a prediction or modification.

Prepositions signify direction, time, place, space and other abstract kinds of relationships. Let us look at examples for each. The prepositions are in italics for your convenience.
Direction: Look to the left and you will see our destination.
Time: We have been working since this morning.
Location: We saw a movie at the theater.
Space: The dog hid under the table.

Let us look at the given options for the question.

A. On: It refers to placement of something attached.
B. In: It refers to ‘inside’.
C. Across: In a particular area, it refers to the other side or from one side to another.
D. Ahead of: It refers to something that is in front or before.

We understand while reading the question that in the sentence the speaker is wondering why the chicken ran from one side of the road to the other. A path has two sides, so in this sentence it will be meaningful to use "across" as there would be no meaningful sentence for the other words in the options. A road does not have an inside, as it is continuous, it does not have a front, and using "on" would not form a coherent sentence. The appropriate preposition is "across" here.

Hence the correct answer is option ‘C’.

Note: If you get confused about which preposition will fit the best in the given blank, always refer to its relation with the noun. You can always look up in grammar books for better understanding.