OOPT - Oxford Online Placement Prepositions and Conjunctions Flashcards

Choose the option that correctly completes the sentence: "Hardly had the keynote speaker taken the stage ___ the power failed across the entire venue."

Answer: when

'Hardly' and 'scarcely' pair with 'when' (or 'before') in this inverted structure: 'Hardly had X happened when Y happened.' 'Than' is the partner of 'no sooner' ('No sooner had... than...'), and mixing the two patterns is a common error. 'Then' is an adverb, not a conjunction, and 'that' cannot introduce this time clause.

Select the pair of prepositions that correctly completes the sentence: "The director was accused ___ insider trading and was later formally charged ___ securities fraud."

Answer: of / with

These are fixed collocations. You are 'accused OF' something and 'charged WITH' an offence. 'Accused for' and 'charged for' are common learner errors. 'Charged for' does exist, but only about money (for example, 'charged for the extra luggage').

Which option best completes the sentence? "Keep the original receipt ___ you need to return the jacket later."

Answer: in case

'In case' introduces a precaution against a possible future situation: you keep the receipt because you might need it. 'Lest' means 'in order to prevent', so 'lest you need to return it' would mean keeping the receipt to stop yourself needing to return the jacket, which is illogical. 'Lest' also normally takes a subjunctive or 'should'. 'Unless' and 'provided that' are conditionals and reverse or distort the meaning.

Choose the word that makes the sentence grammatically correct: "___ the delay was certainly frustrating, it was hardly the airline's fault."

Answer: While

A full clause follows (subject 'the delay' + verb 'was'), so you need a subordinating conjunction. 'While' can mean 'although', so it fits. 'Despite' is a preposition and needs a noun or -ing form ('Despite the delay...'). 'However' is a linking adverb and can't join two clauses inside one sentence like this. 'Even' needs 'though' or 'if' to work as a conjunction.

Which option correctly completes the sentence? "The board rejected the merger proposal, ___ its obvious financial advantages."

Answer: notwithstanding

Only a noun phrase follows the gap ('its obvious financial advantages'), with no verb, so you need a preposition. 'Notwithstanding' is a formal preposition meaning 'in spite of'. 'Although', 'even though' and 'whereas' are subordinating conjunctions and need a full clause, for example 'although it had obvious advantages'.

Select the correct option: "Not only ___ the project deadline, but he also went 40% over budget."

Answer: did he miss

When the correlative conjunction 'not only... but also' starts a sentence, the first clause needs subject-auxiliary inversion, as in a question: 'Not only did he miss...'. 'He missed' and 'he did miss' keep normal word order, which is wrong after a fronted negative. 'Missed he' inverts the main verb itself, which modern English does not allow.