Fill in the blanks with the correct prepositions: Napoleon had genius _______…
2019
Fill in the blanks with the correct prepositions:
Napoleon had genius _______ military tactics; without doubt, he is genius _______ Mathematics.
Answer: A. in, at — Concept The noun "genius" chooses its preposition from what comes after it. "Genius in" introduces a field or domain of expertise (a genius in science, a…
- A.
in, at
- B.
for, in
- C.
in, for
- D.
at, in
Attempted by 21 students.
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: A
Concept
The noun "genius" chooses its preposition from what comes after it. "Genius in" introduces a field or domain of expertise (a genius in science, a genius in strategy). "Genius at" introduces a subject or activity one is skilled at doing (a genius at chess, a genius at Mathematics). "Genius for" is kept for a natural knack for one particular action or task (a genius for organisation).
Application
First blank – "military tactics" names a field of expertise, so it takes "in": genius in military tactics.
Second blank – being skilled at the subject "Mathematics" takes "at": genius at Mathematics.
Together the blanks give the pair "in, at", which is the answer in the official key for this UPTET item.
Why the other pairs fail
"for, in": "genius for" signals a knack for one action, not expertise in a field like military tactics.
"in, for": "genius for Mathematics" wrongly reduces a whole subject to a single task.
"at, in": "genius at military tactics" reads as doing one act rather than commanding the field, so the opening blank is off.