He looks upset, I think he took the criticism ______ heart.
2022
He looks upset, I think he took the criticism ______ heart.
- A.
at
- B.
with
- C.
of
- D.
to
Attempted by 28 students.
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: D
Concept
Some verbs combine with a fixed preposition to form an idiom, and the preposition is set by convention rather than by logic — you cannot swap it for a grammatically similar word. The idiom take (something) to heart means to be deeply affected by something and to treat it seriously, often a remark, criticism, or advice.
Application
The sentence says he looks upset after being criticised, so the criticism affected him deeply. The fixed idiom that carries this exact meaning is took the criticism to heart. So the blank is filled by to.
Contrast
The other prepositions do not form this idiom:
at — used for a point or target ("laugh at", "look at"), not for absorbing a remark.
with — used for accompaniment or instrument ("agree with", "deal with"), not for this idiom.
of — marks possession or relation ("think of", "afraid of"), and does not pair with this fixed phrase.
Hence the completed sentence is: "He looks upset, I think he took the criticism to heart."