Difficulty: Easy
Correct Answer: with
Explanation:
Introduction / Context:
This sentence improvement question tests your knowledge of English prepositions and idiomatic usage. The sentence \"Your services are dispensed for\" sounds awkward because the preposition after \"dispensed\" is incorrect. Competitive exams often check whether you know the standard combinations of verbs and prepositions, especially in formal contexts like employment and contracts.
Given Data / Assumptions:
Concept / Approach:
The key is to know the correct idiomatic expression. In standard English, when we want to say that something is no longer needed, we say \"dispense with\" that thing. Therefore, the correct preposition that follows \"dispensed\" in this passive construction should be \"with\". None of the other prepositions forms a correct idiom in this context.
Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Identify the verb phrase in the sentence: \"are dispensed for\".
Step 2: Recall common idioms with \"dispense\": \"dispense justice\", \"dispense medicine\", and the phrasal verb \"dispense with\" meaning \"do without\" or \"no longer need\".
Step 3: For services that are no longer needed, the natural expression is \"to dispense with someone's services\".
Step 4: In the passive form, this becomes \"Your services are dispensed with\".
Step 5: Check each option: \"dispensed from\", \"dispensed with\", \"dispensed off\". Only \"dispensed with\" is idiomatic and grammatically correct.
Step 6: Therefore, the best choice is the preposition \"with\".
Verification / Alternative check:
You can verify by checking usage in formal writing: employers usually say, \"We had to dispense with his services\" or \"His services were dispensed with.\" Phrases like \"dispensed from his services\" or \"dispensed off his services\" are never used in standard English. Substituting each option into the sentence quickly shows that only \"with\" produces a natural, idiomatic sentence.
Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Option \"from\": \"dispensed from\" is not a standard collocation for ending someone's services; it sounds incorrect.
Option \"off\": \"dispensed off\" is not an accepted idiom in English; the phrase has no recognised meaning here.
Option \"no improvement\": This would retain \"dispensed for\", which is unidiomatic and wrong for the intended meaning.
Common Pitfalls:
Learners often think any preposition might work, especially \"for\" or \"from\", because they have a very broad use in English. However, phrasal verbs and fixed expressions must be learned as chunks. Another common mistake is to assume that a formal-looking expression is automatically correct without checking whether it is actually used by native speakers.
Final Answer:
The corrected sentence should read: Your services are dispensed with. Therefore, the correct option is with.
Discussion & Comments