Question

It is with a heavy heart that I pen these few lines to condole for you on the death of your beloved mother.

• A. Condole for you on
• B. Condole with you in
• C. Condole upon you on
• D. Condole with you on

Hint:

The verb 'condole' pairs with 'with' for the person and 'on' for the event: condole with someone on something.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is D

This sentence tests the fixed preposition pattern that goes with the verb 'condole'. In standard English you condole with a person, using 'with', and you condole on an event or loss, using 'on'. The underlined part reads: 'to condole for you on'.

1. Condole for you on (option a, same as the original): 'Condole for' is not an accepted pairing; the verb 'condole' does not take 'for' before the person being consoled.
2. Condole with you in (option b): 'With you' correctly names the person, but 'in' is the wrong preposition before 'the death', which needs 'on'.
3. Condole upon you on (option c): 'Upon you' is not the correct preposition for the person; it should be 'with you', not 'upon you'.
4. Condole with you on (option d): 'With you' names the person correctly, and 'on' correctly introduces the cause, 'the death of your beloved mother'. Both prepositions match the fixed idiom.

Option (d) is correct because 'condole with you on the death' is the accepted idiomatic pairing, unlike the other three options which each get one of the two prepositions wrong.

Let's summarize:

• The correct idiom is 'condole with someone on something', never 'condole for' or 'condole upon'.
• Options (b) and (c) each fix one preposition but leave the other one wrong.

So the corrected sentence reads 'I pen these few lines to condole with you on the death of your beloved mother', matching option (d).