Question

The old man is hard _______ hearing. (Insert suitable preposition)

• A. of
• B. on
• C. in
• D. at

Hint:

Fixed expressions such as hard of hearing, full of joy, afraid of dogs and proud of success should be memorized as complete phrases.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is A

Concept: English contains many fixed expressions and idioms in which a particular preposition must be used. Such expressions cannot be changed without making the sentence incorrect.

Step 1: Identify the meaning intended by the sentence.
The sentence describes an elderly person who has difficulty hearing sounds clearly. The intended meaning is: \[ \text{unable to hear properly} \]

Step 2: Recall the standard English expression.
The accepted phrase is: \[ \text{hard of hearing} \] This expression means that a person's hearing ability is weak.

Step 3: Check the remaining options.
The expressions \[ \text{hard on hearing} \] \[ \text{hard in hearing} \] \[ \text{hard at hearing} \] are grammatically incorrect. Only “hard of hearing” is a recognized English expression.

Step 4: Complete the sentence.
The sentence becomes: \[ \text{The old man is hard of hearing.} \] Therefore, \[ \boxed{\text{of}} \]