Choose the option that best complete the gap (s) The girl says she is averse.....what others admire

Analyze the question The sentence is "The girl says she is averse ___ what others admire." You need the correct preposition that follows the adjective averse.

Explain the concept Some adjectives always take a particular preposition. This is called a dependent preposition. Averse means strongly opposed or having a dislike for something, and it is followed by to.

• She is averse to hard work.
• He is not averse to a challenge.

Don't confuse it with aversion, which is also followed by to or for in some usages, or with adverse (meaning harmful), which is a different word. Note that "averse from" is an old, rare form. Standard modern usage, and the one JAMB expects, is averse to.

Solution

1. The gap comes after the adjective averse.
2. The standard collocation is averse to.
3. Test each option: • A. averse to what others admire ✔ (correct and natural) • B. averse with ✘ (not an English collocation) • C. averse for ✘ (not standard) • D. averse from ✘ (archaic, not accepted in standard usage)

The completed sentence is: The girl says she is averse to what others admire.

Answer: A (to)

Exam tip Remember that averse is followed by to, just as opposed is followed by to. Both words carry the idea of being against something, so link them in your mind: "averse to, opposed to."