The principal … our mobile phones.

Analyze the question: The sentence "The principal _ our mobile phones" needs a verb in the past tense that means "took away by authority." This is also a spelling test, because some options are misspelled.

Explain the concept:

• Seize means to take hold of something suddenly or by force or authority. Past tense: seized.
• Cease means to stop or come to an end. Past tense: ceased. It cannot take "mobile phones" as an object in the sense of confiscating.
• Siezed and Seased are not real words. "Siezed" breaks the spelling rule "i before e, except after c," and "seize" is one of the famous exceptions.

Solution:

1. The sentence needs a verb that means "took away," so the meaning points to seize.
2. Its past tense is seized, spelled s-e-i-z-e-d.
3. Option B (ceased) is a real word but means "stopped," so it makes no sense here: "The principal stopped our mobile phones."
4. Options C and D are misspellings.

Correct sentence: The principal seized our mobile phones.

Tip: Remember the exception to "i before e": the word "weird seized neither leisure" reminds you that seize, weird, neither, leisure all use "ei." Also, cease = stop, and seize = grab.