Choose from the options lettered A - E the one that most appropriately completes each sentence Most rich men prefer travelling by air…………travelling by road.

Analyze the question: The sentence needs a word that correctly completes the comparison after the verb "prefer."

Concept: In English, the verb prefer takes the preposition to, not "than."

• Structure: prefer + X + to + Y
• Example: "I prefer rice to beans."
• With verbs in -ing form: "She prefers reading to writing."

"Prefer" already carries the sense of comparison, so we do not use "than" (as we would with "rather" or "more").

Solution: "Most rich men prefer travelling by air to travelling by road."

Checking the other options:

• A. against: wrong, it is not used with "prefer."
• B. from: wrong, "different from" uses it, but "prefer from" does not exist.
• C. over: used in some informal American English ("prefer X over Y"), but it is not standard in Nigerian exam English.
• D. than: a common trap. "Prefer...than" is incorrect. Use "than" with "would rather": "Most rich men would rather travel by air than travel by road."
• E. to: correct.

Exam tip: Remember the pair prefer...to, and would rather...than. If you see "prefer" in a fill-in-the-gap question, go for "to" first. Many students lose marks by choosing "than."