The order is that everyone must be … bed by midnight.

Analyze the question The sentence is "The order is that everyone must be ....... bed by midnight." We need the preposition that correctly goes with "bed" in this context.

Explain the concept In English, some fixed expressions (idioms) take specific prepositions. For going to sleep or being in a sleeping position, we say "in bed", not "on bed" or "inside bed."

• in bed means lying in bed, ready for sleep (e.g., "The children are in bed.")
• on the bed means on top of the bed, usually with the article "the" (e.g., "The book is on the bed.")
• inside bed and within bed are not used in standard English for this meaning.

Step-by-step solution

1. The sentence refers to a rule about sleeping time: everyone must be asleep or settled for the night by midnight.
2. The phrase "be in bed" is the standard idiom for this.
3. Test the options: • A. "on bed": incorrect, because it needs "the" and means something different. • B. "inside bed": unnatural, not idiomatic. • C. "in bed": correct and idiomatic. • D. "within bed": wrong usage, as "within" suggests time or limits (e.g., within an hour).

Correct answer: C. in

The sentence reads: "The order is that everyone must be in bed by midnight."

Tip Memorize common fixed phrases with "bed": in bed, go to bed, get out of bed. When there is no article ("the") before "bed" and it refers to sleeping, use in. WASSCE often tests these idiomatic prepositions.