He dabbles … politics from time to time

Analyze the question: The sentence needs the correct preposition after the verb "dabbles." This tests your knowledge of verb-preposition collocations (which preposition goes with which verb).

Explain the concept: The verb dabble has two main uses:

• Dabble in something means to take part in an activity casually or without serious commitment. Example: "She dabbles in painting."
• Dabble at is also used occasionally, but dabble in is the standard, most common form.
• Dabble with is sometimes used, especially for experimenting with something.

Solution, step by step:

1. The sentence is "He dabbles ___ politics from time to time."
2. "From time to time" tells us he is involved only occasionally, which fits the meaning of dabble.
3. Test each option: • A. in: "dabbles in politics" is the standard, correct collocation. • B. about: "dabbles about" is not an accepted collocation. • C. through: "dabbles through" is incorrect. • D. into: "dabbles into" is not standard. Into suggests movement toward the inside of something, whereas dabble needs in.
4. Only in gives a natural and grammatically correct sentence.

Correct sentence: He dabbles in politics from time to time.

Answer: A. in

Exam tip: Memorise the common verb + preposition pairs that WAEC loves to test. Examples: dabble in, good at, interested in, prevent from, depend on. When you see "dabble," think "dabble IN." Keep practising these, and you will pick up these marks easily!