Meaning Is Not Enough: Part of Speech and Fixed Phrases
A student's completed Complete the Words paragraph reads: 'The city's p____ on single-use plastics took effect in March. Retailers now charge a small f____ for each bag. The rule applies to all stores, r____ of size.' The student wrote prohibit, fine, regardless. The teacher marks two wrong. The first letters p, f, r are fixed, and the paragraph offers no dictionary or word bank. The student protests that 'prohibit' and 'fine' both make sense in meaning.
1. Why is 'prohibit' wrong even though the paragraph is about a ban?
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'Prohibit' fails because the possessive 'city's' must be followed by a noun. The noun is 'prohibition'; 'prohibit' is a verb and cannot serve as the head of 'the city's ____ on single-use plastics.' The preposition 'on' also attaches to the noun ('a prohibition on'). Meaning alone is not enough; the slot's part of speech decides.
2. Between 'fine' and a fee-type word, why does 'fine' lose?
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Both involve money, but the collocation decides. Retailers 'charge a fee for each bag'; a fee is a payment for a service or item. A fine is a penalty imposed for breaking a rule, and one typically 'imposes' or 'levies' a fine for an offense. 'Charge a small fine for each bag' is possible in speech but less precise; 'fee' matches the checkout context and the verb 'charge.'
3. Why is 'regardless' correct, and why does 'regarding' fail despite starting with the same letter?
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'Regardless' is the fixed form: 'regardless of size' means 'no matter the size.' 'Regarding of size' is ungrammatical because 'regarding' is a preposition that takes its object directly ('regarding size'). The first letter r permits both, so the student must test the whole phrase, not the word in isolation.