Let's analyze the given sentence and the options to find the most appropriate word to fill the blank space. The sentence is: "The robbers fell________ amongst themselves over the sharing of the loot." We need to choose a word from the options that completes a phrasal verb with "fell" and makes sense in the context of robbers arguing over stolen goods.

Understanding Phrasal Verbs with 'Fell'

The word "fell" is the past tense of the verb "fall". When "fall" is combined with a preposition or adverb, it forms a phrasal verb, which often has a meaning different from the individual words. Let's examine the options provided and the phrasal verbs they form with "fell":

• Fell out: The phrasal verb "fall out" means to quarrel or argue with someone. When used with "amongst themselves," it means they argued with each other.
• Fell through: The phrasal verb "fall through" means to fail to happen or be completed. For example, "The plan fell through."
• Fell off: The phrasal verb "fall off" can mean to decrease in number, amount, or quality, or to physically drop from something. For example, "Sales fell off last month," or "He fell off the ladder."
• Fell across: The phrasal verb "fall across" can mean to encounter someone or something by chance, or to collapse across something. For example, "I fell across an old friend in the market," or "He fell across the finish line."

Analyzing the Sentence Context

The sentence describes a situation where robbers are dealing with the "sharing of the loot". Loot refers to stolen goods or money. It is common for people, especially criminals like robbers, to disagree or argue vehemently when dividing stolen property among themselves. Therefore, the blank needs a word that conveys the idea of quarrelling or arguing.

Evaluating the Options for the Blank

Let's substitute each option into the blank and see which one fits the context:

• "The robbers fell out amongst themselves over the sharing of the loot." - "Fell out" means quarrelled. This perfectly fits the context of robbers arguing over how to divide the stolen goods.
• "The robbers fell through amongst themselves over the sharing of the loot." - "Fell through" means failed to happen. This does not make sense in this context.
• "The robbers fell off amongst themselves over the sharing of the loot." - "Fell off" means decreased or dropped. This does not make sense in this context.
• "The robbers fell across amongst themselves over the sharing of the loot." - "Fell across" means encountered or collapsed across. This does not make sense in this context.

Based on the meanings of the phrasal verbs, "fell out" is the only option that logically completes the sentence, indicating that the robbers argued among themselves about dividing the loot.

Conclusion

The most appropriate word to fill the blank space is "out" because the phrasal verb "fell out" means to quarrel or argue, which accurately describes the likely conflict among robbers over sharing stolen goods.

Revision Table: Key Concepts in Sentence Completion

Additional Information: Mastering Phrasal Verbs

Phrasal verbs are a significant part of the English language and can often be confusing because their meaning isn't always obvious from the individual words. Learning phrasal verbs is key to improving fluency and comprehension.

• How to Learn: Learn phrasal verbs in context. Instead of memorizing lists, try to understand how they are used in sentences or real-life situations.
• Common Phrasal Verbs: There are many common phrasal verbs. Some examples include "give up" (stop trying), "look for" (try to find), "put off" (postpone), and "take off" (leave the ground; remove clothing).
• Transitive vs. Intransitive: Some phrasal verbs require an object (transitive), while others do not (intransitive). "Fall out" in the sense of quarrelling is often intransitive or followed by "with someone" or "amongst themselves."
• Separable vs. Inseparable: Some transitive phrasal verbs can have the object placed between the verb and the particle ("put your hat on"), while others cannot ("look for your keys"). "Fall out" (quarrel) is typically inseparable.

Practicing with sentence completion exercises like this one is an excellent way to reinforce your understanding of phrasal verbs and improve your English usage.