Fill in the blank with the most appropriate preposition: The delegates conferred _____ the issue for several hours before reaching consensus.
on
The blank follows the verb 'conferred', so the task is to pick the preposition that this verb takes in the sense of discussing a matter together.
'Confer' has two meanings: 'confer something on someone' (to grant, e.g. confer a degree) and 'confer on/about something' (to hold discussions). Here the delegates are discussing an issue.
In that discussion sense the standard collocation is 'confer on (a matter)', so 'conferred on the issue' correctly means they consulted together over it.
'and' is a conjunction, not a preposition, so it cannot introduce the object 'the issue'.
'for' would signal purpose or duration, which does not match 'discussed the issue'; 'above' denotes physical position and makes no sense with 'conferred'.
Reading it back, 'The delegates conferred on the issue for several hours' is idiomatic and clear.
Therefore the most appropriate preposition is on.
Similar Questions
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Important Questions from Preposition
Select the most appropriate option to fill in the blank.
"Luck does not always favour us, so we must always depend _______ our own efforts for success."
A policeman was asked to chase a thief. Before the policeman started the chase, he realised that the thief was 200 metres ahead of him and was running at a speed of 16 km/h. The policeman started the chase at a speed of 20 km/h. How far will the thief run before he is overtaken by the policeman?
Tom travelled 285 km in 6 hours. In his total travelling, he travelled the first part by bus at 40 km/hr and the remaining part by train at 55 km/hr. How much distance has he travelled by train?
Select the correct option:
The memorandum clarified that employees must comply ___ the revised code of ethics.
Select the correct option: The architect argued that aesthetics should not be subordinated ____ functionality.
