Understanding Prepositions: Filling the Blank

The question asks us to choose the correct preposition to complete the sentence: "The line ran _______ the page, right through the centre, and divided the page into two." We need a word that accurately describes how a line moves or extends across a surface to divide it.

Analyzing the Options for Proper Word Usage

Let's look at each option and determine its suitability in the given context:

• Across: This preposition means from one side to the other of something. When a line runs "across" a page, it implies it goes from one edge to the opposite edge, covering the surface in between. This perfectly fits the description of a line going "right through the centre" and "dividing the page into two." For example, if you draw a line across a sheet of paper, it starts on one side and ends on the other, creating two sections.
• Of: This preposition is used to show possession, belonging, or a relationship between things. For instance, "the colour of the page" or "a piece of paper." It does not convey movement or division across a surface, so "the line ran of the page" makes no grammatical sense in this context.
• Between: This preposition is used when something is in the middle of two or more distinct things. For example, "the book is between the two chairs." A page is a single entity. A line cannot run "between" a single page in a way that suggests division of that single page. While a line might run between two *different* pages, it doesn't fit the action of dividing *one* page.
• About: This preposition can mean "approximately," "concerning," or "around." For example, "we talked about the book" or "he walked about the room." If a line ran "about the page," it would mean it ran around the page's perimeter or was somehow related to the page in a general sense, not that it traversed and divided it through the center.

Correct Preposition for Division

Based on the analysis, the word that accurately describes the line moving from one side of the page to the other, thereby dividing it through the center, is "across". It clearly conveys the idea of traversing a surface.

Therefore, the complete and correct sentence is: "The line ran across the page, right through the centre, and divided the page into two."