Fill in the blank with the correct option given below:
Why are you vexed _________ your wife?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → at
Note: The given answer is as per the official NTA Answer Key. However, more than one answer is possible here: Option (1) "at" and Option (4) "with" both make a correct sentence, as explained below.
Option 1: at — Correct (Answer as per NTA). Vexed means annoyed or irritated. Vexed at names the cause of the annoyance; it is used mostly for a thing or an event, and modern dictionaries also allow it with a person ("vexed at someone").
Complete sentence: Why are you vexed at your wife?
Example: He was vexed at the long delay.
Option 2: on — Incorrect. Vexed is not followed by on; on is used for a surface or a topic (agree on, insist on).
Example: They could not agree on the price.
Option 3: over — Incorrect. Over can follow some words of feeling to give the cause (upset over a loss), but it is not used with a person in this sense.
Example: The brothers quarrelled over the land.
Option 4: with — Can also be considered as correct. Traditional usage has vexed with a person (and vexed at a thing), so "vexed with your wife" is the standard choice in grammar books.
Complete sentence: Why are you vexed with your wife?
Example: The teacher was vexed with the noisy students.