Select the most appropriate option to substitute the underlined segment. The committee was divided in its opinion, and the chairm…

Question

Select the most appropriate option to substitute the underlined segment.

The committee was divided in its opinion, and the chairman's remarks only [add fuel in the fire].

1. A. added fuel into the fire
2. B. added fuel to the fire (Correct answer)
3. C. add fuels into the fire
4. D. add fuel to the fire

Correct Answer

Option B — added fuel to the fire

Detailed Solution & Explanation

The correct answer is added fuel to the fire.

Key Points

• The correct idiom is 'to add fuel to the fire', meaning to say or do something that makes an already tense or angry situation even worse.
• The sentence needs the past tense ('the chairman's remarks only added…') and the correct preposition 'to the fire', so the grammatically and idiomatically correct choice is 'added fuel to the fire'.
• The other options are wrong: 'added fuel into the fire' uses the wrong preposition; 'add fuels' / 'add fuel' use the wrong tense and an incorrect plural.
• idioms are fixed expressions whose form (including the exact preposition) cannot be changed — it is always 'add fuel to the fire', never 'into'.

Exam Tip

• for idiom-substitution questions, check two things — the exact wording of the idiom and its grammatical fit (tense and number) with the rest of the sentence.