Fill in the blank with the most suitable phrasal verb :
The meeting was ______ due to the pandemic.

Question

Accepted Answer

The correct option is 1:

The phrasal verb "called off" is the most suitable choice because it means "to cancel or abandon something." This meaning perfectly aligns with the context of the sentence, which states that "The meeting was ______ due to the pandemic." When a large-scale event like a meeting cannot take place, especially because of a global health crisis such as a pandemic, the expected and logical course of action is cancellation. Phrasal verbs are essential in English for conveying specific actions and states succinctly. The verb "call" combined with the particle "off" specifically creates the sense of terminating or stopping a scheduled event. For students, understanding the core meaning of "call off" as synonymous with "cancel" is crucial for mastering this common idiom in situations involving schedule changes or unavoidable interruptions, like those caused by the pandemic. The sentence structure also uses the passive voice ("The meeting was..."), requiring the past participle form of the phrasal verb, which is correctly supplied by "called off." Therefore, substituting "called off" results in the grammatically and logically sound sentence: "The meeting was called off due to the pandemic," clearly communicating that the event was cancelled because of the public health situation.

The incorrect option is 2:

"Called into" primarily means to summon someone to a specific place (e.g., "The manager was called into the office") or to draw someone's attention to a matter (e.g., "The incident called into question his commitment"). In the context of the sentence, applying "called into" would result in "The meeting was called into due to the pandemic," which is grammatically awkward and semantically nonsensical in describing the status of the meeting itself.

The incorrect option is 3:

"Called back" has two main meanings: to ask someone to return (e.g., "She called back her assistant") or to return a phone call (e.g., "I will call you back later"). While a meeting might theoretically be called back into session if it was adjourned, using it to describe the action taken *due to* the pandemic suggests an intent to resume, not a permanent cessation. Furthermore, "The meeting was called back due to the pandemic" does not logically explain the reason for the initial interruption.

The incorrect option is 4:

"Called down" means to criticize or reprimand someone severely (e.g., "The teacher called down the student for cheating"). It can also mean to summon something from a great height, often used in a figurative or religious sense. Using "called down" in the sentence "The meeting was called down due to the pandemic" makes no sense contextually, as a meeting cannot be criticized or summoned from the sky because of a virus.