But at last God took pity (a) _____ him. One day the sailor was watching the water-snakes swimming (b) _____ the ship. Their colours were so beautiful and he was filled (c) ____ such a strange wonder that he felt a great love (d) ____ them and blessed them (e) _____ his heart. At once, the dead albatross fell (f) _____ his neck (g) _____ the sea. A gentle breeze began to blow (h) _____ the south and the old man fell (i) ____ a deep sleep. When he woke up, it was raining and he felt fresh again. Thus, the old man was relieved (j) ____ his sufferings.
But at last God took pity (a) on him. One day the sailor was watching the water-snakes swimming (b)around the ship. Their colours were so beautiful and he was filled (c) with such a strange wonder that he felt a great love (d) for them and blessed them (e) from his heart. At once, the dead albatross fell (f) from his neck (g) into the sea. A gentle breeze began to blow (h) from the south and the old man fell (i) into a deep sleep. When he woke up, it was raining and he felt fresh again. Thus, the old man was relieved (j) of his sufferings.
In formal English, the conjunction "as" is used to introduce a clause or a phrase that indicates a comparison or the manner in which something is done. In this sentence, "as in the old days" describes how the evening was spent, implying "in the way it was done in the old days."
Conversely, "like" is primarily used as a preposition to mean "similar to" or "in the manner of," and is typically followed by a noun, pronoun, or noun phrase. While "like" is often used informally in place of "as" or "as if," it is generally considered incorrect in standard written English when introducing a clause or an adverbial phrase of comparison.
For example:
Incorrect: She sings like she is a professional.
Correct: She sings as if she is a professional.
Correct: She sings like a professional. (Here, 'like' is a preposition followed by a noun phrase 'a professional'.)
Therefore, "as in the old days" is the grammatically correct and more formal choice for this context.
In English grammar, the verb 'call' can be used in several ways, and its usage dictates whether a preposition is required. When 'call' means 'to telephone someone', it functions as a transitive verb and directly takes an object without any preposition. For example, one would say "Please call Mr. Khan" to mean telephoning him.
Conversely, if 'call' is used to mean 'to pay a brief visit to someone', it typically forms a phrasal verb with the preposition 'on', as in "to call on someone". For instance, "We will call on our neighbours tomorrow."
Given the structure "Please call – Mr. Khan tomorrow morning", the most common and grammatically appropriate interpretation is that Mr. Khan should be telephoned. Therefore, no preposition is needed in the blank, and the sentence correctly reads "Please call Mr. Khan tomorrow morning."