Choose the sentence that uses the idiom ‘abide by’ correctly.

• A. The students agreed to abide by the rules.
• B. The students agreed to abide with the rules.
• C. The students abide by the rules.
• D. The students abide with the rules.

Answer: (A)

Abide by is the fixed way to express following or complying with rules, laws, or guidelines. When you say someone will abide by something, you’re saying they will adhere to it. Here, the students agreed to abide by the rules shows a clear commitment: they’ve accepted the obligation to follow the rules, and the infinitive after agreed to (to abide by) completes that intention.

Using the other preposition isn’t right for this meaning. Abide with would suggest staying with or tolerating something, which doesn’t fit following rules. The present tense form could be correct in a general statement, but it doesn’t convey the specific agreement to follow them that the sentence with agreed to expresses.