Fill in the blank with suitable adverb:
_____ there has been a lot of noise pollution.
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 4
The correct answer is Option (4) → lately
An adverb is a word that tells how, when, where or how much something happens. It can also describe an adjective or another adverb, for example she sings sweetly, very hot.
Complete sentence: Lately there has been a lot of noise pollution. "Lately there has been a lot of noise pollution" speaks of the recent period up to the present.
| Option | What it tells | Example |
|---|---|---|
| (1) hardly | Hardly means almost not, which clashes with "a lot of". At the start of a sentence it needs inverted order: "Hardly has there been ...". | – |
| (2) loudly | Loudly is an adverb of manner. It describes how a sound is made (speak loudly) and cannot describe "there has been". | – |
| (3) every where | As printed, "every where" is not a correct form. The adverb of place is written as one word, everywhere. The blank, with the present perfect, calls for the time adverb "lately". | – |
| (4) lately (answer) | Lately is an adverb of time meaning recently, in the period up to now. It goes naturally with the present perfect (has / have + past participle), which describes a situation that began in the past and continues up to now. | I have not seen him lately. |