Choose the correct option to complete the given sentence:
He was admittedly clever, but he
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 4
The correct answer is Option (4) → evidently lacked industriousness
Completing the sentence:
- Tense: the first clause is in the simple past ("He was admittedly clever"), so the second clause also needs the simple past: lacked.
- Adverb: evidently (as can be seen) goes before the verb, matching "admittedly" in the first clause.
- Object: "lack" needs a noun: industriousness (the quality of being hard-working).
Complete sentence: He was admittedly clever, but he evidently lacked industriousness.
Why the Other Options are Incorrect?
Option 1: is evident in lacked industrious — Incorrect. It is ungrammatical: "is ... lacked" mixes forms, and industrious is an adjective where a noun is needed.
Option 2: has evidently lacked industriousness — Incorrect. The present perfect "has lacked" does not agree with the past "was" of the first clause.
Option 3: will evidently lacked industrious — Incorrect.
- will must be followed by the base form (lack), not "lacked".
- industrious is an adjective, not a noun.