Choose the most appropriate option to complete the following:
__________________________________ , but his mother did too.
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → Not only did his father give him money
Inversion after "Not only":
- When a sentence begins with Not only, the helping verb comes before the subject, as in a question:
- Pattern: Not only + helping verb + subject + base form of the verb.
- The helping verb takes the tense of the sentence.
- This sentence:
- The second part, "but his mother did too", is in the past, so the helping verb is did.
- After "did" the main verb is in the base form, give.
Complete sentence: Not only did his father give him money, but his mother did too.
Why the Other Options are Incorrect?
Option 1: Not only does his father gave him money — Incorrect.
- After "does", the verb must be in the base form (give), not the past form "gave".
- The present "does" does not match the past "did" of the second part.
Option 3: Not only his father give him money — Incorrect.
- There is no helping verb, so the required inversion is missing.
- "His father give" also breaks subject-verb agreement.
Option 4: Not only does his father give him money — Incorrect. The inversion is correct, but the present tense "does" clashes with the past "did" in "but his mother did too".