Fill in the blank with the most appropriate word from the options given below:
The entrance test was much harder than the sample papers; ______, more than half the students in our batch cleared it.
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → nevertheless
Complete sentence: The entrance test was much harder than the sample papers; nevertheless, more than half the students in our batch cleared it. A hard test should make many students fail. Still, more than half of them passed.
| Option | Meaning and use | Example |
|---|---|---|
| (1) therefore | shows a result of what comes before | The printer ran out of ink; therefore, we wrote the notices by hand. |
| (2) nevertheless (answer) | means in spite of that. It comes after a semicolon or a full stop and shows a contrast | The climb was tiring; nevertheless, we reached the temple before sunrise. |
| (3) likewise | means in the same way | Riya finished her project early; likewise, her brother handed his in a day before time. |
| (4) otherwise | gives a warning. It means “if not, then this will happen” | Leave home by seven; otherwise, you will get stuck in traffic. |