Choose the most appropriate option to fill in the blank:
This year he visited ____ Varanasi, ___ Ayodhya.
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 4
The correct answer is Option (4) → not only, but also
Correlative conjunctions:
- Correlative conjunctions work in fixed pairs to join two equal ideas.
- The common pairs are:
- not only ... but also (both, with emphasis on the second)
- either ... or (one of the two)
- neither ... nor (none of the two)
- both ... and
- This sentence: he visited both places, Varanasi and Ayodhya, so the pair is not only ... but also.
- Complete sentence: This year he visited not only Varanasi, but also Ayodhya.
Why the Other Options are Incorrect?
Option 1: not only, or — Incorrect. "Not only" is always followed by "but also". "Or" pairs with "either".
Option 2: or, but also — Incorrect. "Or ... but also" is not a correlative pair, and "visited or Varanasi" makes no sense.
Option 3: not only, nor — Incorrect. "Nor" pairs with "neither" and gives a negative sense. The sentence says he did visit both places.