Question

Choose the option that best fills the blank:
No sooner had I received her text, _____ I left her house.
A) But
B) Than
C) When
D) For

Answer 1

Hint: The question is related to the topic of conjunctions, which are also called connecting words. They are used to connect two phrases, words or clauses. This question also combines the topic of adverb with the comparative degree of adjectives. The comparative degree is used to indicate a comparison being made in the sentence.

Complete answer:
A concept that is required to solve this question is conjunctions. They are words that link two words, phrases, or clauses together. For e.g. and, but, when etc. The phrase ‘no sooner’ is used to indicate that something has happened immediately after something else. When no sooner is used at the beginning of a sentence, we use inverted word order rather than the general word order (subject-verb-object). This means the verb comes before the subject.

The given sentence basically means “I left for her house, as soon as I received her text”. These two activities take place almost simultaneously.

Now let us look into the given options:
Option (A) But - is used to introduce a word or phrase that contrasts or contradicts with what is said before, and hence it is incorrect. For e.g. I ate the whole thing, but I did not like it. It is not suitable for the given situation and hence, is the incorrect option.
Option (B) Than – is generally used with the phrase ‘no sooner’ to talk about events that take place almost immediately. Another way to understand its usage is by noticing that ‘sooner’ is a comparative form of adverb and while making comparisons, we again use the word ‘than’. For e.g. No faster could I run, than the dog that was chasing me. Thus, it is the correct option.
Option (C) When – is used to introduce a single completed event that takes place in the middle of another simultaneous activity or event. For e.g. It was raining when I came back home. It indicates an event (came back) that took place in the middle of another event (raining). Thus, this is the wrong option.
Option (D) For – is used to explain reason or purpose, why something is being done. It cannot be used in this case because the question does not talk about any reason. For e.g. I was fined for parking in the wrong spot. Hence, this option is incorrect.

Thus, the correct answer is option (B) Than.


Note:Conjunctions, as we know, connect phrases and clauses. We saw some one word examples above. But conjunctions can also be of more than one word. These are called phrase conjunctions. Some examples are;
I bought myself a t-shirt, as well as a jacket.
I will buy you a video game, provided that you do well in school.