Question

Fill in the blank using a suitable adverb/adverb phrase:
Jason was tired after running the marathon, _____ he stayed up late and completed his project.
A) Finally
B) Otherwise
C) Therefore
D) Nevertheless

Answer 1

Hint: The given sentence has two clauses. Clauses can be dependent or independent. In this case, we will deal with an independent clause, i.e. the second clause does not depend on the first clause. The adverb clause or adverb phrase shows a relationship.

Complete answer:
The given adverbs in the options have very different uses. ‘Finally’ and ‘therefore’ are generally used to draw conclusions at the end of the piece of writing. ‘Otherwise’ is conditional and shows the dependence of one verb on the other. ‘Nevertheless’ combines two facts that generally contradict each other.

Let us now compare the options.
Option A) Finally – It is an adverb which means ‘after a long time’, ‘in the end’, ‘eventually’, etc. For e.g. He finally arrived at the theatre to watch the movie with us. This word cannot be used to fill the blank given in the sentence in the question. Thus, this option is incorrect.

Option B) Otherwise – This word means ‘or else’. It is used when the occurrence of one verb is dependent on that of another. For e.g. You should keep a good collection of books otherwise people won’t come to your shop. We do not have this kind of scenario in the sentence given in the question. Therefore, this option is incorrect.

Option C) Therefore – ‘Therefore’ means ‘for this reason’ or ‘consequently’. For e.g. He was sick and therefore absent for school. Again, we do not have this kind of a scene described in the question. Thus, this option is incorrect.

Option D) Nevertheless – It is an adverb which means ‘in spite of that’ and describes the condition in which the verb is being done. For e.g. The statements, although being true, are nevertheless irrelevant. It means, in spite of being true, the statements were irrelevant. If it is used in the blank, then the sentence would mean; in spite of being tired after running the marathon, Jason stayed up late and completed his project. Thus, this option is correct.

Thus, the correct answer is Option (D) Jason was tired after running the marathon, nevertheless he stayed up late and completed his project.

Note: Adverbs are words which provide us with more information about the actions in the sentence. Adverbs can also describe adjectives and even other adverbs. Some general things that adverbs tell us about are; pace, strength, intensity, negation or expectation of an action, adjective or adverb. We can even form adverbs from adjectives, just by adding –ly at the end of the adjective. For e.g. Strong – strongly.