Question

Fill in the blank with the most appropriate word.
My brother doesn’t like coffee, _________ I do.
(a)neither
(b)but
(c)nor
(d)so

Answer 1

Hint: In the given sentence, a contradiction is implied. There is a very specific conjunction which can help to convey the implied meaning. Only one option can complete the sentence.

Complete answer: In grammar, a conjunction is a part of speech that
connects words, phrases, or clauses that are called the conjuncts of the conjunctions.
There are many kinds of conjunctions, and each imply a different meaning when used.

In this case, the conjunction ‘but’ should be used. Usually, when this is used, there needs to be a contradiction. For example, ‘the tea is hot, but the water is cold’. The word ‘but’ implies that there are two contradictory situations. One part should be affirmative and one should be negative to use ‘but’.
In the given sentence, the first part is negative, so, the second part should be affirmative,
i.e. it should not contain words like ‘no’ or ‘not’. Hence, we know that we need the word ‘but’.

Now, let’s look at the given options:
(a)neither - The word ‘neither’ is only usually used in tandem with the word ‘nor’ as it is a correlative conjunction. It does not fit into the context of the given sentence. This is not the required answer. So, this is an incorrect option.
(b)but - The word ‘but’ is used to imply contradictions. It fits perfectly into the context of the given sentence. This is the required answer. So, this is the correct option.
(c)nor - The word ‘nor’ is only usually used in tandem with the word ‘neither’ as it is a correlative conjunction. It does not fit into the context of the given sentence. This is not the required answer. So, this is an incorrect option.
(d)so - The word ‘so’ is usually used to imply reason or justification. It does not fit into the context of the given sentence. This is not the required answer. So, this is an incorrect option.

Note: The given sentence needs a clear contradiction, which is missing. Go through each option carefully to make sure that you choose the grammatically correct option.