Question

Fill in the blank with the most appropriate word with the help of the hint in the given brackets.
Students __________ shout in the library. (Hardly ever)
a. always
b. often
c. frequently
d. seldom

Answer 1

Hint: Synonyms are those words which can easily be put in place of another and can mean the same thing. It is highly useful when it comes to writing articles or essays which require frequent repetitions of the same words. Phrases consisting of two or more words can be replaced by a single word or vice versa. There are numerous synonyms for a single word. Here, the phrase hardly ever, refers to something that rarely happens.

Complete answer:
Now, looking at the options given above,
a. Always: refers to something that is persistent or present there or that which is repetitive. Eg: This River always floods at the sight of black clouds crowding in the sky.
b. Often: is also a synonym for repetitive behaviour or action. Eg: He visits the church often, that people take him to be a regular.
c. Frequently: refer to anything that occurs as a cycle repeatedly or that occurs again and again. Eg: His frequent visits to my school crept me out.
d. Seldom: this word refers to something that occurs once in a while or that which is rare to see or feel. Eg: He seldom visits his parents. They often complain about him.

Hence, Option d, is the correct answer to the above question.

Note: Here, the word apt for the sentence can be chosen by imagining the situation. Other than seldom, all the other words, are related to the opposite meaning of hardly ever.