In the following passage, some words have been deleted. Read the passage carefully and select the most appropriate option to fill in each blank. Music is perhaps the most popular and widely practised (1)______ of fine arts, transcending all kinds of cultural and linguistic barriers. Any form of fine art is (2)________ to master and almost impossible to perfect, and music is no exception. Nature, it is learnt, has blessed almost two-thirds of the human race with musical ability of some sort. Music has the power to (3)______ out the deepest emotions. In fact, it is a magic medicine, and many seek refuge in it when they are depressed or stressed. It is this intimacy that makes us listen to music (4)______ even hum or sing sometimes. This singing, or realistically speaking, expressing one’s emotion musically sometimes takes a serious turn. The desire to sing before an audience is innocent and beautiful, and indeed, it is perfectly alright to have such a genuine desire. But it is also important to understand that singing is an (5)________ art—a highly refined one at that, which requires systematic, prolonged and strict training to be acceptable.
Choose the most appropriate option to fill in blank no. 4.
- (a)neither
- (b)nor
- (c)or
- (d)either
Answer
Why
Correct — C. The sentence is "It is this intimacy that makes us listen to music (4)______ even hum or sing sometimes".
The blank stands between two verb phrases — listen to music, and even hum or sing — so it needs a plain coordinating conjunction.
Or is the only one of the four that can stand alone between two positive verb phrases, and it offers the second as an alternative.
Either and neither open correlative pairs and must stand before the first alternative, not between the two, and nor needs a negative earlier in the sentence. Option (c) is the one that fits the slot.
Why the others are wrong
- (a)neither — Neither opens the pair neither...nor and makes the clause negative. The sentence is positive, and neither would have to stand before listen, not in the gap between the two verb phrases.
- (b)nor — Nor joins a second negative to a first one, so it needs a neither or a not earlier in the sentence. There is no negative here for it to answer.
- (d)either — Either is the first half of either...or, so its place is before the first alternative — makes us either listen to music or hum. Dropped into the gap it leaves the correlative pair back to front.
Concept
Connector blanks are decided by position and polarity, not by meaning.
A coordinating conjunction such as and, or, but sits between the two items it joins. A correlative such as either...or or neither...nor comes in two pieces, and the first piece stands in front of the first item.
Polarity does the rest: neither and nor are negative words and need a negative sentence to live in. That leaves or as the only option that can occupy this gap in a positive sentence.
The sentence already contains an or in hum or sing, which is what makes either tempting; that or belongs to the inner pair of verbs and is not looking for a partner.
Key facts
- Or is a coordinating conjunction and stands between the two items it joins.
- Either and neither open correlative pairs completed by or and nor respectively.
- Nor requires a preceding negative such as neither or not.
- A correlative's first half is placed immediately before the first of the two items being paired.
Study next
Common traps
- Choosing either because an or already appears later in the sentence
- Reaching for nor in a sentence that carries no negative
A connector blank inside a cloze passage is a regular fixture.
On 19 Sep 2024, 12:30, English Q.23, the same kind of slot is filled by Although rather than However, Since or In spite of, and there too the decision is grammatical position rather than vocabulary.
Related PYQs
No directly related past PYQ was found.