Find the part of the sentence that contains an error: Rarely had the court encountered a petition (1)/ so devoid of legal merit, nor so conspicuously intended (2)/ to attract media attention rather than judicial remedy. (3)/ No error (4)
- (a)(1)
- (b)(2)
- (c)(3)
- (d)(4)
Answer
Why
Correct — B. The fault is the connector in part (2): nor.
Rarely makes the whole clause negative, and that negative carries over both descriptions of the petition.
Both are adjectival phrases, and inside one negative clause those take or: so devoid of legal merit, or so conspicuously intended.
Nor would need a neither before it, or a new inverted clause of its own: nor had it met one. Part (2) has neither, so the error is there → option (b).
Why the others are wrong
- (a)(1) — Rarely had the court encountered is correct inversion. A negative adverb at the front puts the auxiliary before the subject: had, then the court, then encountered.
- (c)(3) — Rather than joins two noun phrases of the same kind, media attention and judicial remedy, so the comparison is parallel and part (3) stands.
- (d)(4) — No error cannot stand, because part (2) uses nor to join two descriptions that the opening Rarely already makes negative, where or is needed.
Concept
Nor completes neither: neither hungry nor thirsty. It can also open a further negative clause, with the auxiliary before the subject: The struggle didn't end, nor was it diminished.
When one negative already governs the clause, noun, adjective and adverb phrases inside it are joined with or: She didn't speak slowly or clearly.
Rarely does that governing here. So the two descriptions of the petition take or, or else the second becomes a clause of its own: nor had it met one so conspicuously intended.
Nor also turns up in looser, literary use, as in Coleridge's 'Nor any drop to drink', which is why the sentence can sound acceptable.
The key follows Grammar Girl's pattern: after a negative, a second noun, adjective or adverb phrase takes or, because, in Bryan Garner's words, 'the initial negative carries through to all the enumerated elements'.
With a verb phrase the same article allows either nor or or. Both parts here describe the petition, so the or pattern applies.
Key facts
- Nor completes neither: neither hungry nor thirsty.
- Nor can open a further negative clause, with inversion: nor was it diminished, nor had it seen.
- Noun, adjective and adverb phrases inside one negative clause are joined with or: she didn't speak slowly or clearly.
- A negative adverb such as rarely or seldom at the front of a clause brings inversion: Rarely had the court encountered.
Study next
Common traps
- Marking part (1) because its word order looks like a question, when that inversion is exactly what Rarely requires.
- Accepting nor because the sentence is negative: two adjectival phrases under Rarely take or, and nor would need a neither or a fresh inverted clause.
Inversion after Rarely is itself the point at 16 Sep 2025, 16:00, English Q.8, keyed 'Rarely has there been such an overwhelming consensus'.
At 14 Sep 2025, 09:00, English Q.10 the fault sits in a neither ... nor pair instead: neither stands before a verb while nor is followed by a noun phrase.
Related PYQs
No directly related past PYQ was found.