Multiple choice

By bringing better prices and a menu of customisable options, such as capacity of hard disk drive and variable RAM, the new computer company has not only captured customers from other computer companies but also forced them to offer similar prices.

  1. has not only captured customers from other computer companies but also forced them

  2. has not only captured customers from other computer companies, but it also forced them

  3. has not only captured customers from other computer companies but also forced these companies

  4. not only has captured customers from other computer companies but also these companies have been forced

  5. not only captured customers from other computer companies, but it also has forced them
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
E Correct answer
Explanation

The correct usage is ‘not only .... but also’, hence options (2) and (5) are ruled out. Parallelism tells us that ‘captured’ should be paired with ‘forced’. The pronoun ‘them’ in option (1) is ambiguous as it does not make its antecedent clear. Furthermore, there is the use of comma before the word "but". A comma is absent in the orignial sentence and must be present. Hence (5).

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