Multiple choice

Directions: This question presents a sentence, all or part of which is underlined. Beneath the sentence you will find five ways of phrasing the underlined part. The first of these repeats the original; the other four are different. If you think the original is the best, choose the first answer; otherwise choose any one of the others.

His life was having a negative growth not so much because of his lack of action but rather because of his inability to make the most of his moments.

  1. not so much because of his lack of action but rather because of his inability to make the most of his moments.

  2. not so much because of his lack of action but because of his inability to make the most of his moments

  3. not so much because of his lack of action as his inability to make the most of his moments

  4. not so much because of his lack of action but also because of his inability to make the most of his moments
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

Explanation for (1): Type of error: Conjunction

There are certain conjunctions that are used in pairs. It is unidiomatic to say, “not so much as x but rather because of y”. The correct idiom is, ”not so much x as y”.

Explanation for (2): The option fails to correct the error of coordinating conjunction.
Justification for (3): The option corrects the error of coordinating conjunction. 'So much… as', are used in pair. The option uses,” not so much x as y“ correctly.
Explanation for (4): The option fails to correct the error of coordinating conjunction. Explanation for (5): The conjunction 'so much' cannot be paired with 'than'.

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