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Difficulty: HardConjunctions and Clause Structure

Which of the following connectives correctly completes the sentence below?

"Hardly had the tribunal delivered its final verdict __________ the aggrieved party filed an appeal in the high court."

  1. whenAnswer
  2. B
    than
  3. C
    then
  4. D
    that

Answer

The correct option is 'when'.
The connective 'when' is the grammatically correct subordinator because the semi-negative adverb 'hardly' introduces a clause with inverted word order ('hardly had...'), which strictly demands 'when' (or 'before') to introduce the subsequent time clause.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the main clause structure and initial adverbial modifier
The sentence begins with the restrictive negative adverb 'Hardly' followed by subject-auxiliary inversion ('had the tribunal delivered').
Recognizing negative inversion establishes the correlative conjunction requirement.
2
Identify the mandatory correlative pairing
In formal English clause structure, 'hardly' and 'scarcely' pair exclusively with 'when' (or 'before'), whereas 'no sooner' pairs with 'than'.
Correlative conjunctions operate under strict structural co-occurrence rules.
3
Evaluate the options against standard grammatical conventions
'when' correctly connects the subordinate clause detailing the immediate subsequent event.
Only 'when' satisfies both the semantic temporal relationship and the grammatical rule of correlative pairing.

Key Concept

Correlative Conjunctions and Negative Inversion Clause Structure
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Topics

Conjunctions and Clause Structure

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