Which of the phrases given below can be placed in the blank to make a…
20252023
Which of the phrases given below can be placed in the blank to make a complete, meaningful sentence that is also grammatically correct?
How do you feel when you not only complete that project, but also complete it ahead of the deadline, _______
- A.
to grow up as a constructive and productive individual
- B.
to grab every opportunity that comes your way
- C.
to great critical acclaim of your bosses
- D.
to have some free time for yourself
Attempted by 27 students.
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: C
Concept
A sentence-completion choice must satisfy two things together: it must complete the sentence grammatically, and it must continue the meaning, focus, and tone the sentence has already established — including matching a rhetorical or interrogative structure through to its natural close.
Application
Three of the four options ('to grow up as a constructive and productive individual', 'to grab every opportunity that comes your way', 'to have some free time for yourself') are infinitive-of-purpose phrases ('to' + base verb), which would state a REASON for completing the project early. But the sentence's frame — 'How do you feel when you ... complete it ahead of the deadline, ___?' — asks about an accompanying circumstance or result of finishing early, not a reason for it. 'to great critical acclaim of your bosses' is different in kind: it is a prepositional (adverbial) phrase describing what results from finishing early — being praised by one's superiors — which is exactly the kind of accompanying circumstance the question invites as an answer to 'how do you feel'.
Cross-check — why each other phrase does not fit as well
'to grow up as a constructive and productive individual' shifts to a broad, general life-goal that has no clear link to the specific act of finishing a project ahead of schedule.
'to grab every opportunity that comes your way' describes a general attitude toward opportunities, a separate idea from the specific situation of completing a project ahead of the deadline.
'to have some free time for yourself' is grammatically valid but reframes early completion as simply a route to personal downtime, which sits oddly with the sentence's rhetorical, professional register.
So the sentence is correctly and meaningfully completed by 'to great critical acclaim of your bosses'.