English Grammar - Sentence Completion

English Grammar
English Grammar - Sentence Completion

Select the correct option: The startup scaled so rapidly that its infrastructure could ___ keep pace.


Options:

  1. barely
  2. merely
  3. scarcely
  4. all but

Right Answer: barely

The sentence describes infrastructure that only just managed to match the startup's rapid growth. The blank therefore needs an adverb meaning 'only with great difficulty'. 'Barely' fits naturally and idiomatically in the structure 'could barely keep pace', conveying that it was managed, but only just. 'Merely' means 'only' in the sense of nothing more, which does not suit this context. 'Scarcely' is close in meaning but is normally paired with negative or inversion structures and reads awkwardly here. 'All but' means 'almost', which would reverse the intended sense. Hence the correct answer is barely.

This question is part of English Grammar - Sentence Completion, which has 14 practice questions with answers.

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