0

I have this quiz:

__ he tried to cover up the truth, it came out at last.

A. No matter what

B. Whatever

C. No matter how

D. However hard

The given answer is D but I think all the four are right.

My reason is that the following sentences both make sense to me:

  • He tried everything to conceal the truth. => what
  • He tried very hard to conceal the truth. => how
Improve this question
2
  • 4
    You're correct that all four answers fit here.. But while we cover objects we cover up or conceal what we do not wish to become public knowledge.
    – Ronald Sole
    Jun 28, 2018 at 11:32
  • 3
    All four are correct without further information. I can only assume there is some context around the quiz that has not been given.
    – Jason Bassford
    Jun 28, 2018 at 15:53

2 Answers 2

Reset to default
1
  • (A) No matter what he tried to cover up the truth, it came out at last.
  • (B) Whatever he tried to cover up the truth, it came out at last.
  • (C) No matter how he tried to cover up the truth, it came out at last.
  • (D) However hard he tried to cover up the truth, it came out at last.

Each of these four sentences is grammatically valid. Each is reasonably natural. I see no good reason within the question as given to prefer any one of the four, except possibly personal taste. Perhaps there was some context in the original quiz that made one of these preferable. Perhaps the question was poorly written, it seems that a significant number of ESL quizzes and tests are poorly written.

In any case, I cannot advise how to pass a particular quiz, but I can confidently assert that all four are grammatically valid.

Improve this answer
0

I am not a native speaker, so my answer is just an FYI.

I think A, C and D can fit, but D is most likely the intended answer, based upon the following reasons:

  1. You need a conjunction to connect two independent clause, so B (whatever) is not fit.

  2. All A, C and D can fit for the sentence grammatically. But semantically, D is the intended answer:

    No matter what he tried to cover the truth means though he tried a lot of things to cover the truth.

    No matter how he tried to cover the truth means though he tried to cover the truth in many ways.

    However hard he tried to cover the truth means no matter how hard he tried to cover the truth.

Improve this answer
2
  • But I think whatever is a conjunction too: Whatever you do, slow down and take your time.
    – 尤慕李
    Jun 28, 2018 at 12:07
  • @尤慕李, yeah, you may be correct. Interestingly, some dictionaries say it can be a conjunction. The one I originally looked up doesn't have it.
    – dan
    Jun 28, 2018 at 12:13

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .