Select the correct option that fills the blank(s) to make the sentence meaningfully complete.
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Select the correct option that fills the blank(s) to make the sentence meaningfully complete.
_____ being poor, Kaveri still dresses more appropriately than most of her group mates.
Show answer & explanation
The sentence requires a preposition that introduces a contrast between being poor and dressing well. 'Despite' is the correct preposition that takes a noun/gerund phrase ('being poor') and establishes this adversarial relationship. 'Although' is a conjunction requiring a full clause, 'Since' indicates causation rather than contrast, and 'However' is an adverb that cannot fill this grammatical position.
Step-by-step Derivation:
Analyze the grammatical structure: the blank precedes 'being poor' (a gerund phrase/noun phrase), not a full clause. This eliminates 'Although' (conjunction needing a clause) and 'However' (adverb). Between 'Despite' and 'Since': 'Since' implies 'because she is poor, she dresses well' (causation), which contradicts the sentence's meaning. 'Despite' means 'in spite of' and correctly conveys: 'In spite of being poor, she dresses well' (contrast). Therefore, 'Despite' is correct.