Question

1. american businesspeople do not typically exchange expensive gifts with each other; blank, they will exchange inexpensive gifts such as notebooks and pens.

options:

• instead of
• nevertheless
• despite

Explanation:

🆕 New Concept Discovered: Transition Words and Conjunctive Adverbs
Connecting independent clauses with contrast or substitution.

Step 1: Analyze the sentence structure

The sentence is divided into two independent clauses separated by a semicolon:

1. "American businesspeople do not typically exchange expensive gifts with each other;"
2. "[blank], they will exchange inexpensive gifts such as notebooks and pens."

The blank is followed by a comma and starts a new independent clause. This means we need a transition word (specifically a conjunctive adverb) that can logically connect these two complete thoughts.

Step 2: Evaluate the grammatical fit of each option

• instead of: This is a preposition. It must be followed by a noun, pronoun, or gerund (e.g., "Instead of exchanging expensive gifts..."). It cannot stand alone before a comma to introduce a complete independent clause.
• nevertheless: This is a conjunctive adverb meaning "however" or "in spite of that." It can grammatically introduce an independent clause after a semicolon.
• despite: This is a preposition. Like "instead of," it must be followed by a noun phrase (e.g., "Despite the rules..."). It cannot introduce a complete clause on its own here.

Only nevertheless fits the grammatical structure of the sentence.

Step 3: Verify the logical meaning

Let's read the sentence with nevertheless:

"American businesspeople do not typically exchange expensive gifts with each other; nevertheless, they will exchange inexpensive gifts such as notebooks and pens."

• Meaning: Even though they do not typically exchange expensive gifts, they do still exchange inexpensive ones.
• This contrast makes perfect logical sense in this context.

Answer:

nevertheless