He was having a difficult time, but never once he complained.

Question

He was having a difficult time, but never once he complained. Option 1: not once did he complain. Option 2: not once did he give the complaint. Option 3: not once any complaining happened. Option 4: not once he complained.

AfterBoards · Accepted Answer

This question tests negative adverbial inversion. When you start with negative expressions like "not once," "never," or "rarely," English gets fancy and flips the subject and auxiliary verb—just like asking a question! It's like the sentence is so dramatic, it needs special word order. Example: "Not once did she forget her keys" (not "Not once she forgot her keys"). Option 1 → Correct! Uses proper inversion: "did he complain" sounds natural. Option 2 → Wrong phrase choice—"give the complaint" sounds like handing over paperwork. Option 3 → No inversion plus awkward phrasing makes this a mess. Option 4 → Missing the required inversion—sounds like broken English grammar.

IPMAT Indore (VA) PYQs

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