Fill in the blank with the most appropriate option:
The memorandum was neither meticulously structured nor ____ proofread, leading to interpretive confusion.
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: A
Explanation
Correct Answer: adequately
Explanation:
• The sentence requires an adverb to modify the past participle/verb proofread.
• The parallel structure neither [adverb + participle] nor [adverb + participle] is maintained: meticulously structured pairs with adequately proofread.
• Adequately is an adverb meaning sufficiently or to a satisfactory degree.
• Adequate is an adjective, while adequacy and adequateness are nouns, making them grammatically unsuitable here.
Quick Tip: When correlative conjunctions like neither... nor connect two descriptive elements, ensure their grammatical forms are parallel (e.g., adverb + verb/participle).