Select the correct option:
The researcher was criticized not for what she published but ___ she chose to omit.
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: D
Explanation
The correct answer is option 4 i.e. for what.
Context: The sentence contrasts two actions—what she published and what she omitted.
Meaning of the options:
- What: Refers to “the thing which” but breaks parallel structure here.
- Which: Not suitable in this context.
- That: Grammatically incorrect in this structure.
- For what: Maintains correct prepositional parallelism.
Correct word: for what
Reason: The sentence follows a correlative structure: not for X but for Y. To maintain proper parallelism, the preposition “for” must be repeated.
Final Sentence: The researcher was criticized not for what she published but for what she chose to omit.
Hence, the chosen option is correct.